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Scarlet Radiant Dust
Color detail

Scarlet Radiant Dust

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 26% · L 54%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white4:1AA Largeon black5.2:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Radiant Dust (#A8706B) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 26% saturation, 54% 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-radiant-dust: #A8706B;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-radiant-dust-hsl: hsl(5, 26%, 54%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-radiant-dust-rgb: rgb(168, 112, 107);
}

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 #A8706B.

  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    claude.ai Accent (2024) · #C96442
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #A8706B.

  • Turkey (Istanbul)Apple Tea Amber
    #C77D4D · Çay glass tea, ubiquitous Istanbul tradition
    →
  • Greece (Aegean)Terracotta Tile
    #B85B40 · Fired earthenware roof tiles
    →
  • BrazilSalvador Terracotta
    #B85B40 · Colonial Pelourinho district
    →

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 NeutralsColor TheoryGradient Color Palette: How to Design Gradients That Look Intentional

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 Tone Dust
#B4837E · hsl(5, 26%, 60%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Core Dust
#9A605B · hsl(5, 26%, 48%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Radiant Dust
#6BA8A8 · hsl(180, 26%, 54%)
Analogous lead
Coral Radiant Dust
#A88A6B · hsl(30, 26%, 54%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Radiant Dust
#A86B80 · hsl(340, 26%, 54%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Radiant Dust
#6BA86B · hsl(120, 26%, 54%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Radiant Dust
#706BA8 · hsl(245, 26%, 54%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Radiant Dust
#6BA88A · hsl(150, 26%, 54%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Radiant Dust
#6B8AA8 · hsl(210, 26%, 54%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Radiant Dust #A8706B
Lighter companion: Scarlet Tone Dust #B4837E
Darker companion: Scarlet Core Dust #9A605B
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Radiant Dust #6BA8A8
Analogous lead: Coral Radiant Dust #A88A6B
Analogous echo: Garnet Radiant Dust #A86B80
Triadic +120°: Emerald Radiant Dust #6BA86B
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Radiant Dust #706BA8
Split-comp +150°: Jade Radiant Dust #6BA88A
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Radiant Dust #6B8AA8

Compare

See how Scarlet Radiant Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsScarlet Tone DustvsScarlet Core DustvsAqua Radiant DustvsCoral Radiant DustvsGarnet Radiant DustvsEmerald Radiant Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Muted
#9F7875 · hsl(5, 18%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Soft
#B26862 · hsl(5, 34%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Core Dust
#9A605B · hsl(5, 26%, 48%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Dust
#B4837E · hsl(5, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Radiant Dust
#A86B6B · hsl(0, 26%, 54%)
Nearby match
Ruby Radiant Dust
#A8756B · hsl(10, 26%, 54%)

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
Indigo Ink Bright
#061042
AA4.5:1
Indigo Ink Pure
#030E45
AA4.5:1
Iris Ink Clear
#101037
AA4.6:1
Iris Ink Vivid
#09093E
AA4.7:1
Iris Ink Bright
#060642
AA4.7:1
Iris Ink Pure
#030345

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#969A6D
Protanopia
#93936C
Tritanopia
#A66D6D
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Scarlet Radiant Faint#95807E · hsl(5, 10%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Muted#9F7875 · hsl(5, 18%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Dust#A8706B · hsl(5, 26%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Soft#B26862 · hsl(5, 34%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Clear#C9554A · hsl(5, 54%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Vivid#E14133 · hsl(5, 74%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Bright#EC3827 · hsl(5, 84%, 54%)Scarlet Radiant Pure#F6301E · hsl(5, 92%, 54%)
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