#BC342F is a mid-toned, warm 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 #BC342F works with other colors. Named schemes with #BC342F 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 #BC342F 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 #BC342F at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #BC342F;
--color-base-rgb: 188 52 47;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(53.2% 0.174 27.0);
--color-50: #FCF3F2;
--color-100: #F8DFDE;
--color-200: #EFBFBE;
--color-300: #DE9391;
--color-400: #CB6B67;
--color-500: #AF4946;
--color-600: #863E3C;
--color-700: #60312F;
--color-800: #3F2322;
--color-900: #271716;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
cardinal: {
50: '#FCF3F2',
100: '#F8DFDE',
200: '#EFBFBE',
300: '#DE9391',
400: '#CB6B67',
500: '#AF4946',
600: '#863E3C',
700: '#60312F',
800: '#3F2322',
900: '#271716',
},
}
$base: #BC342F; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #FCF3F2; $base-100: #F8DFDE; $base-200: #EFBFBE; $base-300: #DE9391; $base-400: #CB6B67; $base-500: #AF4946; $base-600: #863E3C; $base-700: #60312F; $base-800: #3F2322; $base-900: #271716; $base-hover: #962926; $base-subtle: #E9C4C3;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#BC342F",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#FCF3F2",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#F8DFDE",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#EFBFBE",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#DE9391",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#CB6B67",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#AF4946",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#863E3C",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#60312F",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#3F2322",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#271716",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}