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Scarlet Shadow Muted
Color detail

Scarlet Shadow Muted

Red · Hue 5
Hex
#543D3B
RGB
rgb(84, 61, 59)
HSL
hsl(5, 18%, 28%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 27%, 30%, 67%)
Metrics
S 18% · L 28%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
10:1AA
on black
2.1:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Shadow Muted (#543D3B) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 18% saturation, 28% 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-shadow-muted: #543D3B;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-shadow-muted-hsl: hsl(5, 18%, 28%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-shadow-muted-rgb: rgb(84, 61, 59);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

PowerfulSophisticatedDramatic
Common in

Wine & Spirits · Luxury Fashion · Fine Dining

Pairs well with

Gold accents, ivory backgrounds, or deep charcoal for editorial elegance

Design tip

Ideal for dark themes and premium product pages. Pair with generous whitespace to let the richness breathe.

Cultural context ▶

Deep reds like burgundy and maroon evoke maturity, wealth, and tradition. Common in academic institutions and heritage brands.

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 dim, atmospheric reading — closer to a colored shadow than a stated hue. Excellent as a near-black on dark UI or as a moody background.

Lightness band: At this depth the hue starts behaving like a neutral — it can substitute for black in many contexts while still carrying a faint chromatic temperature. It pairs especially well with off-whites and warm metallics.

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 #543D3B.

  • Airbnbneutral
    Hof Gray · #484848
    →
  • Aesopprimary
    Aesop Amber · #5C2E1F
    →
  • Xiaohongshu 小红书neutral
    Slate Text · #333333
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #543D3B.

  • VietnamPho Broth Brown
    #5C3A21 · Anise-and-cinnamon star, slow simmer
    →
  • IrelandPeat Brown
    #604024 · Cut turf bog, Mayo + Connemara
    →
  • France (Paris)Bordeaux Wine
    #5C2E2A · Bordeaux region red wine
    →

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 Dusk Muted
#664A47 · hsl(5, 18%, 34%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Nocturne Muted
#3C2B2A · hsl(5, 18%, 20%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Shadow Muted
#3B5454 · hsl(180, 18%, 28%)
Analogous lead
Coral Shadow Muted
#54473B · hsl(30, 18%, 28%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Shadow Muted
#543B43 · hsl(340, 18%, 28%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Shadow Muted
#3B543B · hsl(120, 18%, 28%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Shadow Muted
#3D3B54 · hsl(245, 18%, 28%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Shadow Muted
#3B5447 · hsl(150, 18%, 28%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Shadow Muted
#3B4754 · hsl(210, 18%, 28%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Shadow Muted #543D3B
Lighter companion: Scarlet Dusk Muted #664A47
Darker companion: Scarlet Nocturne Muted #3C2B2A
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Shadow Muted #3B5454
Analogous lead: Coral Shadow Muted #54473B
Analogous echo: Garnet Shadow Muted #543B43
Triadic +120°: Emerald Shadow Muted #3B543B
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Shadow Muted #3D3B54
Split-comp +150°: Jade Shadow Muted #3B5447
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Shadow Muted #3B4754

Compare

See how Scarlet Shadow Muted compares side by side with related colors.

vsScarlet Dusk MutedvsScarlet Nocturne MutedvsAqua Shadow MutedvsCoral Shadow MutedvsGarnet Shadow MutedvsEmerald Shadow Muted

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Shadow Faint
#4F4140 · hsl(5, 10%, 28%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Shadow Dust
#5A3835 · hsl(5, 26%, 28%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Dusk Muted
#664A47 · hsl(5, 18%, 34%)
Nearby match
Crimson Shadow Muted
#543B3B · hsl(0, 18%, 28%)
Nearby match
Ruby Shadow Muted
#543F3B · hsl(10, 18%, 28%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Nocturne Muted
#3C2B2A · hsl(5, 18%, 20%)

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
AAA9.5:1
Aqua Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AAA9.6:1
Aqua Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AAA9.6:1
Aqua Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AAA9.6:1
Aqua Veil Soft
#F8FCFC
AAA9.7:1
Aqua Veil Clear
#F7FDFD
AAA9.7:1
Aqua Veil Vivid
#F6FEFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#4C4E3C
Protanopia
#4B4B3B
Tritanopia
#533C3C
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