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Crimson Tone Faint
Color detail

Crimson Tone Faint

Red · Hue 0
Hex
#A38F8F
RGB
rgb(163, 143, 143)
HSL
hsl(0, 10%, 60%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 12%, 12%, 36%)
Metrics
S 10% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
3.1:1AA Large
on black
6.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Crimson Tone Faint (#A38F8F) belongs to the red family — hue 0°, 10% 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-crimson-tone-faint: #A38F8F;
  --colorarchive-crimson-tone-faint-hsl: hsl(0, 10%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-crimson-tone-faint-rgb: rgb(163, 143, 143);
}

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

The first pigment, the loudest signal.

Heritage

Red is the oldest pigment in the human visual record. Ochre reds appear in burial sites from 75,000+ years ago; Roman red lead (minium) lit Pompeian walls; cinnabar drove a millennium of trade across Asia and the Mediterranean. Madder, kermes, and cochineal — the three classical reds — built fortunes and emptied empires before synthetic alizarin arrived in 1869 and collapsed the price 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 essentially the same red since 1886. Netflix and YouTube engineered their reds to pop maximally on dark UI. 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). Nearly every emergency stop button on every machine ever made is red, and the convention is so universal 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 most 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 #A38F8F.

  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • PlayStationaccent
    Square Purple · #A363D9
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #A38F8F.

  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →
  • IcelandLichen Green
    #9CA577 · Cetraria islandica
    →
  • IrelandConnemara Marble
    #8DA48A · Mottled green-grey native marble
    →

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
Crimson Silk Faint
#B6A5A5 · hsl(0, 10%, 68%)
Darker companion
Crimson Radiant Faint
#957E7E · hsl(0, 10%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Tone Faint
#8FA3A3 · hsl(180, 10%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Tangerine Tone Faint
#A3978F · hsl(25, 10%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Tone Faint
#A38F96 · hsl(340, 10%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Tone Faint
#8FA38F · hsl(120, 10%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Iris Tone Faint
#8F8FA3 · hsl(240, 10%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Tone Faint
#8FA399 · hsl(150, 10%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Tone Faint
#8F99A3 · hsl(210, 10%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Crimson Tone Faint #A38F8F
Lighter companion: Crimson Silk Faint #B6A5A5
Darker companion: Crimson Radiant Faint #957E7E
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Tone Faint #8FA3A3
Analogous lead: Tangerine Tone Faint #A3978F
Analogous echo: Garnet Tone Faint #A38F96
Triadic +120°: Emerald Tone Faint #8FA38F
Triadic +240°: Iris Tone Faint #8F8FA3
Split-comp +150°: Jade Tone Faint #8FA399
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Tone Faint #8F99A3

Compare

See how Crimson Tone Faint compares side by side with related colors.

vsCrimson Silk FaintvsCrimson Radiant FaintvsAqua Tone FaintvsTangerine Tone FaintvsGarnet Tone FaintvsEmerald Tone Faint

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Muted
#AB8787 · hsl(0, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Radiant Faint
#957E7E · hsl(0, 10%, 54%)
Nearby match
True Gray Tone
#999999 · hsl(0, 0%, 60%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Faint
#A3918F · hsl(5, 10%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Silk Faint
#B6A5A5 · hsl(0, 10%, 68%)
Nearby match
Crimson Tone Dust
#B47E7E · hsl(0, 26%, 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
AA5:1
Aqua Ink Faint
#202727
AA4.9:1
Aqua Ink Muted
#1D2A2A
AA4.7:1
Aqua Ink Dust
#1A2D2D
AA4.6:1
Aqua Ink Soft
#183030
AA5:1
Cyan Ink Faint
#202727
AA4.9:1
Cyan Ink Muted
#1D2A29

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#9C9D8F
Protanopia
#9B9B8F
Tritanopia
#A28F8F
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