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Scarlet Tone Soft
Color detail

Scarlet Tone Soft

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 34% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white3.3:1AA Largeon black6.3:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Tone Soft (#BC7C76) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 34% 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-soft: #BC7C76;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-soft-hsl: hsl(5, 34%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-tone-soft-rgb: rgb(188, 124, 118);
}

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 confident mid-tone — this is the workhorse register of the hue, and the band where many brand colors live.

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 clear, mid-saturation register is a common identity sweet spot — saturated enough to register as a 'real' color, restrained enough not to fight typography or photography placed over it.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #BC7C76.

  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Orange · #D97757
    →
  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Bilibili 哔哩哔哩primary
    Bilibili Pink · #FB7299
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #BC7C76.

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

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 ConventionUI DesignGradient Design: Chromatic Progressions That Feel Contemporary

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 Soft
#C99692 · hsl(5, 34%, 68%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Radiant Soft
#B26862 · hsl(5, 34%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Tone Soft
#76BCBC · hsl(180, 34%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Coral Tone Soft
#BC9976 · hsl(30, 34%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Tone Soft
#BC768D · hsl(340, 34%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Tone Soft
#76BC76 · hsl(120, 34%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Tone Soft
#7C76BC · hsl(245, 34%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Tone Soft
#76BC99 · hsl(150, 34%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Tone Soft
#7699BC · hsl(210, 34%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Tone Soft #BC7C76
Lighter companion: Scarlet Silk Soft #C99692
Darker companion: Scarlet Radiant Soft #B26862
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Tone Soft #76BCBC
Analogous lead: Coral Tone Soft #BC9976
Analogous echo: Garnet Tone Soft #BC768D
Triadic +120°: Emerald Tone Soft #76BC76
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Tone Soft #7C76BC
Split-comp +150°: Jade Tone Soft #76BC99
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Tone Soft #7699BC

Compare

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

vsScarlet Silk SoftvsScarlet Radiant SoftvsAqua Tone SoftvsCoral Tone SoftvsGarnet Tone SoftvsEmerald Tone Soft

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Dust
#B4837E · hsl(5, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Soft
#B26862 · hsl(5, 34%, 54%)
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Soft
#BC7676 · hsl(0, 34%, 60%)
Nearby match
Ruby Tone Soft
#BC8276 · hsl(10, 34%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Silk Soft
#C99692 · hsl(5, 34%, 68%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Muted
#AB8A87 · hsl(5, 18%, 60%)

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 Ink Faint
#202727
AA4.6:1
Cerulean Ink Faint
#202627
AA4.5:1
Cerulean Ink Muted
#1D282A
AA4.5:1
Cyan Ink Faint
#202727
AA4.6:1
Lagoon Ink Faint
#202726
AA4.6:1
Azure Ink Faint
#202527

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A8AC78
Protanopia
#A4A477
Tritanopia
#B97979
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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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