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Bold Pomegranate

#a02e43
Notes

Bold Pomegranate (#A02E43) is a true red with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (349°, 55%, 40%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary teal. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#a02e43
RGB
rgb(160, 46, 67)
HSL
hsl(349, 55%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(349 18% 37%)
OKLCH
oklch(48.0% 0.149 14.3)
HSV
hsv(349, 71%, 63%)
LAB
lab(37.54% 48.06 14.80)
LCH
lch(37.54% 50.29 17.12)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 71%, 58%, 37%)

Etymology

Bold
adjective

Old English beald, brave, courageous — a quality word that crossed over to color in the late seventeenth century. Bold describes a color that asserts itself: high saturation combined with mid lightness, where the hue presents itself without compromise. Sits at the center of the bold-bucket grid, near strong and rich. Closer to a presence word than a pigment word.

Pomegranate
noun

Punica granatum, the seeded fruit of the eastern Mediterranean, sacred to Persephone and a recurring motif in Persian, Mughal, and Spanish ornament. The color refers to the inside of a ripe arils-cluster: a dense, jewel-like red with violet undertones, closer to garnet than to cherry. The pigment is fugitive in textile dye but durable in glaze and enamel.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

Click any swatch to explore

Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#a02e43
Original
#4b4943
Protanopia
#696140
Deuteranopia
#af1237
Tritanopia
#484848
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon White
7.08:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon Black
2.97:1

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