CSS named color
Crimson #DC143C
Crimson (CSS keyword crimson) has the hex code #DC143C and the RGB value rgb(220, 20, 60): a medium-dark, vivid red.
The word crimson comes from the kermes insect dye (via Arabic qirmiz). The CSS value is a deep, slightly pinkish red that is darker and cooler than red, often used for error states.
Color codes for Crimson
| CSS keyword | crimson |
|---|---|
| HEX | #DC143C |
| RGB | rgb(220, 20, 60) |
| HSL | hsl(348, 83%, 47%) |
| HWB | hwb(348 8% 14%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(57.1% 0.222 20.1) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(0%, 91%, 73%, 14%) |
| Decimal | 14,423,100 |
| Hue family | Reds |
Contrast and accessibility
On crimson, white text has a contrast ratio of 4.98:1 and passes AA for normal text; black text reaches 4.20:1.
WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios (success criteria 1.4.3 and 1.4.6: AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1 and 4.5:1). APCA Lc is the lightness contrast from the APCA-W3 0.0.98G model proposed for WCAG 3; a higher absolute value is more readable, and Lc 75 is its suggested minimum for body text.
| Pair | Ratio | AA | AA large | AAA | AAA large | APCA Lc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black text on crimson | 4.20:1 | Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | 31.9 |
| White text on crimson | 4.98:1 | Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | −77.6 |
| Crimson text on white | 4.98:1 | Pass | Pass | Fail | Pass | 72.2 |
| Crimson text on black | 4.20:1 | Fail | Pass | Fail | Fail | −29.5 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes crimson with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, crimson, white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#de2046 - 15%
#e13759 - 25%
#e54f6d - 35%
#e86680 - 45%
#ec7e94 - 55%
#ef95a7 - 65%
#f3adbb - 75%
#f6c4ce - 85%
#fadce2 - 95%
#fdf3f5
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#d11339 - 15%
#bb1133 - 25%
#a50f2d - 35%
#8f0d27 - 45%
#790b21 - 55%
#63091b - 65%
#4d0715 - 75%
#37050f - 85%
#210309 - 95%
#0b0103
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, crimson's complementary color is #008B93 (close to darkcyan), its analogous colors are #CE1F89 and #C44E00, and its triadic partners are #009300 and #126DF7. For text on top, white gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #008b93 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #ce1f89#c44e00 |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #009300#126df7 |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #00906b#0084b8 |
Computed in OKLCH: the hue is rotated by 180° (complementary), ±30° (analogous), ±120° (triadic) and 180° ±30° (split-complementary) while lightness and chroma stay fixed. Results that fall outside sRGB are brought back with the CSS Color 4 gamut mapping algorithm. Because this uses OKLCH, the values differ from tools that rotate hue in HSL, but every color keeps the same perceived lightness.
Warm or cool?
Crimson is a warm color: its hue is 348° on the HSL wheel, in the red, orange and yellow range (0° to about 70°, plus reds above 330°) that is conventionally called warm.
Nearest named and Tailwind colors
Distance is ΔE OK, the Euclidean distance in OKLab multiplied by 100. Values under about 2 are hard to tell apart side by side.
Code snippets
.element {
color: crimson;
background-color: #dc143c;
border-color: rgb(220 20 60);
outline-color: oklch(57.1% 0.222 20.1);
}<div class="bg-[#dc143c] text-white">...</div>
/* or register it once in your CSS (Tailwind v4) */
@theme {
--color-crimson: #dc143c;
}
/* then use bg-crimson, text-crimson, border-crimson */import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let crimson = Color(red: 0.863, green: 0.078, blue: 0.235)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Crimson = Color(0xFFDC143C)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const crimson = Color(0xFFDC143C);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="crimson">#DC143C</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for crimson?
- The hex code for crimson is #DC143C. The same color is rgb(220, 20, 60), hsl(348, 83%, 47%) and oklch(57.1% 0.222 20.1), and in CSS you can also write the keyword crimson directly.
- Is crimson a warm or cool color?
- Crimson is a warm color: its hue is 348° on the HSL wheel, in the red, orange and yellow range (0° to about 70°, plus reds above 330°) that is conventionally called warm.
- What colors go with crimson?
- Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, crimson's complementary color is #008B93 (close to darkcyan), its analogous colors are #CE1F89 and #C44E00, and its triadic partners are #009300 and #126DF7. For text on top, white gives the higher contrast.
- Can you use white text on crimson?
- White text on crimson has a contrast ratio of 4.98:1, which passes AA for normal text but not AAA under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 4.20:1 and passes AA only for large text (24 px, or 18.66 px bold, and up). In APCA terms that is Lc −77.6 for white and Lc 31.9 for black.
- What is the RGB value of crimson?
- Crimson is rgb(220, 20, 60): red 220, green 20 and blue 60 on the 0 to 255 scale, or 86.3%, 7.8% and 23.5%. As a decimal integer it is 14423100.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.