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Sovereign Cranberry

#a6003d
Notes

Sovereign Cranberry (#A6003D) is a deep magenta with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (338°, 100%, 33%) places it in the highly saturated band at a dark lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. 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
#a6003d
RGB
rgb(166, 0, 61)
HSL
hsl(338, 100%, 33%)
HWB
hwb(338 0% 35%)
OKLCH
oklch(46.3% 0.185 11.7)
HSV
hsv(338, 100%, 65%)
LAB
lab(34.90% 59.94 15.32)
LCH
lch(34.90% 61.86 14.34)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 100%, 63%, 35%)

Etymology

Sovereign
adjective

Old French soverain, supreme — derived from Latin super (above). As a color modifier, sovereign implies a saturated-and-royal-supremacy quality where the hue carries imperial-ruling-class register. Sits at the bold-and-imperial end of the grid, parallel to regal and imperial in tone.

Cranberry
noun

North American Vaccinium macrocarpon — a Ericaceae low-creeping wetland shrub whose deep-magenta drupe is the iconic Thanksgiving fruit and the base of cranberry juice and jellied cranberry sauce. Cranberry color refers to a freshly cooked Vaccinium macrocarpon compote in a Massachusetts kitchen: a saturated, slightly cool deep magenta with the matte finish of anthocyanin-rich cranberry-fruit pulp.

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

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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.

#a6003d
Original
#3e3e3e
Protanopia
#655d39
Deuteranopia
#b60022
Tritanopia
#282828
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
7.81:1
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
2.69:1

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