Scarlet #FF2400

Scarlet is a brilliant red tipped toward orange, commonly given as hex #FF2400. It is warm, fully saturated and lighter in feel than crimson, closer to flame than to wine. People link it with fire, cardinals' robes, college sports and, in literature, public scandal, thanks to Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter.

Scarlet has no CSS keyword, so values vary between sources. #FF2400 is a widely used one; other versions sit slightly further toward orange.

#FF2400

Scarlet color codes
HEX	`#FF2400`
RGB	`rgb(255, 36, 0)`
HSL	`hsl(8, 100%, 50%)`
HSV	`hsv(8, 100%, 100%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 86%, 100%, 0%)`

Make a palette with Scarlet What goes with it

Text on Scarlet

Black text reads better on Scarlet. Ratios use the WCAG 2 formula: 4.5:1 passes AA for body text, 3:1 passes for large text.

White text

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

3.81:1 · AA large

Black text

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

5.50:1 · AA

Colors that go with Scarlet

#000000BlackMaximum drama; black type is also readable on scarlet #808080GrayThe scarlet-and-gray school combo shows how well neutral gray balances it #000080Navy BlueDeep blue cools scarlet's heat #FFFFFFWhiteCrisp, sporty contrast for jerseys and signage #1560BDDenim BlueEasy everyday pairing in fashion

Scarlet tints and shades

Tints mix Scarlet with white, shades mix it with black, in 15% steps. Copy any code, or open the tint and shade generator for a full scale.

Tints

#FF4526

#FF664D

#FF8773

#FFA799

#FFC8BF

Shades

#D91F00

#B31900

#8C1400

#660E00

#400900

Scarlet color schemes

Color-wheel harmonies built by rotating the hue of #FF2400 and keeping its saturation and lightness.

Complementary

#FF2400

#00DBFF

Analogous

#FF005B

#FF2400

#FFA400

Triadic

#FF2400

#00FF24

#2400FF

Split complementary

#FF2400

#00FFA4

#005BFF

Tetradic

#FF2400

#5BFF00

#00DBFF

#A400FF

Scarlet color meaning

Scarlet has long been a color of status. Catholic cardinals wear scarlet, which the Church explains as a sign of their readiness to shed blood for the faith. The red coats of British soldiers were often described as scarlet, and the color still turns up in formal military and ceremonial dress.

It has a darker side in English writing. Hawthorne used a scarlet letter as a mark of public shame, and older phrases like "scarlet woman" tie it to sin. Those meanings are mostly literary now, and most people simply read scarlet as an intense, hot red.

In the United States the color also has a strong college sports flavor, since Ohio State and Rutgers both use scarlet as a school color.

How to use Scarlet in design

Scarlet's orange lean makes it feel more energetic and less formal than crimson. It suits food brands, sports graphics, sale banners and posters that need to be seen from across a room. Black text reads better on it than white at small sizes, and white type is fine for large, heavy headlines.

Use it as an accent more than a full-page fill, because the brightness is tiring at scale. In fashion, a scarlet coat or lipstick is a statement piece that looks sharp with black, gray and denim.

Palettes with Scarlet tones

Curated palettes with a color close to #FF2400.

Wildfire Candy Stripe Pop Art Cyber Punk Citrus Squeeze Pomegranate

Colors similar to Scarlet

#FF0000Red #DC143CCrimson #E30B5CRaspberry #D2042DCherry Red #CC5500Burnt Orange #E0115FRuby

Work with Scarlet

Palette generatorBuild a palette around #FF2400 Contrast checkerTest text on this color Tint and shade generatorA full scale for CSS or Tailwind Color wheelEvery harmony for this hue Color pickerAdjust it and convert formats Color mixerBlend it with another color

Scarlet FAQ

Is scarlet red or orange?

Scarlet is a red, but one that leans toward orange. On the color wheel it sits a few degrees from pure red in the orange direction, which is why it looks hotter and brighter than crimson or cherry red. Placed next to true orange, it still clearly reads as red.

What is the difference between scarlet and red?

Pure red #FF0000 has no green in it at all. Scarlet #FF2400 adds a small amount of green, and in screen color that pushes it toward orange. The shift is subtle on its own, but side by side scarlet looks warmer and slightly more fiery than pure red.