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Imperial Titan Crimson

#d94f46
Notes

Imperial Titan Crimson (#D94F46) 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 (4°, 66%, 56%) 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
#d94f46
RGB
rgb(217, 79, 70)
HSL
hsl(4, 66%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(4 27% 15%)
OKLCH
oklch(61.3% 0.175 27.2)
HSV
hsv(4, 68%, 85%)
LAB
lab(52.72% 53.51 34.39)
LCH
lch(52.72% 63.60 32.73)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 64%, 68%, 15%)

Etymology

Imperial
adjective

From the Latin imperialis, of the empire — applied to color since the medieval period for the hues reserved for sovereigns and empires: imperial purple of Tyrian dye, imperial yellow of Ming-dynasty porcelain. As a modifier, imperial implies saturation combined with the institutional weight of a color owned by a court. Sits in the bold-and-deep corner, alongside royal.

Titan
modifier

Greek Τιτάν, primeval-Titan-or-Saturn-moon. As a color modifier, titan implies a Saturn-moon-and-methane-haze-and-primeval quality, the visual register of Saturn-moon-Titan-and-Cassini-Huygens hand-Saturn-moon-and-methane-haze-and-primeval Saturn-moon-Titan-and-Cassini-Huygens-and-Kraken-Mare titan-and-Saturn-moon-and-methane-haze surfaces under Saturn-moon-Titan-and-Cassini-Huygens-and-Kraken-Mare orange-haze-and-cryo-volcano-and-methane-lake outer-system-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to saturn and neptune 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.

#d94f46
Original
#746b44
Protanopia
#978942
Deuteranopia
#ee2e4e
Tritanopia
#6c6c6c
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).
AA Largeon White
4.07:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
5.16:1

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