Cardinal Color Palette
Cardinal Color Palette built around #C41E3A, a dark warm red anchor (WCAG contrast 3.59:1 against black). The set combines a light tint + a deep shade + a softened complement + a neutral ground so any palette position has a text-safe pairing.
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #FFAFAD | |
| surface | #439F8F | |
| text | #740019 | |
| text-muted | #C41E3A | |
| primary | #C41E3A | |
| secondary | #439F8F | |
| accent | #CE3F4B |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #ffafad;
--surface: #439f8f;
--text: #740019;
--text-muted: #c41e3a;
--primary: #c41e3a;
--secondary: #439f8f;
--accent: #ce3f4b;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #C41E3A | #FFAFAD | #740019 | #439F8F | #CE3F4B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #C41E3A | 1.0 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
| #FFAFAD | 3.3 | 1.0 | 6.8 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| #740019 | 2.0 | 6.8 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 |
| #439F8F | 1.8 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| #CE3F4B | 1.2 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the cardinal color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #C41E3A, #FFAFAD, #740019, #439F8F, #CE3F4B.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.