#BF2D39 is a mid-toned, warm red-orange. It carries a legible label as a UI accent and reproduces cleanly in print.
Not just a swatch — here's how #BF2D39 works with other colors. Named schemes with #BF2D39 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
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.
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 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 #BF2D39 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 #BF2D39 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #BF2D39;
--color-base-rgb: 191 45 57;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(53.2% 0.182 21.9);
--color-50: #FDF2F3;
--color-100: #F8DDDF;
--color-200: #EFBDC1;
--color-300: #E09096;
--color-400: #CC666E;
--color-500: #B1444D;
--color-600: #873A41;
--color-700: #602E33;
--color-800: #3F2224;
--color-900: #271618;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
cardinal: {
50: '#FDF2F3',
100: '#F8DDDF',
200: '#EFBDC1',
300: '#E09096',
400: '#CC666E',
500: '#B1444D',
600: '#873A41',
700: '#602E33',
800: '#3F2224',
900: '#271618',
},
}
$base: #BF2D39; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #FDF2F3; $base-100: #F8DDDF; $base-200: #EFBDC1; $base-300: #E09096; $base-400: #CC666E; $base-500: #B1444D; $base-600: #873A41; $base-700: #602E33; $base-800: #3F2224; $base-900: #271618; $base-hover: #98242D; $base-subtle: #E9C2C5;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#BF2D39",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#FDF2F3",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#F8DDDF",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#EFBDC1",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#E09096",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#CC666E",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#B1444D",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#873A41",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#602E33",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#3F2224",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#271618",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}