Looking for a bold, luscious color to incorporate into vivid designs? Why not give crimson color a try?
Below, you’ll learn how to do exactly that. You’ll also learn about crimson color codes, its various meanings and uses, and hopefully find inspiration from some palette ideas.
What is Crimson Color?
Crimson is a rich, deep shade of pure red. But it’s actually closer to purple on the color wheel. Although not quite magenta or soft red, it’s somewhere in between, with a touch of blue. Crimson and burgundy are comparable and often mistaken, but not quite the same. Burgundy is usually considered the color of red wine, while crimson is more commonly associated with the color of blood.
Crimson originally refers to the color of kermes dye produced by the kermes vermilio insect. The dye was used by ancient Romans and Greeks to color fabrics. The origin of the word crimson comes from the Persian word qirmiz (meaning red) which then became the English insect kermes. The pronunciation and spelling of the kermes dye, fabric, and color ultimately changed over time, becoming crimson as we know it today.
By the 14th century, crimson became a common word for the color red in late Middle English.
Crimson Color Codes
If you want to apply crimson to your designs accurately, these are the color codes you need to know:
RGB (Red Green Blue) Color Space
- Hex #DC143C
- Composed of 86.3% red, 7.8% green and 23.5% blue
- RGB values of R:220, G:20, B:60
- Can be obtained by blending #ff2878 with #b90000.
- Closest websafe color is: #cc0033
CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black) Color Space
- Composed of 0% cyan, 90.9% magenta, 72.7% yellow and 13.7% black
- CMYK values of C:0, M:0.91, Y:0.73, K:0.14
- Decimal value is 14423100
Hue Angle
- 348 degrees
- Saturation of 83.3%
- Lightness of 47.1%
Crimson Color Meaning
Crimson is a compelling color in the design world. It symbolizes danger, excitement, love, and power. It’s also associated with nobility, religion, and royalty. During the Elizabeth Era (second half of the 16th century) in Britain, crimson was worn as an indication of high social status. It was even legally regulated by English law. Only royalty, noble persons, and members of the Council were allowed to wear it.
Important church figures also wore crimson robes. Thanks to its association with blood, it has ties to the Bible, martyrs, and presence of God.
In the present day, crimson is commonly used as school colors (famously, Harvard University). In literature, crimson often has a negative connotation due to its association with blood. If you’ve ever seen a crimson tide, you’ll already know how bold a color it can be. Crimson tides can be caused by river floods or the rise of nutrients from the seafloor, often following storms. The increased nutrients trigger an algal bloom that can turn the water’s surface bright red.
How to Make Crimson Color
Crimson can be made by combining a bright (almost pinkish) red with a little blue. The touch of blue creates a reddish shade with a purple undertone. In terms of Hex colors, you can create crimson by combining #ff2878 (Radical Red) with #b90000 (Free Speech Red).
What Colors Go With Crimson Red?
Strap in for a detailed breakdown of crimson, including complementary and alternative colors you can draw inspiration from for your next design.
Complementary:
Crimson compliments best with vivid cyan (hex #14dcb4).
Split Complementary:
A split complementary scheme is composed of three colors. With crimson, the two complementing colors are vivid blue (hex #14a0dc) and lime green (hex #14dc50).
Triadic:
Triadic combinations are variants of the split complementary color scheme in which colors are found equally spaced on the color wheel. Crimson’s triadic components include vivid blue (hex #143cdc) and vivid lime green (hex #3cdc14).
Tetradic:
A tetradic color scheme contains four colors equally spaced on the color wheel. Crimon’s tetradic color scheme include vivid magenta (hex #b414dc), vivid lime green (hex #3cdc14), and vivid cyan (hex #14dcb4).
Analogous:
An Analogous color palette consists of three or more colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. For crimson, those colors are vivid pink (hex #dc14a0) and vivid orange (hex #dc5014).
Monochromatic:
A Monochromatic color palette includes different shades or tint variations of the same hue. For crimson color, a monochromatic color palette includes dark red (hex #960e29), another shade of dark red (hex #ad102f), strong red (hex #c51236), vivid red (hex #eb1f48), bright red (hex #ed365b), and soft red (hex #ef4e6e).
Alternatives to Crimson:
These colors are very similar to crimson and can be used alternatively to the original color choice. Alternatives to crimson are three different shades of vivid pink (hex #dc146e, #dc145d, #dc144d) and four different shades of vivid red (hex #dc143c, #dc142b, #dc141b, #dc1e14).
Crimson Color Palette Ideas
Crimson is a surprisingly versatile color. Step up your crimson-themed designs and try out these crimson color palettes:
Vintage Crimson Color Palette
- Dark Bronze (#804A00)
- Gold (#FFD700)
- Maroon (#800000)
- Dark Green (#023020)
Modern Crimson Color Palette
- Pink (#FFC0CB)
- Beige (#F5F5DC)
- Sand Dollar (#C2B280)
- Slate (#C0C2C9)
Bold Crimson Color Palette
- Blue (#0000FF)
- Lime Green (#32CD32)
- Yellow (#FFFF00)
Create Crimson Color Edits Using Picsart
Now you’ve got all the knowledge you need to create crimson-themed designs. Here’s a few introductory ideas on how you can do so using Picsart creative tools.
On Desktop
1. Open the Picsart web editor and click on your preferred canvas size to get started.
2. Now it’s time to fill your canvas. Click on Background icon and input the HEX code for crimson.
3. Now let’s add some graphic touches. Click on the Elements icon and choose a sub-category to browse the options available.
4. Choose the ones you like best and add them to your canvas.
5. Click on your chosen shapes and choose their color by inputting a HEX code into the color picker above.
6. Remember what you’ve learned about complementary colors for crimson here.
7. Add some messaging (such as a brand or campaign slogan) by clicking on the Text tool, choosing your preferred color.
8. Again, it’s wise to bear in mind everything you’ve learned about the colors that complement crimson when choosing how to make your text have the desired impact.
9. You can repeat the above steps for adding images, stickers, or any other graphic elements your design needs, but this should give you a great grounding in how it’s done. Easy, eh? All that’s left to do then is click on the Export icon and save your work in the size and format required.
On Mobile
1. Open the Picsart app and tap on the plus sign (+) at the bottom of the screen to start your design.
2. Scroll down to the Color Backgrounds category and tap on the color picker.
3. Input the code for crimson and tap on the checkmark to confirm.
4. Let’s add some messaging to your canvas. Tap on the Text tool to begin.
5. Input your copy, choosing your font, sizing and placing it on the canvas as required.
6. You can make further adjustments to the appearance of the text here too, such as adding shadows, tweaking the opacity, including a separate line of copy in a different font, and so on.
7. Edit the text color by tapping on the color picker and selecting a complementary hue to help it standout from the crimson background.
8. Happy with your edits? Tap on the Apply icon to confirm.
9. Save your work or post it to the Picsart creative community.
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