Heavy Red `#9E1212`

Heavy Red (#9E1212) is a dark, saturated red with an OKLCH hue of 28°, lightness 0.45 and chroma 0.172. 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	`#9E1212`
RGB	`rgb(158, 18, 18)`
HSL	`hsl(0, 80%, 35%)`
HSV	`hsv(0, 89%, 62%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 89%, 89%, 38%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(33.5 53.6 39.5)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.447 0.172 28)`

How Heavy Red behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Heavy Red 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.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #9e0a0e — ΔE 0.5, is virtually unchanged
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #a10f10 — ΔE 0.6, is virtually unchanged
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #9e1212 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
Blue-sky shade (cool daylight (~10000K proxy)): → #9f1313 — ΔE 0.3, is virtually unchanged

Test Heavy Red in the color lighting simulator — sweep it through daylight, warm 2700K light, 4000K LED, and shade alongside the rest of your palette.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 8.24:1 and against black 2.55:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Colors that go with Heavy Red

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.

#ed8579 · #ca584d · #9e1212 · #760003 · #400000 · #130000

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.

#ae6000 · #a74000 · #9e1212 · #82002d · #640037 · #470037

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.

#cda665 · #b98300 · #8b6b31 · #9e1212 · #720003 · #470001

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.

#00ddf3 · #c48077 · #906863 · #9e1212 · #5f1f19 · #330f0b

Quiet Support

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

#e0f7fa · #c3a6a1 · #627174 · #9e1212 · #503430 · #000304

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 · #bccdd0 · #8ea1a4 · #0f2a2e · #00070a · #9e1212

Complementary

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

#d6faff · #00c3d8 · #007c8a · #9e1212 · #00454d · #080000

Split-complementary

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

#d0d7b2 · #72aed9 · #548983 · #9e1212 · #374436 · #1c0d04

Triadic

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

#dbfcdf · #6bc57a · #4363d0 · #9e1212 · #1d3187 · #000200

Tetradic

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

#eef7d0 · #a6b94a · #007c8a · #9e1212 · #48217d · #000304

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#B44138 · #C96459 · #DD857A · #F1A79C · #FFCAC2

Shades

#880307 · #700003 · #580001 · #420000 · #2D0000

Muted

#912D26 · #833C34 · #734741

Using Heavy Red

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.