We're live on Product Hunt!Support us
ColorArchive

A curated color library with 5,000+ algorithmically generated colors. Browse, search, save favorites, and export palette tokens — no account required.

CollectionsFamiliesBrandsRegionsJournalNotesGuidesFree ResourcesConvertColorblindAboutSupportUpdates
Ready for static export
Privacy·Terms·Refunds·Cookies·Commerce Disclosure
colorarchive.org · © 2026 ColorArchive
Skip to content
ColorArchive
ProLog in
ArchiveAll ColorsCollections
Scarlet Tone Dust
Color detail

Scarlet Tone Dust

Red · Hue 5
Hex
#B4837E
RGB
rgb(180, 131, 126)
HSL
hsl(5, 26%, 60%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 27%, 30%, 29%)
Metrics
S 26% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
3.2:1AA Large
on black
6.5:1AA
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

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 #B4837E.

  • Notionaccent
    Default Brown · #9F6B53
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Brick · #C96442
    →
  • 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)
    →

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
Ready to build

Turn these colors into design tokens

ColorArchive Pro includes CSS variables, Figma tokens, Tailwind config, and Procreate swatches — ready to drop into any project.

Upgrade to ProFree downloadView collections

Related colors

More from Red

Search
True Gray Ink#242424 · hsl(0, 0%, 14%)True Gray Nocturne#333333 · hsl(0, 0%, 20%)True Gray Shadow#474747 · hsl(0, 0%, 28%)True Gray Dusk#575757 · hsl(0, 0%, 34%)True Gray Velvet#6B6B6B · hsl(0, 0%, 42%)True Gray Core#7A7A7A · hsl(0, 0%, 48%)True Gray Radiant#8A8A8A · hsl(0, 0%, 54%)True Gray Tone#999999 · hsl(0, 0%, 60%)