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Bastioned Bank Crimson

#af0d24
Notes

Bastioned Bank Crimson (#AF0D24) 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 (351°, 86%, 37%) 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
#af0d24
RGB
rgb(175, 13, 36)
HSL
hsl(351, 86%, 37%)
HWB
hwb(351 5% 31%)
OKLCH
oklch(48.0% 0.188 23.3)
HSV
hsv(351, 93%, 69%)
LAB
lab(36.99% 59.49 34.12)
LCH
lch(36.99% 68.58 29.83)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 93%, 79%, 31%)

Etymology

Bastioned
adjective

Italian bastionato, fortified-with-bastions — past-participle of bastion, derived from bastia (fortified-tower). As a color modifier, bastioned implies a saturated-and-fortified-and-projecting quality, the deep-rich color of Vauban-period military-fortress star-fort projecting-bastion stone-architecture. Sits at the bold-and-fortified end of the grid, parallel to fortified and buttressed.

Bank
modifier

Old Norse bakki, raised ground beside river. As a color modifier, bank implies a riverside-rise-and-sediment quality, the visual register of Thames-Severn-and-Loire river-bank willow-shaded sediment-and-mudflat hand-walked path-side surfaces in slow-moving river-light. Sits at the modifier-and-place end of the grid, parallel to shore and bluff 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.

#af0d24
Original
#494223
Protanopia
#6e631d
Deuteranopia
#c1001a
Tritanopia
#313131
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
7.23:1
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
2.91:1

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