#FF0000Red reads as a vivid, fully saturated red with a warm temperament. Colors in this range are commonly associated with energy, urgency and appetite, which makes red a natural fit for call-to-action buttons, sale badges and anywhere you need immediate attention.
Red is bright enough that it pairs better with dark text than white: black type on red hits 5.25:1 — past the WCAG AA threshold — while white manages only 4.00:1. It shines as a section background, card fill or subtle highlight where a full-strength accent would shout.
For pairings, the complement of red sits at 180° — #00FFFF, close to aqua — and delivers the strongest possible hue contrast; use it sparingly, in roughly a 90/10 split, so the two don't fight. For calmer schemes, the analogous colors 30° to either side keep the same warm temperature, while the triadic pair gives you a balanced three-color palette. All of these are computed for red in the palettes below, with copy-ready codes.
Every palette below is computed from red's position on the color wheel (hue 0°). Hover any swatch to see its code; click to copy.
Tints mix red toward white; shades mix it toward black. Use the scale for hover states, borders and depth without leaving the hue.
WCAG 2.1 requires 4.5:1 for normal text (AA) and 3:1 for large text. Here's how red performs, plus how it appears under the three main types of dichromatic color blindness (simulated approximation).
| Pairing | Ratio | Normal text | Large text |
|---|---|---|---|
| White text on Red | 4.00:1 | Fail | AA |
| Black text on Red | 5.25:1 | AA | AAA |
#918E00#9FB200#F20000Copy-ready snippets. In CSS you can also use the keyword red directly.
:root {
--red: #FF0000;
--red-rgb: 255, 0, 0;
--red-tint: #FF7373;
--red-shade: #8C0000;
}
.btn-red {
background: var(--red);
color: #000000;
}// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
'red': {
DEFAULT: '#FF0000',
light: '#FF7373',
dark: '#8C0000',
},
}The closest CSS named colors by perceptual (Lab) distance.