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Gladiatorial Ergo Crimson

#e21341
Notes

Gladiatorial Ergo Crimson (#E21341) 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 (347°, 84%, 48%) 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
#e21341
RGB
rgb(226, 19, 65)
HSL
hsl(347, 84%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(347 7% 11%)
OKLCH
oklch(58.3% 0.227 19.1)
P3
color(display-p3 0.8133 0.1949 0.2753)
HSV
hsv(347, 92%, 89%)
LAB
lab(48.29% 72.74 32.39)
LCH
lch(48.29% 79.62 24.00)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 92%, 71%, 11%)

Etymology

Gladiatorial
adjective

Latin gladiātōrius, of the gladiator — adjectival suffix, derived from gladius (short-sword). As a color modifier, gladiatorial implies a saturated-and-combative-and-bloody quality, the deep-rich color of Roman-Colosseum gladiator-arena bloody-tunic-and-shield combat-attire. Sits at the bold-and-formal end of the grid, parallel to spartan and valiant.

Ergo
modifier

Latin ergo, therefore-or-thus. As a color modifier, ergo implies a Latin-logical-and-cogito-ergo-sum quality, the visual register of Cartesian-cogito-ergo-sum hand-Latin-logical-and-cogito-ergo-sum Cartesian-cogito-ergo-sum-and-Scholastic-syllogism ergo-and-Latin-logical-and-cogito-ergo-sum surfaces under Cartesian-cogito-ergo-sum-and-Scholastic-syllogism Sorbonne-Scholastic-and-Cartesian-meditation logical-deduction-light. Sits at the modifier-and-Latin end of the grid, parallel to ipse and opus 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.

#e21341
Original
#5e5841
Protanopia
#8f813a
Deuteranopia
#f9002b
Tritanopia
#424242
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
4.77:1
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
4.40:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##E21341
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.8133 0.1949 0.2753)
P3 has visible headroomOKLCH chroma 0.227

This color is chromatic enough that authoring it as P3 native (instead of clamping to sRGB) gives a perceptibly more saturated render on wide-gamut displays — modern Macs, iPhones, iPads, and most recent OLED laptops.

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