RAL Classic color

RAL 2002 Vermilion #CB2821

RAL 2002 Vermilion is shown here as #CB2821, a widely published sRGB approximation of the printed swatch. It is a vivid red in the red family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.547, chroma 0.199 and hue 28.5°. The nearest CSS named color is firebrick (#B22222), ΔE2000 5.7 away.

Relative luminance
0.1432
OKLCH L · C · h
0.547 · 0.199 · 28.5
Best text
White 5.43:1
Hue family
Red
Inspect this color Check contrast

#CB2821 color codes

HEX
#CB2821
RGB
rgb(203, 40, 33)
HSL
hsl(2, 72%, 46%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.547 0.199 28.5)
OKLab
oklab(0.547 0.175 0.095)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 44.70, a* 61.54, b* 45.25
XYZ (D65)
X 25.67, Y 14.33, Z 2.85
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 80%, 84%, 20%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

RAL and RAL Classic are trademarks of RAL gGmbH, which this site is not affiliated with. The sRGB value is an approximation of the printed swatch; check a physical RAL color card before you specify a paint.

Legibility

Contrast: is #CB2821 accessible?

White text on it reaches 5.43:1, passing AA. Black text manages only 3.86:1, enough for large text only.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    3.86:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +28

  • White text on it

    5.43:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −80

  • As text on black

    3.86:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −26

  • As text on white

    5.43:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +75

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #CB2821 5.43:1

    It already reaches 5.43:1 on white, so no change is needed.

  • For text on black

    #D8372D 4.50:1

    Lightening its OKLCH lightness from 0.55 to 0.58 reaches 4.50:1 on black, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #CB2821 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #CB2821

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #CB2821 sits at step 600.

  1. 50#FFF2F0
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.21
  2. 100#FFE4E0
    White
    1.20
    Black
    17.42
  3. 200#FFC8C0
    White
    1.47
    Black
    14.27
  4. 300#FFA194
    White
    1.94
    Black
    10.77
  5. 400#FF6C5C
    White
    2.78
    Black
    7.55
  6. 500#E54539
    White
    4.00
    Black
    5.24
  7. 600This color#CB2821
    White
    5.43
    Black
    3.86
  8. 700#A80005
    White
    7.87
    Black
    2.66
  9. 800#7D0003
    White
    11.21
    Black
    1.87
  10. 900#540001
    White
    15.24
    Black
    1.37
  11. 950#330000
    White
    18.40
    Black
    1.14

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #CB2821 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.224; #CB2821 uses 89% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.252 there: 13% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.199
sRGB edge
0.224
Display P3 edge
0.252
Rec. 2020 edge
0.255
Dominant wavelength
610 nm
Excitation purity
81%
Chromaticity
x 0.5990, y 0.3344
  • This color#CB2821
  • Most vivid in sRGB#D40009
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.547 0.252 28.5)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #cb2821;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.7976 0 0.0204); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #CB2821

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#E59490
  • OKLab50%#EE9D91
  • OKLCH50%#EE9D91

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#661411
  • OKLab50%#4D0906
  • OKLCH50%#4D0906

Its complement #007F8E

  • sRGB50%#665458
  • OKLab50%#8D6560
  • OKLCH50%#7D59B9
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #cb2821, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #cb2821 50%, white);

In use

#CB2821 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.43:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:15.43:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:15.43:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:15.43:1 Passes

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.43:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:13.44:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:13.44:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:13.44:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #E24236 4.51:1

Color vision

How #CB2821 looks with color blindness

Deuteranopia changes it most, ΔE2000 39.7; tritanopia changes it least, 4.7.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #5D531E ΔE2000 36.3

    Distinct

    Reads as dark muted brown

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #857617 ΔE2000 39.7

    Distinct

    Reads as soft amber

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #E00029 ΔE2000 4.7

    Close match

    Reads as vivid red

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #6A6A6A ΔE2000 28.2

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #007F8E. Their lightness contrast is only 1.14:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#CB2821 · #007F8E50.4Stays distinct
Protanopia#5D531E · #727A8F33.8Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#857617 · #626E8E40.4Stays distinct
Tritanopia#E00029 · #00868458.2Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#6A6A6A · #7373733.5Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #CB2821

Its complement is #007F8E, a muted teal, on the cool side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#CB2821
  • Complement#007F8E

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#C3256F
  • Base#CB2821
  • +30°#A75A00

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#CB2821
  • +120°#008837
  • +240°#4261E3

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#CB2821
  • +150°#008371
  • +210°#0079AF

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-ral-2002: #cb2821;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        'ral-2002': '#cb2821',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-ral-2002: oklch(0.547 0.199 28.5);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "ral-2002": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.7961, 0.1569, 0.1294],
        "hex": "#cb2821"
      },
      "$description": "RAL 2002 Vermilion (approximate sRGB)"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let ral2002 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.796, green: 0.157, blue: 0.129, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Ral2002 = Color(0xFFCB2821)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #CB2821 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.