Color #AE250A Color / Colour Code #AE250A
This page shows the hex color code for color #ae250a (#AE250A). The colour is a red tone with 89% saturation and 36% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #AE250A against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#AE250A paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 340, 10, and 40 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 10, 130, and 250 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #AE250A
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 10 and saturation at 89%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 10 to 55 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 10 with its complement at 190 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #AE250A
Lightness variations at hue 10 and 89% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #AE250A
Design Use Cases for #AE250A
High-Impact Accent
With 89% saturation, #AE250A is highly vivid. Reserve this for elements that need maximum attention: primary action buttons, notification badges, error states, or promotional banners. Use sparingly alongside neutral tones to avoid visual fatigue.
Primary Interface Color
At 36% lightness, #AE250A is in the mid-range, making it ideal for interactive elements like buttons, links, and selected states. This lightness level ensures good contrast against both light and dark adjacent elements in most layouts.
Urgency & Energy Signaling
#AE250A falls in the red spectrum (hue 10). Red triggers urgency and excitement, making it effective for sale badges, countdown timers, error messages, and "limited time" labels. In data visualization, use it to flag negative values or critical thresholds.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #AE250A (hue 10) to its complement at hue 190. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 40. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ae250a, #0a92ae);
CSS Code for #AE250A
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #AE250A based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #AE250A across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #AE250A (#AE250A)
#AE250A is a red color (colour) with RGB channel values of 174 red, 37 green, and 10 blue. The red channel is dominant by a ratio of 17.4:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 10 degrees with 89% saturation and 36% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #AE250A is 75/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This appears dark to the human eye, so pair it with light text for adequate readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 79% magenta, 94% yellow, and 32% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #AE250A against white is 6.84:1 and against black is 3.07:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 25% lightness.
The complementary colour #0A92AE creates maximum visual tension when paired with #AE250A. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #AE0A41 and #AE770A, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #AE250A
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #AE250A?
- #AE250A is Color #AE250A, a red color (colour) with RGB(174, 37, 10), HSL(10, 89%, 36%), and CMYK(0%, 79%, 94%, 32%). Its perceived brightness is 75/255.
- Is #AE250A accessible for text?
- Against white, #AE250A has a contrast ratio of 6.84:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.07:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #AE250A?
- The complementary colour is #0A92AE (hue 190). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #AE0A41 and #AE770A. The triadic palette adds #0AAE25 and #250AAE for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #AE250A in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #ae250a; or rgb(174, 37, 10); or hsl(10, 89%, 36%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 10 89% 36%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.