Pale Red Color / Colour Code #FA9E9E
This page shows the hex color code for pale red (#FA9E9E). The colour is a red tone with 90% saturation and 80% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #FA9E9E against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#FA9E9E paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 330, 0, and 30 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 0, 120, and 240 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #FA9E9E
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 0 and saturation at 90%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 0 to 45 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 0 with its complement at 180 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 #FA9E9E
Lightness variations at hue 0 and 90% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #FA9E9E
Design Use Cases for #FA9E9E
High-Impact Accent
With 90% saturation, #FA9E9E 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.
Light Background Tint
#FA9E9E at 80% lightness creates a gentle tinted background. Use it for section backgrounds, alert banners, or card surfaces that need to stand out from a white page without strong contrast. It adds color personality while keeping the design light and open.
Urgency & Energy Signaling
#FA9E9E falls in the red spectrum (hue 0). 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 #FA9E9E (hue 0) to its complement at hue 180. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 30. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fa9e9e, #9efafa);
CSS Code for #FA9E9E
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #FA9E9E based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #FA9E9E across image editing and color design tools.
About Pale Red (#FA9E9E)
#FA9E9E is a red color (colour) with RGB channel values of 250 red, 158 green, and 158 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 0 degrees with 90% saturation and 80% lightness, placing it in the warm range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #FA9E9E is 186/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This is a medium-brightness color that can work with either dark or light text depending on font weight and size. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 37% magenta, 37% yellow, and 2% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #FA9E9E against white is 2.01:1 and against black is 10.45:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 10.45:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #9EFAFA creates maximum visual tension when paired with #FA9E9E. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #FA9ECC and #FACC9E, 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 #FA9E9E
- 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 #FA9E9E?
- #FA9E9E is Pale Red, a red color (colour) with RGB(250, 158, 158), HSL(0, 90%, 80%), and CMYK(0%, 37%, 37%, 2%). Its perceived brightness is 186/255.
- Is #FA9E9E accessible for text?
- Against white, #FA9E9E has a contrast ratio of 2.01:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 10.45:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #FA9E9E?
- The complementary colour is #9EFAFA (hue 180). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #FA9ECC and #FACC9E. The triadic palette adds #9EFA9E and #9E9EFA for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #FA9E9E in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #fa9e9e; or rgb(250, 158, 158); or hsl(0, 90%, 80%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 0 90% 80%; 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.