What is the hex code for Brick Red?

The hex code for Brick Red is #CB4154.

What are the RGB values for Brick Red?

The RGB values for Brick Red are rgb(203, 65, 84).

Is Brick Red accessible on white backgrounds?

Brick Red has a contrast ratio of 4.75:1 on white, which passes WCAG AA.

Brick Red (#CB4154) — Hex, RGB, HSL & WCAG Scores

Tints & Shades

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Scale from white (50) through Brick Red (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.

Color Values

HEX: #CB4154
RGB: rgb(203, 65, 84)
HSL: hsl(352, 57%, 53%)
OKLCH: oklch(0.577 0.174 17)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 68%, 59%, 20%)

Luminance:0.1712

CSS var:--color-brick-red

Tailwind:bg-[#CB4154]

Accessibility

Score: 39/100

On White (#FFF)

4.75:1

On Black (#000)

4.42:1

AA Large

On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)

4.35:1

AA Large

Best text color on this background:

white — 4.75:1

Open in Contrast Checker →

Design Applications

Background

background-color: #CB4154

Text Color

color: #CB4154

bg-[#CB4154] text-[#FFFFFF]

Accent border card component

border-left: 4px solid #CB4154

Color Harmonies

Complementary

Muted Teal

#5F7A76

Triadic

Neon Green

#39FF14

Zaffre

#0014A8

Split-Complementary

Feldgrau

#4D5D53

Sapphire Blue

#0067A5

Analogous

Medium Violet Red

#C71585

Queen Pink

#E8CCD7

Salmon

#FA8072

Pale Silver

#C9C0BB

Similar Colors

Amaranth

#E52B50

Cherry

#DE3163

Paradise Pink

#E63E62

Crimson

#DC143C

Raspberry

#E30B5C

Cardinal

#C41E3A

Color Meaning & Psychology

Red is the most emotionally intense color in the spectrum. It stimulates the nervous system, accelerates respiration, and increases heart rate. Red commands attention through associations with blood, fire, danger, and passion — making it the dominant choice for warnings, calls-to-action, and brand identities that must stand out instantly. In food culture, red stimulates appetite. In romance, it signals desire. In sport, studies show red-clad competitors win more often. However, overuse creates aggression. The most effective red designs use it sparingly as a focal accent. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.

Industry Usage

Common contexts and industries where Brick Red is applied in professional design.

Emergency alerts and warning systems
Food and beverage brands (appetite stimulation)
Sports teams and athletic wear
Calls-to-action and "Buy Now" buttons
Pharmaceutical packaging for urgent medications
Entertainment and gaming brands
Automotive brands emphasizing power and performance
Retail sale and clearance signage

Accessibility Considerations

Normal Text

Passes AA

4.5:1 minimum required

Large Text

Passes AA Large

3:1 minimum required

UI Components

Meets 1.4.11

3:1 for non-text UI

Brick Red is a dark color. Use white (#FFFFFF) text on top of it for maximum readability (4.75:1). Avoid small black text on this background.

Test this color in the Contrast Checker →·WCAG Contrast Guide →

CSS & Code Examples

Background

background-color: #CB4154;

Text

color: #CB4154;

Border

border: 2px solid #CB4154;

Box Shadow

box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #CB415440;

Gradient

background: linear-gradient(135deg, #CB4154, #ff7380);

Tailwind-style

--color-brick-red: #CB4154;

Tailwind CSS Utilities

Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Brick Red without a custom config.

Background

bg-[#CB4154]

Text

text-[#CB4154]

Border

border-[#CB4154]

Ring

ring-[#CB4154]

Fill

fill-[#CB4154]

From (gradient)

from-[#CB4154]

Via (gradient)

via-[#CB4154]

To (gradient)

to-[#CB4154]

Design Tokens

Ready-to-use Brick Red design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.

CSS Custom Properties

:root {
  --color-brick-red: #CB4154;
  --color-brick-red-rgb: 203, 65, 84;
  --color-brick-red-hsl: 352, 57%, 53%;
}

SCSS Variables

$color-brick-red: #CB4154;
$color-brick-red-rgb: 203, 65, 84;
$color-brick-red-hsl: 352, 57%, 53%;

Tailwind v3 Config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        'brick-red': '#CB4154',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 (@theme)

/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
  --color-brick-red: #CB4154;
}

JSON Design Token (W3C format)

{
  "brick-red": {
    "value": "#CB4154",
    "type": "color",
    "description": "Brick Red — #CB4154"
  }
}

Related Palettes & Combinations

Color Combinations

Brick and White — 4.75:1

Brick + White combination

Brick and Ivory — 4.71:1

Brick + Ivory combination

Brick and Snow — 4.59:1

Brick + Snow combination

Brick and Cream — 4.57:1

Brick + Cream combination

Browse accessible color pairs →Explore all combinations →

More red colors

View all →

Red

#FF0000

Dark Red

#8B0000

Crimson

#DC143C

Scarlet

#FF2400

Maroon

#800000

Ruby

#9B111E

Cardinal

#C41E3A

Carmine

#960018

Vermilion

#E34234

Coral

#FF7F50

Light Coral

#F08080

Tomato

#FF6347

What Does Brick Red Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism

Few colors carry as much cross-cultural psychological weight as the red family. Brick Red channels this heritage—landing in the design spectrum as power, a quality equally present in a "Buy Now" button and a luxury fashion house's logo.

In Western cultures red denotes importance (red carpets), danger (stop signs), love (Valentine's Day), and financial loss ("in the red")—a dual symbolism of celebration and warning that designers leverage depending on context.
Across China, India, and much of Southeast Asia, red is the color of luck, prosperity, and celebration. It dominates weddings, Lunar New Year, and auspicious occasions, carrying exactly the opposite of its Western "danger" connotation.
Brick Red's medium lightness (53%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies energy, passion, urgency, and power at its most direct.
At 57% saturation, Brick Red reads as moderately saturated—neither overwhelming nor passive, landing in the energy, passion, urgency, and power zone with measured confidence.

Brick Red earns its place in a palette by doing something specific. Deploy it with that purpose in mind and it will deliver.

How to Use Brick Red in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices

Print and packaging designers reach for Brick Red when shelf visibility is critical. Red-family hues register first in complex visual environments, making them invaluable for products competing for attention at retail.

UI components: primary action buttons, error and destructive states, delete confirmations—Brick Red performs reliably in all these roles with its medium tonal character.
Brand & identity: call-to-action buttons, promotional banners, food packaging—contexts where Brick Red's moderately saturated quality creates the right register.
Typography: Brick Red works as a background behind white text but requires careful sizing—test at intended heading and body sizes before finalizing.
As a dark tone, Brick Red creates maximum contrast with white and light neutrals—excellent for creating premium dark-mode sections, bold headers, and high-drama brand moments
Proportional use: Brick Red's moderately saturated quality means it scales well across proportions—from full-bleed backgrounds to single-pixel borders—making it an unusually versatile palette component.

Brick Red earns its place in a palette by doing something specific. Deploy it with that purpose in mind and it will deliver.

Brick Red Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design

Brick Red (#CB4154) reaches 4.75:1 contrast with white text—meeting WCAG 2.1 AA minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. It clears standard production accessibility requirements. Relative luminance: 17.1%.

As text on white (#FFFFFF): 4.75:1 — AA ✓
As text on black (#000000): 4.42:1 — AA (large text only)
Best text color on Brick Red background: White (#FFFFFF) at 4.75:1
WCAG 2.1 luminance: 17.1% — low luminance (dark)—it provides strong contrast for white and light overlaid text, functioning well as a background in dark-mode and header contexts
Brick Red qualifies for normal body text and all larger sizes (AA).
Color blindness consideration: protanopia and deuteranopia (red-green color blindness, ~8% of males) may affect how red-family colors are distinguished from greens and browns. For critical UI states, supplement color alone with shape, label, or pattern cues.

Brick Red's WCAG profile makes it a compliant choice for most text applications.

Brick Red in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications

Across industry research, red-family tones consistently outperform competitors in categories built on energy, passion, urgency, and power. Brick Red is a medium expression of this advantage—best positioned in Food & Beverage and adjacent markets.

Food & Beverage: Red stimulates appetite and accelerates purchase decisions. Fast food chains, hot sauce brands, and snack packaging use it deliberately because it increases caloric craving and speeds up decision-making at point of sale. (examples: Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle Coffee) Avoid in fine dining or health-food contexts where a slower, more mindful experience is the goal.
Retail & E-commerce: The "red sale tag" is a globally conditioned retail convention. Red signals scarcity and urgency, making it the universal shorthand for clearance events, limited-time offers, and price callouts. (examples: Shopify merchant sites, ASOS, H&M) Overuse exhausts the urgency signal—reserve it for genuinely time-limited promotions.
Sports & Entertainment: Red communicates competition, athletic energy, and tribal passion. From team jerseys to arena signage, it energizes crowds and aligns with the visceral intensity sports brands want to project. (examples: Spotify, Netflix, Hulu) Works best paired with black or white for maximum contrast and visual impact.
Brand positioning: Brick Red is best suited for brands projecting excitement, urgency, importance. Categories outside this positioning—financial dashboards (loss association)—tend to see weaker results.
Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Brick Red works effectively in error states, notification badges, sports branding—contexts where passion serves a secondary but reinforcing role.

Brick Red earns its strongest ROI in industries where trust and recognition compound over time: Food & Beverage, Retail & E-commerce, Sports & Entertainment. Use it to build the kind of brand recognition that decades reinforce.

Accessibility & Design Guides

WCAG Contrast Ratio Guide

Understand contrast requirements for AA and AAA compliance

WCAG AA vs AAA

When to target AA vs AAA accessibility standards

Color Blindness Guide

Design for color vision deficiency with safe palettes

Accessible Design Systems

Build color systems that work for everyone

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hex code for Brick Red?: The hex code for Brick Red is #CB4154. Its RGB values are rgb(203, 65, 84) and its HSL values are hsl(352, 57%, 53%).
What does Brick Red mean in design?: Red is the most emotionally intense color in the spectrum. It stimulates the nervous system, accelerates respiration, and increases heart rate. Red commands attention through associations with blood, fire, danger, and passion — making it the dominant choice for warnings, calls-to-action, and brand identities that must stand out instantly. In food culture, red stimulates appetite. In romance, it signals desire. In sport, studies show red-clad competitors win more often. However, overuse creates aggression. The most effective red designs use it sparingly as a focal accent. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.
Is Brick Red WCAG accessible?: Brick Red (#CB4154) passes WCAG AA on white with a 4.75:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 39/100.
What colors go well with Brick Red?: Brick Red pairs well with its complementary color Muted Teal (#5F7A76). Analogous colors like Medium Violet Red and Queen Pink also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
What is Brick Red used for?: Brick Red is commonly used for: Emergency alerts and warning systems; Food and beverage brands (appetite stimulation); Sports teams and athletic wear; Calls-to-action and "Buy Now" buttons; Pharmaceutical packaging for urgent medications.
What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Brick Red?: In CSS, use `color: #CB4154` or `background-color: #CB4154`. The CSS custom property is `--color-brick-red: #CB4154`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#CB4154]` for backgrounds or `text-[#CB4154]` for text.