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Heroic Pater Crimson

#d40140
Notes

Heroic Pater Crimson (#D40140) 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 (342°, 99%, 42%) 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
#d40140
RGB
rgb(212, 1, 64)
HSL
hsl(342, 99%, 42%)
HWB
hwb(342 0% 17%)
OKLCH
oklch(55.2% 0.221 17.2)
HSV
hsv(342, 100%, 83%)
LAB
lab(44.79% 71.02 28.08)
LCH
lch(44.79% 76.37 21.58)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 100%, 70%, 17%)

Etymology

Heroic
adjective

Latin hēroicus, of a hero — derived from Greek hērōs. As a color modifier, heroic implies a saturated-and-monumental-and-victorious quality, the deep-rich color of Wagner-and-Sibelius late-Romantic-era musical-and-painterly heroic-mode. Sits at the bold-and-celebratory end of the grid, parallel to triumphant and valiant.

Pater
modifier

Latin pater, father. As a color modifier, pater implies a Latin-father-and-paterfamilias-and-Pater-Noster quality, the visual register of Pater-Noster-and-Roman-paterfamilias hand-Latin-father-and-paterfamilias-and-Pater-Noster Pater-Noster-and-Roman-paterfamilias-and-Catholic-prayer pater-and-Latin-father surfaces under Pater-Noster-and-Roman-paterfamilias-and-Catholic-prayer Roman-Senate-and-Catholic-liturgy paterfamilias-light. Sits at the modifier-and-Latin end of the grid, parallel to mater 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

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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.

#d40140
Original
#555040
Protanopia
#84783a
Deuteranopia
#e90025
Tritanopia
#323232
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
5.42:1
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
3.88:1

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