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Scarlet Radiant Clear
Color detail

Scarlet Radiant Clear

Red · Hue 5
Hex
#C9554A
RGB
rgb(201, 85, 74)
HSL
hsl(5, 54%, 54%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 58%, 63%, 21%)
Metrics
S 54% · L 54%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
4.3:1AA Large
on black
4.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Radiant Clear (#C9554A) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 54% 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-clear: #C9554A;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-radiant-clear-hsl: hsl(5, 54%, 54%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-radiant-clear-rgb: rgb(201, 85, 74);
}

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

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 clear, mid-saturation register is the most 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 #C9554A.

  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Brick · #C96442
    →
  • Googleprimary
    Google Red · #EA4335
    →
  • Patagoniasecondary
    Mountain Orange · #E94E1B
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #C9554A.

  • MoroccoPisé Terracotta
    #C75B3D · Sun-dried earth wall construction
    →
  • Greece (Aegean)Terracotta Tile
    #B85B40 · Fired earthenware roof tiles
    →
  • BrazilSalvador Terracotta
    #B85B40 · Colonial Pelourinho district
    →

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 Clear
#D06B62 · hsl(5, 54%, 60%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Core Clear
#BC4338 · hsl(5, 54%, 48%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Radiant Clear
#4AC9C9 · hsl(180, 54%, 54%)
Analogous lead
Coral Radiant Clear
#C98A4A · hsl(30, 54%, 54%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Radiant Clear
#C94A75 · hsl(340, 54%, 54%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Radiant Clear
#4AC94A · hsl(120, 54%, 54%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Radiant Clear
#554AC9 · hsl(245, 54%, 54%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Radiant Clear
#4AC98A · hsl(150, 54%, 54%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Radiant Clear
#4A8AC9 · hsl(210, 54%, 54%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Radiant Clear #C9554A
Lighter companion: Scarlet Tone Clear #D06B62
Darker companion: Scarlet Core Clear #BC4338
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Radiant Clear #4AC9C9
Analogous lead: Coral Radiant Clear #C98A4A
Analogous echo: Garnet Radiant Clear #C94A75
Triadic +120°: Emerald Radiant Clear #4AC94A
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Radiant Clear #554AC9
Split-comp +150°: Jade Radiant Clear #4AC98A
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Radiant Clear #4A8AC9

Compare

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

vsScarlet Tone ClearvsScarlet Core ClearvsAqua Radiant ClearvsCoral Radiant ClearvsGarnet Radiant ClearvsEmerald Radiant Clear

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Core Clear
#BC4338 · hsl(5, 54%, 48%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Tone Clear
#D06B62 · hsl(5, 54%, 60%)
Nearby match
Crimson Radiant Clear
#C94A4A · hsl(0, 54%, 54%)
Nearby match
Ruby Radiant Clear
#C95F4A · hsl(10, 54%, 54%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Velvet Clear
#A53B31 · hsl(5, 54%, 42%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Radiant Soft
#B26862 · hsl(5, 34%, 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
AA Large4.1:1
Aqua Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AA Large4.1:1
Aqua Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AA Large4.1:1
Aqua Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AA Large4.2:1
Aqua Veil Soft
#F8FCFC
AA Large4.2:1
Aqua Veil Clear
#F7FDFD
AA Large4.2:1
Aqua Veil Vivid
#F6FEFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A9B04D
Protanopia
#A4A34D
Tritanopia
#C54F4F
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