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Unwavering Virtus Crimson

#bf2728
Notes

Unwavering Virtus Crimson (#BF2728) 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 (360°, 66%, 45%) 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
#bf2728
RGB
rgb(191, 39, 40)
HSL
hsl(360, 66%, 45%)
HWB
hwb(360 15% 25%)
OKLCH
oklch(52.5% 0.188 26.4)
HSV
hsv(360, 80%, 75%)
LAB
lab(42.28% 58.53 38.35)
LCH
lch(42.28% 69.97 33.24)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 80%, 79%, 25%)

Etymology

Unwavering
adjective

Old English un- (negation) plus wafrian (to flicker). As a color modifier, unwavering implies a saturated-and-constant quality where the hue maintains its full strength without flicker or shift. Sits at the bold-and-firm end of the grid, parallel to steadfast and firm in usage.

Virtus
modifier

Latin virtus, manliness-and-courage-and-virtue. As a color modifier, virtus implies a Roman-virtus-and-stoic-and-Cardinal-Virtues quality, the visual register of Roman-virtus-and-Stoic-Cardinal-Virtues hand-Roman-virtus-and-stoic-and-Cardinal-Virtues Roman-virtus-and-Stoic-Cardinal-Virtues-and-Marcus-Aurelius virtus-and-Roman-virtus surfaces under Roman-virtus-and-Stoic-Cardinal-Virtues-and-Marcus-Aurelius Republican-Rome-and-Marcus-Aurelius Stoic-virtue-light. Sits at the modifier-and-Latin end of the grid, parallel to senex and dux 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.

#bf2728
Original
#574f26
Protanopia
#7d7021
Deuteranopia
#d3002a
Tritanopia
#474747
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
5.94:1
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
3.54:1

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