#281C1B Color

#281C1B is rgb(40, 28, 27) in RGB, hsl(5, 19%, 13%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 30%, 33%, 84%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Licorice (#1A1110), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 6.16. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#281C1B

HEX#281C1B

RGBrgb(40, 28, 27)

HSLhsl(5, 19%, 13%)

HSVhsv(5, 33%, 16%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 30%, 33%, 84%)

OKLCHoklch(24.1% 0.019 24)

LABlab(11.76% 5.95 3.11)

LCHlch(11.76% 6.72 27.56)

What #281C1B Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #281C1B, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Licorice#1A1110ΔE 6.16 Raisin Black#242124ΔE 6.22 Eerie Black#1B1B1BΔE 7.01 Off Black#1A1A1AΔE 7.17 Soft Black#131313ΔE 8.93 Espresso#3B2F2FΔE 9.05

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every red in the library.

#281C1B Channel Values

How #281C1B breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 40 · G 28 · B 27	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 5° · S 19% · L 13%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 5° · S 33% · V 16%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 30% · Y 33% · K 84%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	16.51:1 vs white · 1.27:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #281C1B background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text16.51:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text1.27:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #281C1B in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #281C1B

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #281C1B; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #281C1B

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #281C1B.

How #281C1B Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#281C1B

Protanopia#1E1E1B

Protanomaly#231D1B

Deuteranopia#20201B

Deuteranomaly#241F1B

Tritanopia#281C1C

Tritanomaly#281C1C

Achromatopsia#1F1F1F

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #281C1B in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-281c1b: #281C1B;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #281C1B;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-281c1b': '#281C1B' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.157, green: 0.110, blue: 0.106)

Android XML<color name="color_281c1b">#281C1B</color>

SVG fillfill="#281C1B"

More Red Colors

#281C1B sits in the red family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

1f0000 fffafa 1f0005 fff5f5 1f0008 fff1f2 240000 fff1f0 240909 fff0f2 270707 ffedeb 4e0707 710f04 940000 a81c07 c0362c cdacac e30022 ee204d fa8072 ff1818 ff6467 ffb7c5

#281C1B Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #281C1B?

#281C1B is a darkest red — rgb(40, 28, 27) in RGB and hsl(5, 19%, 13%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Licorice (#1A1110), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 6.16.

What is the RGB value of #281C1B?

#281C1B is rgb(40, 28, 27) — red 40, green 28, and blue 27 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #281C1B?

#281C1B converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 30%, 33%, 84%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #281C1B be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #281C1B scores 16.51:1 against white and 1.27:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #281C1B as a CSS color keyword?

No. #281C1B is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is black (#000000) at a CIE76 distance of 13.55, which is visibly different.

Open #281C1B in a Tool

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Keep exploring: every red in the color library, the guide to shades of red, or the full color library.