Orange Red `#FF4500`

Orange Red (#FF4500) is a mid-tone, vivid red with an OKLCH hue of 35°, lightness 0.66 and chroma 0.229. 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	`#FF4500`
RGB	`rgb(255, 69, 0)`
HSL	`hsl(16, 100%, 50%)`
HSV	`hsv(16, 100%, 100%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 73%, 100%, 0%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(57.6 67.8 69)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.660 0.229 35)`

How Orange Red behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Orange Red is virtually unchanged; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 0.9), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #ff3e00 — ΔE 0.9, is virtually unchanged
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #ff4300 — ΔE 0.3, is virtually unchanged
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #ff4500 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
North light / shade (~7500K diffuse blue-sky light): → #ff4602 — ΔE 0.1, is virtually unchanged

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 3.44:1 and against black 6.1:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text.

Palettes built from Orange 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.

#ffe5dd · #ffaa94 · #ff4500 · #d13600 · #962400 · #601200

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.

#fe9e00 · #fc7b00 · #ff4500 · #e32f49 · #c22463 · #9f1f70

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.

#d0ac54 · #ff4500 · #cd3500 · #6e5400 · #711800 · #2f2200

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.

#00dbff · #ff4500 · #956356 · #8a321b · #631500 · #370600

Quiet Support

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

#dcf8ff · #ff4500 · #906e65 · #384b50 · #32120a · #000305

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.

#e7f5f8 · #bdcdd1 · #8ea1a6 · #10292f · #00070b · #ff4500

Complementary

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

#dcf8ff · #ff4500 · #00869d · #005160 · #002229 · #260100

Split-complementary

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

#b3ddcb · #72b8b2 · #ff4500 · #416a89 · #344164 · #1f050e

Triadic

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

#d1ffe0 · #ff4500 · #008f52 · #341abf · #14005f · #000601

Tetradic

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

#e7fbc9 · #ff4500 · #638500 · #005160 · #2b0049 · #000305

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#FF6F4A · #FF8E71 · #FFAA93 · #FFC3B3 · #FFDBD1

Shades

#D33700 · #A92900 · #801D00 · #5A1000 · #370500

Muted

#EB5F3C · #D67258 · #BF806F

Using Orange 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.