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Gallant Grace Crimson

#b21823
Notes

Gallant Grace Crimson (#B21823) 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 (356°, 76%, 40%) 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
#b21823
RGB
rgb(178, 24, 35)
HSL
hsl(356, 76%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(356 9% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(49.1% 0.186 24.9)
HSV
hsv(356, 87%, 70%)
LAB
lab(38.27% 58.37 36.23)
LCH
lch(38.27% 68.70 31.83)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 87%, 80%, 30%)

Etymology

Gallant
adjective

Old French galant, brave / charming — present-participle of galer (to make merry). As a color modifier, gallant implies a saturated-and-chivalrous-and-confident quality, the deep-rich color of Three-Musketeers and Cyrano-de-Bergerac swashbuckling adventure tradition. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to valiant and heroic.

Grace
modifier

Latin gratia, favor-or-thankfulness. As a color modifier, grace implies a flowing-and-elegant-and-blessed quality, the visual register of Botticelli-Three-Graces-and-Apollonian-grace hand-flowing-and-elegant-and-blessed Botticelli-Three-Graces-and-Apollonian-and-Renaissance-classical graced-and-flowing-and-elegant-and-blessed surfaces under Botticelli-Three-Graces-and-Apollonian-and-Renaissance-classical chiton-and-laurel-wreath-and-fountain Florentine-pavilion-light. Sits at the modifier-and-mood end of the grid, parallel to charm and bliss 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.

#b21823
Original
#4d4521
Protanopia
#72661c
Deuteranopia
#c5001f
Tritanopia
#3a3a3a
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).
AAon White
6.89:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AA Largeon Black
3.05:1

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