Merlot #730039

Merlot (#730039) is a dark, saturated pink with an OKLCH hue of 1°, lightness 0.36 and chroma 0.146. 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#730039
RGBrgb(115, 0, 57)
HSLhsl(330, 100%, 23%)
HSVhsv(330, 100%, 45%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 100%, 50%, 55%)
CIE Lablab(23.5 47.2 0.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.360 0.146 1)

How Merlot behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Merlot shifts subtly: leans toward red; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 0.7), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 11.74:1 and against black 1.79:1, 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 Merlot

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.

#d88aa1 · #b6607b · #933558 · #730039 · #3a0019 · #100003

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.

#924131 · #852533 · #730039 · #55003d · #390039 · #1f002e

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.

#daa382 · #cb728e · #b35700 · #784c30 · #730039 · #490021

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.

#18e2c9 · #9e6878 · #705159 · #730039 · #3e0b1f · #180108

Quiet Support

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

#e4f7f2 · #cbb3b9 · #7c8986 · #664d54 · #730039 · #192a27

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.

#e7f5f2 · #bccdc9 · #8da19c · #0d2823 · #000504 · #730039

Complementary

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

#d3fcf3 · #53d3be · #009c89 · #006457 · #730039 · #411424

Split-complementary

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

#d3fcf3 · #81d093 · #0097aa · #00672e · #730039 · #002c33

Triadic

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

#edf7d6 · #b0c66e · #008fd3 · #005b89 · #730039 · #222b00

Tetradic

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

#fdf1d1 · #d7b75c · #009c89 · #3c4e99 · #730039 · #002e27

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#8E3355 · #A95772 · #C37B91 · #DC9FB0 · #F5C4D2

Shades

#630030 · #520027 · #43001E · #340015 · #26000D

Muted

#691A3A · #5F283B · #54313B

Using Merlot

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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