Tints & Shades
50
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Scale from white (50) through Burgundy (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #800020
- RGB
- rgb(128, 0, 32)
- HSL
- hsl(345, 100%, 25%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.38 0.152 19)
- CMYK
- cmyk(0%, 100%, 75%, 50%)
--color-burgundybg-[#800020]Accessibility
Score: 96/100On White (#FFF)
10.83:1
On Black (#000)
1.94:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
9.94:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #800020
color: #800020
bg-[#800020] text-[#FFFFFF]
border-left: 4px solid #800020
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Opal
#A8C3BC
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Burgundy draws its name from the wine region of France and carries the sophistication of the cellar. Rich, warm, and darkened by its brown-red depth, burgundy is the wine industry's own color — used in restaurant design, premium apparel, and feminine beauty lines that want red's passion without its aggression.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Burgundy 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
Burgundy is a dark color. Use white (#FFFFFF) text on top of it for maximum readability (10.83:1). Avoid small black text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #800020;Text
color: #800020;Border
border: 2px solid #800020;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #80002040;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #800020, #b53e47);Tailwind-style
--color-burgundy: #800020;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Burgundy without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#800020]Text
text-[#800020]Border
border-[#800020]Ring
ring-[#800020]Fill
fill-[#800020]From (gradient)
from-[#800020]Via (gradient)
via-[#800020]To (gradient)
to-[#800020]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Burgundy design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-burgundy: #800020;
--color-burgundy-rgb: 128, 0, 32;
--color-burgundy-hsl: 345, 100%, 25%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-burgundy: #800020; $color-burgundy-rgb: 128, 0, 32; $color-burgundy-hsl: 345, 100%, 25%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'burgundy': '#800020',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-burgundy: #800020;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"burgundy": {
"value": "#800020",
"type": "color",
"description": "Burgundy — #800020"
}
}Related Palettes & Combinations
Color Combinations
Accessible Color Pairs
More red colors
View all →What Does Burgundy Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Burgundy (#800020) sits in a wavelength range that triggers a measurable physiological response: elevated heart rate, heightened attention, and faster reaction times. Designers use this biological leverage when they need an immediate sense of power.
- 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.
- Burgundy's deep lightness (25%) shifts its psychological register: Deep crimsons and burgundies shift urgency toward sophistication, authority, and depth—better for premium positioning than quick-reaction signals.
- At 100% saturation, Burgundy reads as vivid—Pure saturated reds are physiologically stimulating, triggering faster heart rate and heightened alertness—among the most attention-commanding tones in human visual perception.
The rule with Burgundy is intent—when it appears, it should carry meaning. Urgency, passion, importance. Never filler.
How to Use Burgundy in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Burgundy rewards restraint in design. Used at full-surface scale it creates urgency that borders on stress; deployed as a targeted accent—a button, a badge, a border—it creates the focused emphasis that drives conversions.
- UI components: primary action buttons, error and destructive states, delete confirmations—Burgundy performs reliably in all these roles with its deep tonal character.
- Brand & identity: call-to-action buttons, promotional banners, food packaging—contexts where Burgundy's vivid quality creates the right register.
- Typography: Burgundy works as a background behind white text but requires careful sizing—test at intended heading and body sizes before finalizing.
- As a dark tone, Burgundy creates maximum contrast with white and light neutrals—excellent for creating premium dark-mode sections, bold headers, and high-drama brand moments
- Proportional use: Burgundy's vivid saturation (100%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
The rule with Burgundy is intent—when it appears, it should carry meaning. Urgency, passion, importance. Never filler.
Burgundy Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Burgundy (#800020) achieves a 10.83:1 contrast ratio with white text, surpassing the WCAG 2.1 AAA threshold of 7:1. This exceptional contrast qualifies it for body text, UI components at any size, and all accessibility-sensitive interface contexts. Relative luminance: 4.7%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 10.83:1 — AAA ✓
- As text on black (#000000): 1.94:1 — Fail
- Best text color on Burgundy background: White (#FFFFFF) at 10.83:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 4.7% — low luminance (dark)—it provides strong contrast for white and light overlaid text, functioning well as a background in dark-mode and header contexts
- Burgundy qualifies for all text sizes including small body copy (AAA).
- 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.
For production use, test Burgundy against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Burgundy in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Burgundy's brand positioning falls squarely in the territory of energy, passion, urgency, and power. Industry data supports its strongest performance in food & beverage, retail, entertainment categories, where the vivid saturation calibrates the message at a deep, considered level.
- 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: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, 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: Disney+, Hulu, Netflix) Works best paired with black or white for maximum contrast and visual impact.
- Brand positioning: Burgundy is best suited for brands projecting energy, passion, importance. Categories outside this positioning—financial dashboards (loss association)—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Burgundy works effectively in call-to-action buttons, promotional banners, food packaging—contexts where excitement serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, Burgundy is a commitment to energy, passion, urgency, and power. Match it with industries that make that promise and it will pay dividends consistently.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Burgundy? ▾
- The hex code for Burgundy is #800020. Its RGB values are rgb(128, 0, 32) and its HSL values are hsl(345, 100%, 25%).
- What does Burgundy mean in design? ▾
- Burgundy draws its name from the wine region of France and carries the sophistication of the cellar. Rich, warm, and darkened by its brown-red depth, burgundy is the wine industry's own color — used in restaurant design, premium apparel, and feminine beauty lines that want red's passion without its aggression.
- Is Burgundy WCAG accessible? ▾
- Burgundy (#800020) passes WCAG AAA on white with a 10.83:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 96/100.
- What colors go well with Burgundy? ▾
- Burgundy pairs well with its complementary color Opal (#A8C3BC). Analogous colors like Shocking Pink and Hot Pink also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Burgundy used for? ▾
- Burgundy 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 Burgundy? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #800020` or `background-color: #800020`. The CSS custom property is `--color-burgundy: #800020`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#800020]` for backgrounds or `text-[#800020]` for text.