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Vermillion Velvet Pure
Color detail

Vermillion Velvet Pure

Orange · Hue 15
Hex
#CE3A09
RGB
rgb(206, 58, 9)
HSL
hsl(15, 92%, 42%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 72%, 96%, 19%)
Metrics
S 92% · L 42%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
5:1AA
on black
4.2:1AA Large
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Vermillion Velvet Pure (#CE3A09) belongs to the orange family — hue 15°, 92% saturation, 42% 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-vermillion-velvet-pure: #CE3A09;
  --colorarchive-vermillion-velvet-pure-hsl: hsl(15, 92%, 42%);
  --colorarchive-vermillion-velvet-pure-rgb: rgb(206, 58, 9);
}

AI Color Names

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

Design Context

CreativeAdventurousConfident
Common in

Technology · Sports · Travel

Pairs well with

Deep blue for trust + energy balance, dark gray for modern tech aesthetics

Design tip

Use for creative tool brands and action-oriented interfaces. Orange buttons consistently outperform other colors in A/B tests for engagement.

Cultural context ▶

Orange represents creativity and adventure. In the Netherlands, it's the national color. In Hinduism, it symbolizes purity.

Color Origins

Orange family

Citrus, fire, and the only color named after a fruit.

Heritage

Orange is unusual: in English the color was named after the fruit, not the other way around — before the fruit reached Europe in the 16th century, this hue was simply 'yellow-red'. Earlier pigments included realgar (toxic), saffron (priceless), and orpiment. Cadmium orange, introduced in the 19th century, gave painters from the Impressionists onward a stable, brilliant orange that didn't fade or poison.

Across cultures

In Hindu and Buddhist tradition saffron orange marks renunciation — the robe of monks across Theravada and Tibetan lineages. The Dutch House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a national identity color, still worn at football matches and on King's Day. In Ireland, orange is the Protestant counterpart to green's Catholic association — the country's flag literally encodes the divide. Halloween's orange-and-black is a 20th-century American invention that has since gone global.

In the wild

Hermès orange is a brand asset traceable to a 1942 wartime cardboard shortage. Penguin Books used orange-and-white spines as a class signal — fiction was always orange. Nickelodeon, Fanta, and easyJet all chose orange for the same reason: it reads playful and consumer-friendly while staying outside the more crowded red and yellow lanes. NASA flight suits use International Orange specifically because nothing in nature matches it, making astronauts maximally visible against any background.

How it reads

Orange is warm without the urgency of red. It signals appetite (used heavily in fast food), creativity, and approachability. At low saturation it becomes terracotta, rust, or apricot — earthy palettes for hospitality and craft. At high saturation it reads as a sport, energy drink, or warning hazard. Orange and teal is the most common modern film-grade pairing; the contrast between warm skin tones and cool shadows is engineered for it.

This particular tone

A vivid mid-tone — distinctive enough to anchor an identity, saturated enough to demand a quiet supporting palette.

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: At this saturation the color is doing work. It reads as a brand statement, a sport accessory, or a UI signal. It should be used in small, deliberate doses against quieter neighbors; large fields at this saturation will exhaust the eye.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #CE3A09.

  • McDonald'sprimary
    Mickey D Red · #DA291C
    →
  • JD.com 京东primary
    JD Red · #E1251B
    →
  • Patagoniasecondary
    Mountain Orange · #E94E1B
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #CE3A09.

  • China (Traditional)Cinnabar Red (朱砂)
    #C0392B · Mercury sulfide pigment, classical seals
    →
  • ScandinaviaMarimekko Poppy Red
    #D03030 · Unikko print, Marimekko 1964
    →
  • AustraliaUluru Ochre
    #C9472B · Iron-oxide weathering, Uluru sandstone
    →

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
Vermillion Core Pure
#EB420A · hsl(15, 92%, 48%)
Darker companion
Vermillion Dusk Pure
#A62F07 · hsl(15, 92%, 34%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cerulean Velvet Pure
#09ADCE · hsl(190, 92%, 42%)
Analogous lead
Apricot Velvet Pure
#CE8C09 · hsl(40, 92%, 42%)
Analogous echo
Merlot Velvet Pure
#CE0929 · hsl(350, 92%, 42%)
Triadic +120°
Mint Velvet Pure
#09CE29 · hsl(130, 92%, 42%)
Triadic +240°
Violet Velvet Pure
#2909CE · hsl(250, 92%, 42%)
Split-comp +150°
Teal Velvet Pure
#09CE8C · hsl(160, 92%, 42%)
Split-comp +210°
Cobalt Velvet Pure
#094ACE · hsl(220, 92%, 42%)
Export preview
Base: Vermillion Velvet Pure #CE3A09
Lighter companion: Vermillion Core Pure #EB420A
Darker companion: Vermillion Dusk Pure #A62F07
Complementary counterpoint: Cerulean Velvet Pure #09ADCE
Analogous lead: Apricot Velvet Pure #CE8C09
Analogous echo: Merlot Velvet Pure #CE0929
Triadic +120°: Mint Velvet Pure #09CE29
Triadic +240°: Violet Velvet Pure #2909CE
Split-comp +150°: Teal Velvet Pure #09CE8C
Split-comp +210°: Cobalt Velvet Pure #094ACE

Compare

See how Vermillion Velvet Pure compares side by side with related colors.

vsVermillion Core PurevsVermillion Dusk PurevsCerulean Velvet PurevsApricot Velvet PurevsMerlot Velvet PurevsMint Velvet Pure

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Vermillion Velvet Bright
#C53E11 · hsl(15, 84%, 42%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Core Pure
#EB420A · hsl(15, 92%, 48%)
Nearby match
Ruby Velvet Pure
#CE2909 · hsl(10, 92%, 42%)
Nearby match
Ember Velvet Pure
#CE4A09 · hsl(20, 92%, 42%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Dusk Pure
#A62F07 · hsl(15, 92%, 34%)
Nearby match
Vermillion Core Bright
#E14714 · hsl(15, 84%, 48%)

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
Cerulean Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Veil Soft
#F8FBFC
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Veil Clear
#F7FCFD
AA4.8:1
Cerulean Veil Vivid
#F6FCFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#AAB220
Protanopia
#A3A21D
Tritanopia
#CA2728
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