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Scarlet Tone Dust
Color detail

Scarlet Tone Dust

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 26% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white3.2:1AA Largeon black6.5:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Tone Dust (#B4837E) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 26% 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-dust: #B4837E;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-dust-hsl: hsl(5, 26%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-dust-rgb: rgb(180, 131, 126);
}

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 #B4837E.

  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Orange · #D97757
    →
  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #B4837E.

  • Italy (Tuscany)Sienese Ochre
    #C68F58 · Iron oxide earth, Siena region
    →
  • Turkey (Istanbul)Apple Tea Amber
    #C77D4D · Çay glass tea, ubiquitous Istanbul tradition
    →
  • MexicoBarragán Earth Pink
    #D77176 · Casa Gilardi, Mexico City (1976)
    →

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 TheoryDark Color Palette Guide: Building Low-Luminance Palettes That Work

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 Dust
#C39C98 · hsl(5, 26%, 68%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Radiant Dust
#A8706B · hsl(5, 26%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Tone Dust
#7EB4B4 · hsl(180, 26%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Coral Tone Dust
#B4997E · hsl(30, 26%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Tone Dust
#B47E90 · hsl(340, 26%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Tone Dust
#7EB47E · hsl(120, 26%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Tone Dust
#837EB4 · hsl(245, 26%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Tone Dust
#7EB499 · hsl(150, 26%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Tone Dust
#7E99B4 · hsl(210, 26%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Tone Dust #B4837E
Lighter companion: Scarlet Silk Dust #C39C98
Darker companion: Scarlet Radiant Dust #A8706B
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Tone Dust #7EB4B4
Analogous lead: Coral Tone Dust #B4997E
Analogous echo: Garnet Tone Dust #B47E90
Triadic +120°: Emerald Tone Dust #7EB47E
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Tone Dust #837EB4
Split-comp +150°: Jade Tone Dust #7EB499
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Tone Dust #7E99B4

Compare

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

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

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Muted
#AB8A87 · hsl(5, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Soft
#BC7C76 · hsl(5, 34%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Dust
#A8706B · hsl(5, 26%, 54%)
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Dust
#B47E7E · hsl(0, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Tone Dust
#B4877E · hsl(10, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Silk Dust
#C39C98 · hsl(5, 26%, 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
AA4.7:1
Aqua Ink Faint
#202727
AA4.6:1
Aqua Ink Muted
#1D2A2A
AA4.5:1
Aqua Ink Dust
#1A2D2D
AA4.7:1
Cerulean Ink Faint
#202627
AA4.7:1
Cerulean Ink Muted
#1D282A
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Ink Dust
#1A2A2D

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A4A780
Protanopia
#A1A17F
Tritanopia
#B28080
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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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