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Firm Fur Crimson

#b2272b
Notes

Firm Fur Crimson (#B2272B) is a true red with a warm character. It leans warm, pulling light toward red, orange, and yellow. Naturally inviting, it suits editorial and hospitality contexts. Its HSL profile (358°, 64%, 43%) 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
#b2272b
RGB
rgb(178, 39, 43)
HSL
hsl(358, 64%, 43%)
HWB
hwb(358 15% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(50.2% 0.175 25.0)
HSV
hsv(358, 78%, 70%)
LAB
lab(39.74% 54.77 33.13)
LCH
lch(39.74% 64.01 31.17)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 78%, 76%, 30%)

Etymology

Firm
adjective

Latin firmus, strong / stable — sharing root with English farm (originally a fixed-yearly-rental). As a color modifier, firm implies a saturated-and-resolute quality where the hue holds its visual position without wavering. Sits at the bold-and-firm end of the grid, parallel to steadfast and unwavering in usage.

Fur
modifier

Old French forrer, to-line-with-fur. As a color modifier, fur implies a soft-pelt-and-mammal-coat quality, the visual register of Russian-and-Canadian-fur hand-trapped-and-prepared mink-and-sable-and-fox Russian-and-Canadian-fur-coat-and-trim surfaces under Russian-and-Canadian hand-trapped-fur-coat-and-trim atelier light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to pelt and fluff 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.

#b2272b
Original
#524a2a
Protanopia
#746826
Deuteranopia
#c4002a
Tritanopia
#454545
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
6.53:1
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
3.22:1

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