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Claim offerInspiration in the color crimson.
Learn the history and meaning of the color crimson, a bright red with a hint of pink — the warmest layer of a sunset in full bloom.
How to use the color crimson.
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The color crimson in graphic design.
Crimson color is bright and engaging, a vibrant red with a tease of pink. The color crimson is used in graphic design to evoke emotion. Depending on the other colors used around it, crimson color can evoke love or hate. The energy from the color crimson practically radiates, so using too much can overpower a project. Used in moderation, the color crimson is sure to draw instant attention.
Tap into the psychology of the color crimson.
Crimson color shares most of its psychology with the color red. Both are tied to passion. That passion can manifest as desire or anger, depending how it’s used. The color crimson also has an association to blood, like so many gory scenes in crime scenes.
The color crimson versus burgundy.
Crimson color is sometimes compared to burgundy. They’re both rich reds, however they’re different in hue and shade. The color crimson is bright, and burgundy is dark. Crimson color leans a little toward pink, while burgundy has an earthy mix of brown. The color crimson is easier to compare to carmine — but even so, crimson color is much brighter.
Combine crimson with other colors.
Combine the color crimson with bronze or maroon for a look that harkens to a Victorian-era drawing room. Pair crimson color with pink or neutrals like khaki and beige for a contemporary palette. To enhance the power of the color crimson, set it next to a metallic-finish champagne or a cool, still white. Next to browns and golds, the color crimson feels like autumn.
Information about crimson color.
The crimson HEX code picker is #DC143C. This is the bright and vibrant red that rounds off to a near-pink.
The color crimson can be achieved in a RGB space with 220 red, 20 green, and 60 blue. Crimson color can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 0% cyan, 91% magenta, 73% yellow, and 14% black.
What is the meaning of the color crimson?
The color crimson is closely tied to the color carmine, though crimson is lighter and has traces of pink. Crimson color and carmine do share their foundation: they’re dyes made from the same insect. The color crimson is a less saturated shade and sits somewhere between red and rose.
Crimson color has many positive meanings linked to passion. The color crimson also has grim ties to blood, revenge, and anger.
The history of crimson color.
The origin of the color crimson.
Crimson, like carmine and vermillion, is a dye made from one of two insects: kermes or cochineal. The color crimson is a bright red that reaches its desired intensity with a fraction of the dye used for deep reds like carmine. The whole family of insect-dyed reds redefined itself in the Renaissance. Crimson color took the pedestal as a color of the most intrinsic passion — for better or worse.
Crimson was first recorded in English in the 1400s.
The word “crimson” has been in English since the 1400s, right around when colonialist Spaniards returned to Europe from Mesoamerica with the cochineal beetle. Kermes insects, native to the Mediterranean, had been used to make the color crimson for generations. Cochineal beetles, however, were 10 times more potent in the dyes they could make. Crimson color was considered the brightest shade of cochineal or kermes pigment.
Crimson color took on new meanings in popular culture.
Virtually all shades of red were associated with passion, anger, and masculinity up until the 20th century. The color crimson then took on new meanings in pop references. From songs like “Crimson and Clover” (by Tommy James and the Shondels) to Guillermo del Toro’s 2015 movie Crimson Peak (a gothic romance), crimson color has been used in a wide array of applications as a provocative attention-getter.
The color crimson across different cultures.
The culture of crimson color is everywhere.
When an artist, couturier, or even a food scientist looks for a vibrant shade of red, the color crimson wins over other hues time and again. Michelangelo famously selected crimson color paints in countless works of art. Centuries later, the British “Redcoats” were so named because of the crimson color used in the soldiers’ coats. Crimson appears inside the cabinets at home, too, with the cochineal-based red dye used in everything from food to medicines to cosmetics.
The color crimson in universities and Greek letter organizations.
Crimson color became a popular choice for university colors, too. The universities of Kansas, Alabama, and Denver are among crimson color-clad institutions. Harvard University has made the color crimson so characteristic that its daily newspaper is called “The Harvard Crimson.” Several Greek letter organizations use crimson color, too, including Kappa Alpha Order and Kappa Alpha Psi.
Crimson color in state institutions.
The color crimson is featured prominently in the flags of Poland and Nepal. The national color of Nepal, in fact, is crimson. In global military forces, although the famed “Redcoats” no longer have crimson color uniforms, the U.S. Army uses the color crimson for the Ordnance Corps. A modern-day regiment of the British Army called The King’s Royal Hussars also use crimson pants. In Denmark, the hussar regiment’s formal uniforms used in ceremonies feature a striking crimson pelisse.