#BB3A40 is a mid-toned, warm red-orange. On the Color Lab it reads organic and grounded. It carries a legible label as a UI accent and reproduces cleanly in print.
Not just a swatch — here's how #BB3A40 works with other colors. Named schemes with #BB3A40 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
This palette keeps Cardinal as the dominant warm neutral, balanced by muted terracotta and olive earth tones and grounded by a deep espresso anchor.
Cardinal anchors this café scheme as the warm mid-tone, lifted by latte cream and a muted sage accent and grounded by espresso brown and a warm charcoal.
Cardinal plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.
Cardinal sits between cream and a deep berry here, softened by a blush accent and grounded by charcoal.
Cardinal is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Cardinal carrying the quiet middle.
How #BB3A40 actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.
Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #BB3A40 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #BB3A40;
--color-base-rgb: 187 58 64;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(53.9% 0.165 22.1);
--color-50: #FCF3F3;
--color-100: #F6DFE0;
--color-200: #ECC1C3;
--color-300: #DA9599;
--color-400: #C56D72;
--color-500: #A94C50;
--color-600: #824043;
--color-700: #5D3234;
--color-800: #3D2425;
--color-900: #261718;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
cardinal: {
50: '#FCF3F3',
100: '#F6DFE0',
200: '#ECC1C3',
300: '#DA9599',
400: '#C56D72',
500: '#A94C50',
600: '#824043',
700: '#5D3234',
800: '#3D2425',
900: '#261718',
},
}
$base: #BB3A40; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #FCF3F3; $base-100: #F6DFE0; $base-200: #ECC1C3; $base-300: #DA9599; $base-400: #C56D72; $base-500: #A94C50; $base-600: #824043; $base-700: #5D3234; $base-800: #3D2425; $base-900: #261718; $base-hover: #962E33; $base-subtle: #E7C7C9;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#BB3A40",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#FCF3F3",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#F6DFE0",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#ECC1C3",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#DA9599",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#C56D72",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#A94C50",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#824043",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#5D3234",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#3D2425",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#261718",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}