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Chivalrous Reach Crimson

#a80c36
Notes

Chivalrous Reach Crimson (#A80C36) is a true red 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 (344°, 87%, 35%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid 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
#a80c36
RGB
rgb(168, 12, 54)
HSL
hsl(344, 87%, 35%)
HWB
hwb(344 5% 34%)
OKLCH
oklch(46.9% 0.182 15.9)
HSV
hsv(344, 93%, 66%)
LAB
lab(35.71% 58.55 21.01)
LCH
lch(35.71% 62.20 19.74)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 93%, 68%, 34%)

Etymology

Chivalrous
adjective

Old French chevaleros, knightly — adjectival suffix -ous, derived from cheval (horse). As a color modifier, chivalrous implies a saturated-and-knightly-and-gallant quality, the deep-rich color of medieval-Romance chanson-de-geste hero-and-troubadour song tradition. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to gallant and knightly.

Reach
modifier

Old English ræcan, to extend. As a color modifier, reach implies a tidal-river-stretch quality, the visual register of Thames-Reach-and-Severn-Reach mid-river deep-water tidal-stretch-and-mudflat working-river surfaces under London-Thames-and-Severn-Estuary tidal-river overcast working light. Sits at the modifier-and-place end of the grid, parallel to strand and bank in usage.

Crimson
noun

From the Old Spanish cremesin, itself from the Arabic qirmiz — the kermes scale insect, dried and ground into a brilliant carmine dye prized in the medieval Mediterranean. For centuries the most expensive red on a draper's shelf, reserved for cardinals, kings, and the cloth that gave English the word crimson. Cooler than scarlet, deeper than rose; the color of pomegranate seeds and a serious occasion.

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.

#a80c36
Original
#434036
Protanopia
#685f31
Deuteranopia
#b90022
Tritanopia
#303030
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
7.58:1
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
2.77:1

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