Crimson is a red color resembling the color of blood. It is similar to the traditional red, but with a much darker and duller shade. The first recorded use of crimson as a color name in English was in 1382.

In the spectrum of light, there are many shades of red, some of which are referred to by their own names (e.g., scarlet or vermilion).

Crimson (also called cardinal) is one of the three secondary hues in the RGB color model, used on computer screens, along with green and blue. In pre-modern cultures, it was often associated with courage, sacrifice and strength; for this reason blood is sometimes said to be “the colour of passion”. It is also associated with energy, vivacity and determination.

Crimson is also one of the main colors on the HSV scale of colours, along with magenta (red-violet) and blue-violet.

The web color called “crimson” is displayed at right. The color shown at right matches the typical tone of pure scarlet fabric dyed exclusively with kermes dyes under standard conditions for lightfastness.

Last modified: October 9, 2022