RAL and NCS values are nearest equivalents, not official designations.
Scarlet carries connotations of urgency, warning, and passion. In literature, it has become synonymous with scandal and transgression, most notably through Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'. Yet it also represents bravery and valor in heraldry.
Scarlet was originally a fine woolen cloth in medieval Europe, not a color. The cloth came in many colors, but red was the most expensive and prestigious, eventually lending its name to the hue itself.
Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Scarlet. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).
All 33 Reds →Nine steps of Scarlet by lightness — from #851300 (darkest) to #FF8D7A (lightest). Click any to copy.
Sitting opposite Scarlet at 188° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.
Curated 5-color combinations featuring Scarlet.
Brands and institutions known for using Scarlet.
A 50–900 tonal scale with Scarlet anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.
Works well as text on dark backgrounds; fails on light.
Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.
Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.
color: #FF2400; color-mix(in srgb, #FF2400 70%, white) 8°, 100%, 100% 0, 86, 100, 0 16720896 #FF3300 How Scarlet appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.