Meat
Meat (#F08080) is a light, moderately saturated red with a warm feel. It has a hue angle of 0° and a lightness of 72%. Its moderate saturation keeps it lively without shouting.
About this color
What Meat looks like, feels like and where it works.
Description
Meat (#F08080) is a light, moderately saturated red with a warm feel. It has a hue angle of 0° and a lightness of 72%. Its moderate saturation keeps it lively without shouting.
Psychology
Red is the color people notice first. It raises attention and energy, and is tied to appetite, passion and urgency, which is why it works for calls to action and sale banners, and why too much of it can feel tense. As a light shade, Meat feels airy and gentle.
Meaning
In much of the West red stands for love, danger and stop. In China and many other East Asian cultures it is the color of luck, celebration and prosperity.
Why use this color
Meat is an easy supporting color. Dark text is easy to read on it, so it works as a surface, highlight or card background. Pair it with its tints and shades for a complete scale.
Applications
- Calls to action and sale banners
- Food and drink branding
- Error and alert states
- Festive and celebration design
History
Red ochre is among the oldest pigments, found in prehistoric cave art. Later reds came from madder root, cochineal insects and vermilion; the synthetic dye alizarin, made in 1868, replaced madder.
Accessibility
White text on Meat has a contrast ratio of 2.59:1 (fails); black text has 8.10:1 (AAA). WCAG AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and interface parts. Red and green are the pair most often confused in color blindness, so never use this color alone to mean success or error: add an icon or label.
Variations of Meat
Tailwind-style scale
Color harmonies of Meat
Want to explore these on a wheel? Open the color wheel.
Color blindness simulator
These are approximations to help you check that meaning never depends on color alone. Real vision varies from person to person.