Why Light Red Is A Color

John Spacey, November 27, 2019

Red mixed with white is commonly perceived as pink. This is a cultural thing whereby light red simply maps to pink in the English language and is perceived as a completely different color. Pure red is an extremely bright color such that adding white quickly depletes its colorfulness. In other words, pink doesn't look very red such that it is understandable why these are considered completely different colors. This being said, light red is a color that exists under the following circumstances:

Red + A Little White

Red with a slight amount of white is usually perceived as a bright red. The following are illustrative examples contrasted with pure red.

Charismatic Red
#ee2244

Red
#ff0000

American Rose
#ff033e

Neon Red
#ff073a

The pure red is darker than the other three colors. These colors may look slightly pink but most people will still perceive them as red.

Red + Brown + White

In some cases, a light red looks more red than pink if it contains a little brown. The following are examples.

Light Red Brown
#b75458

Faded Red Brown
#c0696d

Red + White + Black

Reds mixed with light grey can be perceived as red as the black in the grey appears to reinforce the redness of the color. These can be described as dull, flat or pastel reds.

Highlighter Red
#e94f58

Pastel Red
#ff6961

Notes

Color perception differs by culture and individual. What one person perceives as red another may perceive as pink or orange.

Colors are greatly influenced by the brightness of your screen. At full brightness, the colors above will look far lighter than at a partial brightness.

Why Light Red Is A Color

Red + A Little White

Red + Brown + White

Red + White + Black

Notes

Color Palettes

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