Using Blood Red in Page Layout Files (2024)

Blood red is awarm colorthatcan be bright or dark red. The bright red color of crimson is often considered the color of fresh blood, but blood-red color may also describe a dark maroon shade of red.

Depending on how it is used, blood red can carry some of the darker or more sinistersymbolism of red,including anger, aggression, death, or a sense of the macabre. Blood red can also symbolize loyalty (as in a blood oath) andlove (blood is associated with the heart and romance). You're just as likely to see blood red on Valentine's Day as on Halloween.

Using Blood Red in Page Layout Files (1)

Blood red is an attention-grabbing color, so don't waste it on unimportant elements of your design. The viewer's eye is drawn to it immediately, so use it for elements you want to stand out.

UsingBlood Red inDesign Files

When planning a designproject destined for commercial printing, use CMYK formulations for blood red in your page layout softwareor select a Pantone spot color. For display on acomputer monitor, useRGB values.

Use hex designations whenworking with HTML, CSS, and SVG.Blood red shades are best achieved with the following:

	Hex	RGB	CMYK
Blood Red	#bb0a1e	166,16,30	0,95,84,27
Crimson	#dc143c	220,20,60	0,91,73,14
Dark Red	#8b0000	139,0,0	0,100,100,45
Maroon	#800000	128,0,0	0,100,100,50
Blood Orange	#cc1100	204,17,0	0,92,100,20

Choosing Pantone Colors Closestto Blood Red

When working with printed pieces, sometimes a solid color red ink, rather than a CMYK red, is a more economical choice. The Pantone Matching System is the most widely recognized spot color system, and it is supported by industry-leading design software and most U.S. commercial printing companies.

Here are the Pantone colors suggested as best matches to blood red:

	Pantone Solid Coated
Blood Red	7621 C
Crimson	199 C
Dark Red	7623 C
Maroon	2350 C
Blood Orange	2350 C

The C following a Pantone number indicates the color is represented as it appears on coated paper. When the ink is applied on an uncoated paper, the ink is the same, but its appearance changes due to absorption into the paper. It typically appears less vibrant. If you plan to print blood red on uncoated paper, ask your commercial printing company to show you the side-by-side comparison of the ink on both types of paper, using their Pantone guides made for this purpose.

Blood red texton a black background (or vice versa) is a low-contrast combination that usually makes the text difficultto read.