colors
Back to gallery

Indomitable Gloom Crimson

#aa2221
Notes

Indomitable Gloom Crimson (#AA2221) is a true red with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (0°, 67%, 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 cyan. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#aa2221
RGB
rgb(170, 34, 33)
HSL
hsl(0, 67%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(0 13% 33%)
OKLCH
oklch(48.2% 0.172 26.9)
HSV
hsv(0, 81%, 67%)
LAB
lab(37.49% 53.50 36.04)
LCH
lch(37.49% 64.51 33.96)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 80%, 81%, 33%)

Etymology

Indomitable
adjective

Latin indomitābilis, unconquerable — derived from domāre (to tame). As a color modifier, indomitable implies a saturated-and-unconquerable-and-fierce quality where the hue resists any attempt to subdue or modulate its presence. Sits at the bold-and-resilient end of the grid, parallel to unyielding and adamant.

Gloom
modifier

Middle English gloumen, to-look-sullen. As a color modifier, gloom implies a sullen-and-darkened-and-overcast quality, the visual register of Northumbrian-moor-and-Scottish-glen-gloom hand-sullen-and-darkened-and-overcast Northumbrian-moor-and-Scottish-glen-and-Yorkshire-dale gloomed-and-darkened-and-overcast surfaces under Northumbrian-moor-and-Scottish-glen overcast-and-low-cloud heather-and-bracken-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to murk and drear 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.

#aa2221
Original
#4d451f
Protanopia
#6f631b
Deuteranopia
#bc0024
Tritanopia
#3f3f3f
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
7.09:1
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
2.96:1

Related Colors

Canvas