Salmon color: code #FA8072

Salmon

#FA8072

Color codes

  • HEX#FA8072
  • RGBrgb(250, 128, 114)
  • HSLhsl(6, 93%, 71%)
  • HSVhsv(6, 54%, 98%)
  • CMYKcmyk(0%, 49%, 54%, 2%)
  • LABlab(67.3% 45.2 29.1)
  • OKLCHoklch(73.5% 0.152 28.1)

About the color Salmon

Salmon has the HEX code #FA8072, which corresponds to rgb(250, 128, 114) in the RGB model. On the color wheel its hue sits at 6°, with 93% saturation and 71% lightness (hsl(6, 93%, 71%)).

Because of its hue it reads as a warm color: it tends to feel energetic and close, and it visually “advances” in a composition.

As a background it calls for dark text: black reaches a 8.39:1 contrast ratio on it, versus 2.50:1 for white.

For print, the approximate conversion is cmyk(0%, 49%, 54%, 2%). Always confirm with your printer’s color profile, because the result depends on paper and ink.

Lighter tints

Darker shades

Color combinations with Salmon

Complementary

#FA8072 · #70ECFA

Analogous

#FA70A7 · #FA8072 · #FAC370

Triadic

#FA8072 · #70FA7E · #7E70FA

Tetradic

#FA8072 · #A7FA70 · #70ECFA · #C370FA

Split-complementary

#FA8072 · #70FAC3 · #70A7FA

Monochromatic

#E21E08 · #F8523F · #FA8072 · #FDC1BA · #FFFFFF

Salmon with white and black text

White text Aa Bb Cc 123
2.50:1 · fails WCAG
Black text Aa Bb Cc 123
8.39:1 · AAA

Test other pairs in the contrast checker

The salmon family in CSS

The salmon on this page is CSS salmon, #FA8072 (rgb(250, 128, 114)): an orangey pink inspired by the color of the fish’s flesh. CSS also includes two handy variations that many people don’t know about:

If you want the difference from coral, the rule of thumb is: salmon has more blue in its RGB and therefore looks pinker; coral leans orange.

Perception and uses

Salmon usually reads as gentle, warm and relaxed, a middle ground between the sweetness of pink and the energy of orange. In menswear, the salmon shirt has become a summer classic in many countries, a way to wear color without looking loud. In interiors it shows up in nurseries, cafés and bakeries. In branding it suits food, wellness and baby products. As with any color association, this shifts with culture: what feels fresh in one context can feel dated in another.

In interfaces, salmon is too soft for critical alerts but works well for illustrations, avatars, tags and card backgrounds. In print, orangey pinks tend to look a bit duller on uncoated paper than on screen, so a proof is worth it.

Pairings

Contrast and dark mode

#FA8072 has a 2.5:1 contrast ratio with white, so salmon buttons with white labels fail WCAG. Choose dark text (8.4:1 with black) or darken the background to something like #B5473A. In dark mode, the original salmon works well as an accent on graphite backgrounds with no adjustment. Check everything in the contrast checker, and preview how the color looks to people with color vision deficiency in the color blindness simulator, since pinkish and greenish tones can be confused.

How to use it in CSS

:root {
  --color-salmon: #FA8072;
  --color-salmon-rgb: 250, 128, 114;
}

.elemento {
  background-color: var(--color-salmon);
  color: #000000;
}

Similar colors

Use Salmon in our tools