Tabloid
Open in tool →Red, black and yellow on white is the loudest three-color system in print — use it when headlines are the product.
Color
#e51538
#e51538
hex
#e51538rgb
rgb(229, 21, 56)hsl
hsl(350, 83%, 49%)oklch
oklch(0.588 0.229 21.9)Closest name: Barberry (#ee1133)Relative luminance 0.1748
Colors that go with #e51538
Charcoal, Royal Blue and Sea Green lead the list. Each partner is a real named colour with the reason it works — a wheel relationship, a neutral that carries it, or a pairing lifted from a palette or brand system that actually shipped — and every pair opens in the palette tool.
Charcoal #36454f
neutralshippedCharcoal is the body-text near-black for #e51538: its slight blue cast keeps type crisp beside a warm colour where pure #000 looks heavy.
Royal Blue #4169e1
triadicshippedRoyal Blue completes a triad with #e51538 — three hues spaced evenly round the wheel, the classic way to get energy into a palette without a clash.
Sea Green #2e8b57
split-complementshippedSea Green is a split-complement of #e51538: nearly opposite, so it still pops against it, without the vibrating edge of a true complement.
Steel Blue #4682b4
split-complementshippedSteel Blue is a split-complement of #e51538: nearly opposite, so it still pops against it, without the vibrating edge of a true complement.
Amber #ffbf00
shippedAmber is paired with #e51538 in 7 real palettes, including Wired's brand system and McDonald's's brand system, as the accent.
Blue #0000ff
shipped8 real palettes, including native Cybersecurity's brand system and Doordash's brand system put Blue beside #e51538, as the accent.
Cobalt Blue #0047ab
shippedDesigners have shipped Cobalt Blue with #e51538: 5 real palettes, including Walgreens's brand system and Behance's brand system, as the accent.
Denim #1560bd
shippedDesigners have shipped Denim with #e51538: 18 real palettes, including Costco's brand system and Target : Expect More. Pay Less.'s brand system, as the supporting colour.
Real palettes that use #e51538
Tints & shades
Harmonies
Contrast
| #e51538 as text | Ratio | AA | AA large | AAA | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaon white | 4.67:1 | pass | pass | fail |
|
Aaon black | 4.5:1 | fail | pass | fail |
Fixes keep hue and saturation and move lightness only, so the suggestion stays on-brand. Ratios are symmetric: the same numbers apply with #e51538 as the background.
Brands using this color
- Costcoprimary · #e31837 · Δ0.408
- Walgreensprimary · #e31836 · Δ0.456
- Tiffany & Co.secondary · #e50739 · Δ0.624
- AliExpresssecondary · #ea0934 · Δ0.983
- Formula 1accent · #e8002d · Δ1.098
- KFCprimary · #e4002b · Δ1.273
- KFCsecondary · #e4002b · Δ1.273
- NASCARsecondary · #e4002b · Δ1.273
- Pringlessecondary · #ea002a · Δ1.455
- Pepsisecondary · #e32934 · Δ1.638
- Wendy'sprimary · #dd1438 · Δ1.658
- Pinterestprimary · #e40424 · Δ1.713
- Pinterestaccent · #e60023 · Δ1.726
Palettes built around it
Gemstone
Open in tool →Emerald, amethyst and ruby on velvet-black — the jewel-tone trio; the surface must be dark or the stones go plastic.
Fonts for this mood
#e51538 reads as warm, vivid, playful. The font library is tagged with the same vocabulary:
mcpConnect your agent — build around #e51538
live endpointPoint any MCP client at the shared colors endpoint and your agent gets the same engine as this page — direct_palette, edit_direction, check_palette, check_contrast — read-only, no key. Every direction it proposes comes with a /colors/d/… link: open it, lock what you like, paste the link back, and the agent edits rather than re-rolls.
endpoint
https://mcp.brandsweets.com/colors/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http brandsweets-colors https://mcp.brandsweets.com/colors/mcp
try this prompt
›analyze #e51538 and generate a 5-color palette that keeps it as the primary; give me the /palettes/new link
tool url
/palettes/new/e51538-c49c9e-62cb87-2d231f-f1e9ee?lock=0&style=vibrantWant the agent to remember your picks and write them into a living brand? Create a free BrandSweets workspace.
Machine-readable: color.md