Is #EA4E41 accessible for body text on white?

#EA4E41 has a contrast ratio of 3.71:1 against white, which is not sufficient for WCAG AA body text (4.5:1).

What is the complementary color of #EA4E41?

The complement of #EA4E41 is #41DDEA.

#EA4E41 Vermilion

rgb(234, 78, 65)

Color conversions

HEX: #EA4E41
RGB: rgb(234, 78, 65)
RGBA: rgba(234, 78, 65, 1)
HSL: hsl(5, 80%, 59%)
HSV / HSB: hsv(5, 72%, 92%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 67%, 72%, 8%)

Wide-gamut spaces

XYZ: xyz(37.614, 23.328, 7.522)
LAB: lab(55.41 59.29 41.05)
LCH: lch(55.41 72.12 34.7)
OKLAB: oklab(63.83% 0.1708 0.0928)
OKLCH: oklch(63.83% 0.1944 28.51)
Nearest name: Vermilion

Shades, tints and tones

Shades

Tints

Tones

Color harmonies

Complementary

The hue directly opposite on the color wheel. Maximum contrast, ideal for a single accent against a dominant brand color.

Analogous

Neighbouring hues that share a temperature. The safest harmony for calm, cohesive interfaces.

Triadic

Three hues evenly spaced 120 degrees apart. Vibrant and balanced — use one as dominant and the other two sparingly.

Split Complementary

The complement split into two adjacent hues. Nearly the contrast of complementary with noticeably less tension.

Square (Tetradic)

Four hues at 90-degree intervals. A rich set for illustration, data visualisation, and category coding.

Rectangle (Tetradic)

Two complementary pairs offset by 60 degrees. Gives two warm and two cool options in one system.

Monochromatic

A single hue across five lightness levels. The foundation of most UI scales and the most accessible starting point.

Similar colors

Closest matches

Opacity variations

#ea4e411a

#ea4e4133

#ea4e414d

#ea4e4166

#ea4e4180

#ea4e4199

#ea4e41b3

#ea4e41cc

#ea4e41e6

#ea4e41ff

On white

3.71:1

Body text AA Large · Large text AA

On black

5.66:1

Body text AA · Large text AA

White-on-color contrast is 3.71:1.

Color blindness preview

Protanopia

No red cones — ~1% of men

Protanomaly

Reduced red sensitivity — ~1% of men

Deuteranopia

No green cones — ~1% of men

Deuteranomaly

Reduced green sensitivity — ~5% of men

Tritanopia

No blue cones — very rare

Tritanomaly

Reduced blue sensitivity — very rare

Achromatopsia

No color perception — ~1 in 30,000

Achromatomaly

Partial color perception — rare

Meaning, psychology and brand usage

Urgency, appetite, and appetite-driven action

Red raises perceived urgency and measurably increases heart rate. In interfaces it pulls attention faster than any other hue, which is why it dominates sale badges, error states, and single primary actions. Used across large surfaces it reads as aggressive and raises anxiety, so reserve it for moments that genuinely deserve interruption.

Across most Western markets red signals passion, danger, and importance. In China and much of East Asia it carries luck and prosperity instead, making it a celebratory rather than cautionary choice.

Red ochre is the oldest pigment in human art, present in cave paintings over 40,000 years old. Vermilion and later cadmium red made saturated reds affordable to industry, which is why the hue is so tightly bound to twentieth-century advertising.

Works as a primary for food, entertainment, sport, and clearance-driven retail. Keep it to under 10% of surface area in dashboards and productivity tools, where it competes with destructive-action semantics.

Common industries: Food & beverage, Entertainment, Sport, Retail, Automotive. Pairs well with deep navy for authority, warm cream for approachability, charcoal for premium restraint.

Code exports

CSS

:root {
  --color-vermilion: #ea4e41;
  --color-vermilion-rgb: 234 78 65;
  --color-vermilion-hsl: 5 80% 59%;
  --color-vermilion-oklch: 63.83% 0.1944 28.51;
}

.element {
  color: #ea4e41;
  background-color: hsl(5, 80%, 59%);
  border: 1px solid rgb(234 78 65 / 40%);
}

SCSS

$vermilion: #ea4e41;
$vermilion-light: #f5a7a0;
$vermilion-dark: #752721;

.element {
  color: $vermilion;
  background: rgba($vermilion, 0.12);

  &:hover {
    color: darken($vermilion, 8%);
  }
}

LESS

@vermilion: #ea4e41;
@vermilion-light: lighten(@vermilion, 12%);
@vermilion-dark: darken(@vermilion, 12%);

.element {
  color: @vermilion;
  background: fade(@vermilion, 12%);
}

Tailwind CSS

/* Tailwind v4 — src/styles.css */
@theme {
  --color-vermilion-50: #fbdcd9;
  --color-vermilion-100: #f9cac6;
  --color-vermilion-200: #f7b8b3;
  --color-vermilion-300: #f2958d;
  --color-vermilion-400: #ee7167;
  --color-vermilion-500: #ea4e41;
  --color-vermilion-600: #d3463b;
  --color-vermilion-700: #a4372e;
  --color-vermilion-800: #752721;
  --color-vermilion-900: #461714;
}

/* Usage */
<div class="bg-vermilion-500 text-vermilion-50 ring-vermilion-600" />

/* Arbitrary value, no config needed */
<div class="bg-[#ea4e41]" />

Bootstrap

// Bootstrap 5 — _variables.scss (before importing bootstrap)
$vermilion: #ea4e41;
$primary: $vermilion;

$theme-colors: map-merge($theme-colors, (
  "vermilion": $vermilion
));

// Generates .text-vermilion, .bg-vermilion, .btn-vermilion
@import "bootstrap/scss/bootstrap";

Flutter

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

const Color vermilion = Color(0xFFEA4E41);

// As a MaterialColor swatch
const MaterialColor vermilionSwatch = MaterialColor(0xFFEA4E41, <int, Color>{
  50: Color(0xFFFBDCD9),
  100: Color(0xFFF9CAC6),
  200: Color(0xFFF7B8B3),
  300: Color(0xFFF2958D),
  400: Color(0xFFEE7167),
  500: Color(0xFFEA4E41),
  600: Color(0xFFD3463B),
  700: Color(0xFFA4372E),
  800: Color(0xFF752721),
  900: Color(0xFF461714),
});

Swift / SwiftUI

import SwiftUI

extension Color {
    /// #ea4e41 — Vermilion
    static let vermilion = Color(
        red: 0.9176,
        green: 0.3059,
        blue: 0.2549
    )
}

// UIKit
extension UIColor {
    static let vermilion = UIColor(
        red: 0.9176,
        green: 0.3059,
        blue: 0.2549,
        alpha: 1.0
    )
}

Android

<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<resources>
    <color name="vermilion">#EA4E41</color>
    <color name="vermilion_translucent">#80EA4E41</color>
</resources>

<!-- Jetpack Compose -->
val Vermilion = Color(0xFFEA4E41)

JavaScript

export const VERMILION = {
  hex: "#ea4e41",
  rgb: [234, 78, 65],
  hsl: [5, 80, 59],
  oklch: "oklch(63.83% 0.1944 28.51)",
};

JSON tokens

{
  "$schema": "https://design-tokens.org/schema.json",
  "vermilion": {
    "$type": "color",
    "$value": "#ea4e41",
    "$description": "Vermilion — generated by ColorVerse AI"
  }
}