#AA2121Red Menace (#AA2121) is a dark, saturated red with an OKLCH hue of 27°, lightness 0.48 and chroma 0.173. 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.
| HEX | #AA2121 |
|---|---|
| RGB | rgb(170, 33, 33) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 67%, 40%) |
| HSV | hsv(0, 81%, 67%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 81%, 81%, 33%) |
| CIE Lab | lab(37.4 53.8 35.9) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.481 0.173 27) |
Under warm 2700K interior light Red Menace 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.
#aa1c1d — ΔE 0.5, is virtually unchanged#ad1f1f — ΔE 0.6, is virtually unchanged#aa2121 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged#ab2222 — ΔE 0.3, is virtually unchangedTest Red Menace in the color lighting simulator — sweep it through daylight, warm 2700K light, 4000K LED, and shade alongside the rest of your palette.
Against white it measures 7.12:1 and against black 2.95:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.
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.
#f98f84 · #d76259 · #aa2121 · #86000a · #4e0003 · #1e0000
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.
#ba6917 · #b5480f · #aa2121 · #8f0d38 · #720142 · #540044
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.
#d9b170 · #c78c00 · #96743b · #aa2121 · #7f0b10 · #550003
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.
#00ddf2 · #cf8a82 · #9a726d · #aa2121 · #692823 · #3d1714
The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.
#e0f7fa · #c8aba7 · #6b7b7d · #aa2121 · #5a3d39 · #000203
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 · #0f2a2d · #000709 · #aa2121
The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.
#d9dab4 · #d29ab3 · #2b99d1 · #aa2121 · #374a76 · #01082e
The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.
#d5faff · #1ccfb1 · #0081b7 · #aa2121 · #005244 · #000610
Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.
#dcfcde · #73ca7d · #496edc · #aa2121 · #213b93 · #000200
Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.
#eff7d0 · #adbe4d · #008795 · #aa2121 · #502c89 · #000304
#BE4942 · #D16B61 · #E38A81 · #F5AAA1 · #FFCCC6
#911216 · #79020A · #600004 · #460002 · #2F0000
#9C3731 · #8E453F · #7E504B
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.