Retro Pop
Open in tool →Fifties-diner red and steel blue with a peach — nostalgic pop that still passes contrast.
Color
#ef2e42
#ef2e42
hex
#ef2e42rgb
rgb(239, 46, 66)hsl
hsl(354, 86%, 56%)oklch
oklch(0.619 0.225 22.3)Closest name: Barberry (#ee1133)Relative luminance 0.207
Colors that go with #ef2e42
Charcoal, Dodger Blue and Steel Blue 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 #ef2e42: its slight blue cast keeps type crisp beside a warm colour where pure #000 looks heavy.
Dodger Blue #1e90ff
triadicshippedDodger Blue completes a triad with #ef2e42 — three hues spaced evenly round the wheel, the classic way to get energy into a palette without a clash.
Steel Blue #4682b4
split-complementshippedSteel Blue is a split-complement of #ef2e42: nearly opposite, so it still pops against it, without the vibrating edge of a true complement.
Amber #ffbf00
shippedAmber is paired with #ef2e42 in 5 real palettes, including Wired's brand system and Heatwave, as the accent — a combination designers have actually shipped, not a computed rotation.
Blue #0000ff
shippedBlue is paired with #ef2e42 in 8 real palettes, including native Cybersecurity's brand system and Gap's brand system, as the accent — a combination designers have actually shipped, not a computed rotation.
Denim #1560bd
shippedDenim is paired with #ef2e42 in 15 real palettes, including ElevenLabs's brand system and Netflix's brand system, as the accent — a combination designers have actually shipped, not a computed rotation.
Gold #ffd700
shippedGold is paired with #ef2e42 in 8 real palettes, including Tequila Sunrise and Phantom: The money app that'll take you placesLogo PhantomLogo PhantomLogo Phantom's brand system, as the accent — a combination designers have actually shipped, not a computed rotation.
Midnight Blue #191970
shippedMidnight Blue is paired with #ef2e42 in 4 real palettes, including Marvel's brand system and Nintendo's brand system, as the supporting colour — a combination designers have actually shipped, not a computed rotation.
Real palettes that use #ef2e42
Tints & shades
Harmonies
Contrast
| #ef2e42 as text | Ratio | AA | AA large | AAA | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaon white | 4.09:1 | fail | pass | fail | |
Aaon black | 5.14:1 | pass | 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 #ef2e42 as the background.
Brands using this color
Palettes built around it
Diner
Open in tool →Cherry red, mint-teal and butter yellow — chrome-and-vinyl retro; the red does the work, the teal cools it.
Frost & Ember
Open in tool →Navy and frost with one ember red — the classic cold-with-a-warm-accent structure, borrowed from a thousand ski posters.
Tequila Sunrise
Open in tool →Red through orange to yellow — the poured-drink gradient as flat tokens; use it left-to-right, never all at once.
Fonts for this mood
#ef2e42 reads as warm, vivid, playful. The font library is tagged with the same vocabulary:
mcpConnect your agent — build around #ef2e42
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 #ef2e42 and generate a 5-color palette that keeps it as the primary; give me the /palettes/new link
tool url
/palettes/new/ef2e42-c49d9c-62cb8e-2d241f-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