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Scarlet Tone Bright
Color detail

Scarlet Tone Bright

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 84% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white3.5:1AA Largeon black6:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Tone Bright (#EF5243) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 84% saturation, 60% 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-tone-bright: #EF5243;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-bright-hsl: hsl(5, 84%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-bright-rgb: rgb(239, 82, 67);
}

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 vivid mid-tone — distinctive enough to anchor an identity, saturated enough to demand a quiet supporting palette.

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: At this saturation the color is doing work. It reads as a brand statement, a sport accessory, or a UI signal. It should be used in small, deliberate doses against quieter neighbors; large fields at this saturation will exhaust the eye.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #EF5243.

  • Microsoftprimary
    Office Orange · #F25022
    →
  • Discordaccent
    DND Red · #ED4245
    →
  • Googleprimary
    Google Red · #EA4335
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #EF5243.

  • JapanPersimmon (kaki 柿)
    #D44A2C · Diospyros kaki fruit dye
    →
  • VietnamÁo Dài Pink
    #E94175 · Traditional silk dye
    →
  • MoroccoPisé Terracotta
    #C75B3D · Sun-dried earth wall construction
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using red and color in design.

Color TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsUI DesignColor in Financial UI: Trust, Data Visualization, and the Red/Green ConventionColor TheoryMonochromatic Color Palette: How to Design with One Hue

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 Silk Bright
#F27469 · hsl(5, 84%, 68%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Radiant Bright
#EC3827 · hsl(5, 84%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Tone Bright
#43EFEF · hsl(180, 84%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Coral Tone Bright
#EF9943 · hsl(30, 84%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Tone Bright
#EF437C · hsl(340, 84%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Tone Bright
#43EF43 · hsl(120, 84%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Tone Bright
#5243EF · hsl(245, 84%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Tone Bright
#43EF99 · hsl(150, 84%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Tone Bright
#4399EF · hsl(210, 84%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Tone Bright #EF5243
Lighter companion: Scarlet Silk Bright #F27469
Darker companion: Scarlet Radiant Bright #EC3827
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Tone Bright #43EFEF
Analogous lead: Coral Tone Bright #EF9943
Analogous echo: Garnet Tone Bright #EF437C
Triadic +120°: Emerald Tone Bright #43EF43
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Tone Bright #5243EF
Split-comp +150°: Jade Tone Bright #43EF99
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Tone Bright #4399EF

Compare

See how Scarlet Tone Bright compares side by side with related colors.

vsScarlet Silk BrightvsScarlet Radiant BrightvsAqua Tone BrightvsCoral Tone BrightvsGarnet Tone BrightvsEmerald Tone Bright

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Pure
#F74B3B · hsl(5, 92%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Bright
#EC3827 · hsl(5, 84%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Vivid
#E45A4E · hsl(5, 74%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Bright
#EF4343 · hsl(0, 84%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Tone Bright
#EF6043 · hsl(10, 84%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Silk Bright
#F27469 · hsl(5, 84%, 68%)

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
Sapphire Ink Muted
#1D242A
AA4.5:1
Sapphire Ink Dust
#1A242D
AA4.5:1
Sapphire Ink Soft
#182430
AA4.5:1
Sapphire Ink Clear
#102437
AA4.5:1
Sapphire Ink Vivid
#09243E
AA4.5:1
Sapphire Ink Bright
#062442

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#C7D048
Protanopia
#C0BF47
Tritanopia
#EA4A4B
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Scarlet Tone Faint#A3918F · hsl(5, 10%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Muted#AB8A87 · hsl(5, 18%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Dust#B4837E · hsl(5, 26%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Soft#BC7C76 · hsl(5, 34%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Clear#D06B62 · hsl(5, 54%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Vivid#E45A4E · hsl(5, 74%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Bright#EF5243 · hsl(5, 84%, 60%)Scarlet Tone Pure#F74B3B · hsl(5, 92%, 60%)
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