Tints & Shades
50
100
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800
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Scale from white (50) through Burnt Orange (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #CC5500
- RGB
- rgb(204, 85, 0)
- HSL
- hsl(25, 100%, 40%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.595 0.169 45)
- CMYK
- cmyk(0%, 58%, 100%, 20%)
--color-burnt-orangebg-[#CC5500]Accessibility
Score: 39/100On White (#FFF)
4.31:1
On Black (#000)
4.87:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
3.96:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #CC5500
color: #CC5500
bg-[#CC5500] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #CC5500
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Maya Blue
#73C2FB
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Orange sits at the intersection of red's intensity and yellow's optimism. It is the warmest color in the spectrum and carries associations with harvest, health, and human warmth. Unlike red, orange is rarely perceived as aggressive — it feels friendly, approachable, and energetic. In marketing, orange signals affordability and value; premium brands tend to avoid it for this reason. Deeper burnt oranges feel earthy and artisanal; bright oranges feel playful and modern. Orange has the highest visibility against a blue sky or ocean, making it the safety color for life vests and warning signs. Its deeper, richer tone gives it gravitas and sophistication, making it well-suited for primary brand colors, typography, and contexts where authority matters.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Burnt Orange is applied in professional design.
- Technology and startup branding
- Food delivery and restaurant chains
- Outdoor recreation and adventure brands
- Construction and industrial safety equipment
- Health and wellness products emphasizing energy
- Home improvement and DIY retail
- Youth and education brands
- Budget and value-oriented retail
Accessibility Considerations
Normal Text
Fails 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
Burnt Orange is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (4.87:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #CC5500;Text
color: #CC5500;Border
border: 2px solid #CC5500;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #CC550040;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #CC5500, #ff8438);Tailwind-style
--color-burnt-orange: #CC5500;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Burnt Orange without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#CC5500]Text
text-[#CC5500]Border
border-[#CC5500]Ring
ring-[#CC5500]Fill
fill-[#CC5500]From (gradient)
from-[#CC5500]Via (gradient)
via-[#CC5500]To (gradient)
to-[#CC5500]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Burnt Orange design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-burnt-orange: #CC5500;
--color-burnt-orange-rgb: 204, 85, 0;
--color-burnt-orange-hsl: 25, 100%, 40%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-burnt-orange: #CC5500; $color-burnt-orange-rgb: 204, 85, 0; $color-burnt-orange-hsl: 25, 100%, 40%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'burnt-orange': '#CC5500',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-burnt-orange: #CC5500;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"burnt-orange": {
"value": "#CC5500",
"type": "color",
"description": "Burnt Orange — #CC5500"
}
}Related Palettes & Combinations
Color Combinations
More orange colors
View all →What Does Burnt Orange Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
The color Burnt Orange communicates warmth through the universal language of warmth. Orange tones sit at the intersection of solar energy (yellow) and vital intensity (red), and this particular shade carries that synthesis into a quality of warmth that designers can deploy as an invitation to act.
- Across color psychology research, orange consistently tests high for "friendly" associations, making Burnt Orange a reliable vehicle for warmth in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on orange-family tones to project energetic and creative—values that Burnt Orange communicates in a medium key.
- At 100% saturation, Burnt Orange reads as vivid—Pure saturated oranges are impossible to ignore—they pulse with kinetic energy and work exceptionally well for sports brands, gaming, and anything that needs to project confidence and action.
- Burnt Orange's medium lightness (40%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility at its most direct.
Use Burnt Orange where you want energy without intimidation. It's the color that says "come in" rather than "stop here."
How to Use Burnt Orange in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Brands seeking approachability often reach for orange when they've ruled out red (too intense) and yellow (too cautious). Burnt Orange's medium warmth occupies exactly that positioning sweet spot.
- Avoid: luxury or premium positioning (reads as affordable, not exclusive), healthcare clinical contexts (may seem too casual), and B2B enterprise tools where seriousness is required.
- Color harmonies: Burnt Orange's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Burnt Orange's vivid saturation (100%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
- Burnt Orange creates strong legibility with black text overlays (4.9:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Burnt Orange as text requires a dark background; its 40% lightness means it provides 4.3:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
Use Burnt Orange where you want energy without intimidation. It's the color that says "come in" rather than "stop here."
Burnt Orange Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Burnt Orange (#CC5500) reaches 4.87:1 contrast with black 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: 19.3%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 4.31:1 — AA (large text only)
- As text on black (#000000): 4.87:1 — AA ✓
- Best text color on Burnt Orange background: Black (#000000) at 4.87:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 19.3% — mid-range luminance—it sits in the transition zone where both dark and light text approaches require testing against the 4.5:1 WCAG threshold
- Burnt Orange 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 orange-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 Burnt Orange against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Burnt Orange in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Burnt Orange's brand positioning falls squarely in the territory of enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility. Industry data supports its strongest performance in food delivery, sports & fitness, tech startups categories, where the vivid saturation calibrates the message at a medium, considered level.
- Food & Beverage: Orange stimulates appetite almost as effectively as red while feeling friendlier and more playful. Food delivery apps, snack brands, and casual dining chains use it to communicate deliciousness and accessibility. (examples: Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle Coffee) Pairs well with white for clean, appetizing digital food interfaces.
- Sports & Fitness: Orange communicates high energy, competitive drive, and athletic enthusiasm. It's a popular secondary color in sports branding precisely because it energizes without the urgency or danger association of red. (examples: Nike, Gatorade, Under Armour) Orange-and-black is a classic high-visibility sports palette used from road construction to professional teams.
- Technology & Startups: Challenger tech brands use orange to signal they're energetic, user-friendly, and disrupting stuffy industries. It positions a product as approachable and human without sacrificing ambition. (examples: Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce) Works better for B2C tools and consumer products than for enterprise SaaS where trust and professionalism dominate.
- Brand positioning: Burnt Orange is best suited for brands projecting energetic, creative, accessible. Categories outside this positioning—luxury or premium positioning (reads as affordable—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Burnt Orange works effectively in pricing callouts, casual branding, promotional elements—contexts where energy serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, Burnt Orange is a commitment to enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility. 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 Burnt Orange? ▾
- The hex code for Burnt Orange is #CC5500. Its RGB values are rgb(204, 85, 0) and its HSL values are hsl(25, 100%, 40%).
- What does Burnt Orange mean in design? ▾
- Orange sits at the intersection of red's intensity and yellow's optimism. It is the warmest color in the spectrum and carries associations with harvest, health, and human warmth. Unlike red, orange is rarely perceived as aggressive — it feels friendly, approachable, and energetic. In marketing, orange signals affordability and value; premium brands tend to avoid it for this reason. Deeper burnt oranges feel earthy and artisanal; bright oranges feel playful and modern. Orange has the highest visibility against a blue sky or ocean, making it the safety color for life vests and warning signs. Its deeper, richer tone gives it gravitas and sophistication, making it well-suited for primary brand colors, typography, and contexts where authority matters.
- Is Burnt Orange WCAG accessible? ▾
- Burnt Orange (#CC5500) passes WCAG AA-large on white with a 4.31:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 39/100.
- What colors go well with Burnt Orange? ▾
- Burnt Orange pairs well with its complementary color Maya Blue (#73C2FB). Analogous colors like Lava Red and Chestnut also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Burnt Orange used for? ▾
- Burnt Orange is commonly used for: Technology and startup branding; Food delivery and restaurant chains; Outdoor recreation and adventure brands; Construction and industrial safety equipment; Health and wellness products emphasizing energy.
- What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Burnt Orange? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #CC5500` or `background-color: #CC5500`. The CSS custom property is `--color-burnt-orange: #CC5500`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#CC5500]` for backgrounds or `text-[#CC5500]` for text.