Brown #A52A2A

Brown (#A52A2A) is a dark, saturated red with an OKLCH hue of 26°, lightness 0.48 and chroma 0.16. It sits on the warm side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as an accent color: strong in focal moments, dominant over large fields.

Color values

HEX#A52A2A
RGBrgb(165, 42, 42)
HSLhsl(0, 59%, 41%)
HSVhsv(0, 75%, 65%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 75%, 75%, 35%)
CIE Lablab(37.5 49.7 30.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.481 0.160 26)

How Brown behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Brown is virtually unchanged; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 0.6), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 7.08:1 and against black 2.96:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Brown

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#f4928a · #d1665f · #a52a2a · #830913 · #4e0004 · #1d0000

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#b76b29 · #b04c21 · #a52a2a · #8b193b · #6e0e43 · #510643

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#d7b176 · #c88b00 · #957441 · #a52a2a · #7b1618 · #550005

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#00ddf0 · #cc8b85 · #98736f · #a52a2a · #672a27 · #3b1816

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#e1f7f9 · #c6aba8 · #6c7b7d · #a52a2a · #583d3b · #000203

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#e6f5f7 · #bccdcf · #8ea1a4 · #0f2a2d · #000709 · #a52a2a

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#d6d8b2 · #d39db7 · #2a97c9 · #a52a2a · #354670 · #020d2c

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#d3faff · #3dcdaf · #0081b5 · #a52a2a · #005243 · #00040c

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#defbdf · #7bc880 · #4a71d5 · #a52a2a · #213e8d · #000200

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#f0f6d2 · #afbc57 · #008893 · #a52a2a · #4d2f84 · #000304

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#B94E48 · #CD6E66 · #DF8D85 · #F1ACA4 · #FFCCC6

Shades

#8D1D1F · #750E13 · #5F0008 · #460003 · #2F0001

Muted

#983B37 · #8A4742 · #7B514D

Using Brown

Its chroma is high enough to carry accents, calls to action, and focal moments; large fields of it will dominate a composition. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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