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Scarlet Core Faint
Color detail

Scarlet Core Faint

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 10% · L 48%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white4.6:1AAon black4.6:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Core Faint (#87706E) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 10% saturation, 48% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-scarlet-core-faint: #87706E;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-core-faint-hsl: hsl(5, 10%, 48%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-core-faint-rgb: rgb(135, 112, 110);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

PassionateEnergeticUrgent
Common in

Food & Beverage · Entertainment · Retail

Pairs well with

White for high contrast CTAs, dark navy for sophistication, or gold for luxury

Design tip

Best for call-to-action buttons and sale banners. Use sparingly — red as a primary color can feel aggressive; as an accent, it commands attention.

Cultural context ▶

Red is universally associated with energy and action. In China, it signifies luck and prosperity. In Western markets, it drives urgency in sales.

Color Origins

Red family

Among the oldest pigments, and still the loudest signal.

Heritage

Red ochre is among the oldest pigments in the human visual record. Ochre reds lie beside burials at Qafzeh, Israel, about 100,000 years old; red ochre and costly cinnabar lit Pompeian walls; cinnabar was prized from Rome to China. Madder, kermes, and later New World cochineal built fortunes before synthetic alizarin arrived in 1869 and collapsed the madder market almost overnight.

Across cultures

In China red signals fortune and weddings, painted on doors and lanterns and given in money envelopes. In much of South Asia red is the bridal color (saris, sindoor) for the same reason. Western traditions split red between love (Valentine's) and danger (stoplights, balance sheets). Across the Christian liturgy red marks martyrdom and Pentecost; across cinema it has long marked the femme fatale.

In the wild

Coca-Cola has used red since its earliest signage. Netflix and YouTube both build their identities around a single saturated red. Christian Louboutin trademarked a single red — Pantone 18-1663 — on the soles of his shoes. Ferrari's racing red began as the Italian national racing color (Rosso Corsa). Emergency stop buttons are red on a yellow background under international machinery-safety standards, a convention so widespread it functions as international iconography.

How it reads

Red advances. On a page it draws the eye first; in a UI it implies destructive action or urgent state. Increasing saturation pushes it toward warning; reducing saturation moves it toward earthen, terra-cotta, comfort. Pairing red with white reads as energetic and consumer-facing; pairing it with black reads cinematic and luxurious; pairing it with cream reads as heritage or hospitality.

This particular tone

A grounded mid-tone — sober, considered, well-suited to body text accents, editorial layouts, or any context where restraint reads as quality.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where many identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #87706E.

  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Green · #788C5D
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #87706E.

  • AustraliaBush Khaki
    #8E895C · Outback grassland in dry season
    →
  • France (Paris)Seine Steel
    #7E8A93 · River reflectivity in winter
    →
  • IcelandLopapeysa Sheep Brown
    #7C5A3A · Natural-dye Icelandic wool
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using red and color in design.

UI DesignColor in Financial UI: Trust, Data Visualization, and the Red/Green ConventionColor TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsAccessibilityColor-Blind Friendly Palette: Designing for Color Vision Deficiency

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Scarlet Radiant Faint
#95807E · hsl(5, 10%, 54%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Velvet Faint
#766260 · hsl(5, 10%, 42%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Core Faint
#6E8787 · hsl(180, 10%, 48%)
Analogous lead
Coral Core Faint
#877A6E · hsl(30, 10%, 48%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Core Faint
#876E76 · hsl(340, 10%, 48%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Core Faint
#6E876E · hsl(120, 10%, 48%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Core Faint
#706E87 · hsl(245, 10%, 48%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Core Faint
#6E877A · hsl(150, 10%, 48%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Core Faint
#6E7A87 · hsl(210, 10%, 48%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Core Faint #87706E
Lighter companion: Scarlet Radiant Faint #95807E
Darker companion: Scarlet Velvet Faint #766260
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Core Faint #6E8787
Analogous lead: Coral Core Faint #877A6E
Analogous echo: Garnet Core Faint #876E76
Triadic +120°: Emerald Core Faint #6E876E
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Core Faint #706E87
Split-comp +150°: Jade Core Faint #6E877A
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Core Faint #6E7A87

Compare

See how Scarlet Core Faint compares side by side with related colors.

vsScarlet Radiant FaintvsScarlet Velvet FaintvsAqua Core FaintvsCoral Core FaintvsGarnet Core FaintvsEmerald Core Faint

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Core Muted
#906864 · hsl(5, 18%, 48%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Velvet Faint
#766260 · hsl(5, 10%, 42%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Faint
#95807E · hsl(5, 10%, 54%)
Nearby match
Crimson Core Faint
#876E6E · hsl(0, 10%, 48%)
Nearby match
Ruby Core Faint
#87726E · hsl(10, 10%, 48%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Core Dust
#9A605B · hsl(5, 26%, 48%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AA4.5:1
Aqua Veil Clear
#F7FDFD
AA4.5:1
Aqua Veil Vivid
#F6FEFE
AA4.5:1
Aqua Veil Bright
#F6FEFE
AA4.5:1
Aqua Veil Pure
#F5FFFF
AA4.5:1
Cerulean Veil Bright
#F6FDFE
AA4.5:1
Cerulean Veil Pure
#F5FDFF

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#7F816F
Protanopia
#7E7D6E
Tritanopia
#866F6F
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Scarlet Core Faint#87706E · hsl(5, 10%, 48%)Scarlet Core Muted#906864 · hsl(5, 18%, 48%)Scarlet Core Dust#9A605B · hsl(5, 26%, 48%)Scarlet Core Soft#A45851 · hsl(5, 34%, 48%)Scarlet Core Clear#BC4338 · hsl(5, 54%, 48%)Scarlet Core Vivid#D52F20 · hsl(5, 74%, 48%)Scarlet Core Bright#E12514 · hsl(5, 84%, 48%)Scarlet Core Pure#EB1D0A · hsl(5, 92%, 48%)
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