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Voluptuous Altair Crimson

#b23b3c
Notes

Voluptuous Altair Crimson (#B23B3C) is a true red with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (359°, 50%, 46%) 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
#b23b3c
RGB
rgb(178, 59, 60)
HSL
hsl(359, 50%, 46%)
HWB
hwb(359 23% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(52.4% 0.155 23.7)
HSV
hsv(359, 67%, 70%)
LAB
lab(42.65% 48.24 26.40)
LCH
lch(42.65% 55.00 28.69)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 67%, 66%, 30%)

Etymology

Voluptuous
adjective

Latin voluptuōsus, pleasurable — derived from voluptās (pleasure). As a color modifier, voluptuous implies a saturated-and-rich-and-curving-sensual quality, the deep-rich color of Rubens-and-Boucher baroque-and-rococo flesh-and-fabric tonality. Sits at the bold-and-saturated end of the grid, parallel to lush and plush in tone.

Altair
modifier

Arabic al-nasr-al-tā'ir, the-flying-eagle. As a color modifier, altair implies a fast-spinning-and-summer-triangle quality, the visual register of Aquila-Eagle-and-Summer-Triangle-Altair hand-fast-spinning-and-summer-triangle Aquila-Eagle-and-Summer-Triangle-and-Bortle-1-sky altair-and-fast-spinning-and-summer-triangle surfaces under Aquila-Eagle-and-Summer-Triangle-and-Bortle-1-sky July-and-August-summer-vista white-stellar-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to vega and deneb 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.

#b23b3c
Original
#5b553b
Protanopia
#796e39
Deuteranopia
#c31d3d
Tritanopia
#545454
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
5.86:1
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
3.58:1

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