Tints & Shades
50
100
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800
900
Scale from white (50) through Persimmon (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #EC5800
- RGB
- rgb(236, 88, 0)
- HSL
- hsl(22, 100%, 46%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.649 0.197 42)
- CMYK
- cmyk(0%, 63%, 100%, 7%)
--color-persimmonbg-[#EC5800]Accessibility
Score: 39/100On White (#FFF)
3.52:1
On Black (#000)
5.96:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
3.23:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #EC5800
color: #EC5800
bg-[#EC5800] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #EC5800
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Sapphire Blue
#0067A5
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. 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 Persimmon 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
Persimmon is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (5.96:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #EC5800;Text
color: #EC5800;Border
border: 2px solid #EC5800;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #EC580040;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #EC5800, #ff893b);Tailwind-style
--color-persimmon: #EC5800;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Persimmon without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#EC5800]Text
text-[#EC5800]Border
border-[#EC5800]Ring
ring-[#EC5800]Fill
fill-[#EC5800]From (gradient)
from-[#EC5800]Via (gradient)
via-[#EC5800]To (gradient)
to-[#EC5800]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Persimmon design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-persimmon: #EC5800;
--color-persimmon-rgb: 236, 88, 0;
--color-persimmon-hsl: 22, 100%, 46%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-persimmon: #EC5800; $color-persimmon-rgb: 236, 88, 0; $color-persimmon-hsl: 22, 100%, 46%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'persimmon': '#EC5800',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-persimmon: #EC5800;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"persimmon": {
"value": "#EC5800",
"type": "color",
"description": "Persimmon — #EC5800"
}
}More orange colors
View all →What Does Persimmon Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
The color Persimmon 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.
- In Western design, orange occupies a unique middle ground between red's urgency and yellow's optimism—friendlier than the former, more energetic than the latter. It signals approachability, affordability, and enthusiasm without the aggression of pure red.
- In Buddhist traditions, saffron and orange are sacred colors worn by monks and associated with renunciation, warmth, and spiritual enlightenment. In Hinduism, orange (saffron) represents purity, fire, and courage.
- Persimmon's medium lightness (46%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility at its most direct.
- At 100% saturation, Persimmon 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.
In a well-balanced palette, Persimmon is the detail that makes everything feel alive—small in proportion, large in effect.
How to Use Persimmon in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
In UI design, Persimmon works particularly well for notification states, pricing callouts, and secondary CTAs—it has enough visual energy to demand attention without the alarm associations of red.
- UI components: secondary action buttons, highlight states, notification badges—Persimmon performs reliably in all these roles with its medium tonal character.
- Brand & identity: secondary CTAs, highlight accents, notification dots—contexts where Persimmon's vivid quality creates the right register.
- Typography: Persimmon as text requires a dark background; its 46% lightness means it provides 3.5:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
- Persimmon creates strong legibility with black text overlays (6.0:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Proportional use: Persimmon's vivid saturation (100%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
In a well-balanced palette, Persimmon is the detail that makes everything feel alive—small in proportion, large in effect.
Persimmon Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Persimmon (#EC5800) reaches 5.96:1 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: 24.8%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 3.52:1 — AA (large text only)
- As text on black (#000000): 5.96:1 — AA ✓
- Best text color on Persimmon background: Black (#000000) at 5.96:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 24.8% — 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
- Persimmon 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.
Persimmon's WCAG profile makes it a compliant choice for most text applications.
Persimmon in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Persimmon (#EC5800) is most at home in industries where enthusiasm, warmth, creativity, and accessibility are key brand values. Its medium quality makes it particularly effective in Food & Beverage contexts, where the vivid saturation signals energy at exactly the right register.
- 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: Orange Theory, Peloton, 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: Notion, Slack, Salesforce) Works better for B2C tools and consumer products than for enterprise SaaS where trust and professionalism dominate.
- Brand positioning: Persimmon 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, Persimmon works effectively in pricing callouts, casual branding, promotional elements—contexts where energy serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
The industries where Persimmon performs best are those where the audience expects energy. Build brand strategy around this alignment, not against it.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Persimmon? ▾
- The hex code for Persimmon is #EC5800. Its RGB values are rgb(236, 88, 0) and its HSL values are hsl(22, 100%, 46%).
- What does Persimmon 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. 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 Persimmon WCAG accessible? ▾
- Persimmon (#EC5800) passes WCAG AA-large on white with a 3.52:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 39/100.
- What colors go well with Persimmon? ▾
- Persimmon pairs well with its complementary color Sapphire Blue (#0067A5). Analogous colors like Wine and Jasper also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Persimmon used for? ▾
- Persimmon 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 Persimmon? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #EC5800` or `background-color: #EC5800`. The CSS custom property is `--color-persimmon: #EC5800`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#EC5800]` for backgrounds or `text-[#EC5800]` for text.