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Magisterial Sufi Crimson

#a9111b
Notes

Magisterial Sufi Crimson (#A9111B) 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 (356°, 82%, 36%) 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 cyan. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#a9111b
RGB
rgb(169, 17, 27)
HSL
hsl(356, 82%, 36%)
HWB
hwb(356 7% 34%)
OKLCH
oklch(46.9% 0.182 25.9)
HSV
hsv(356, 90%, 66%)
LAB
lab(35.83% 57.01 37.70)
LCH
lch(35.83% 68.35 33.48)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 90%, 84%, 34%)

Etymology

Magisterial
adjective

Latin magisterium, teacher's office — adjectival suffix -al. As a color modifier, magisterial implies a saturated-and-authoritative-and-formal quality, the deep-rich color of Qing-dynasty civil-magistrate court-and-ritual textiles and Imperial-Examination scholar-class livery. Sits at the bold-and-authoritative end of the grid, parallel to authoritative and commanding.

Sufi
modifier

Arabic صوفي, Sufi. As a color modifier, sufi implies a Whirling-Dervish-and-mystical-Islamic quality, the visual register of Persian-and-Anatolian-Sufi Sufi hand-woven robe-and-felt-cap-and-whirling-dance Sufi-mystical-Islamic surfaces under Konya-and-Persian Sufi-Whirling-Dervish ceremonial-robe candlelight. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to zen and tao 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

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.

#a9111b
Original
#484019
Protanopia
#6b5f12
Deuteranopia
#bb0018
Tritanopia
#323232
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
7.55:1
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
2.78:1

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