French Roast
French Roast is a muted red shade with RGB(100, 76, 72) and hex code #644C48, reading as medium-dark at a glance.
HEX
#644C48
RGB
100, 76, 72
HSL
9°, 16%, 34%
CMYK
0%, 24%, 28%, 61%
LAB
35, 9, 6
Quick copy
Description
- •French Roast (#644C48) is a warm-toned red color defined by RGB values of 100, 76, 72 and HSL values of 9 degrees hue, 16% saturation, and 34% lightness. At 34% lightness it appears medium-dark, and its muted character makes it well suited for backgrounds, text, or supporting UI elements. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #486064 for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #645A48 and #644852 for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a red shade, French Roast tends to carry the general associations of that hue family: power, passion, danger, and urgency. Red is one of the first colors humans evolved to distinguish and is commonly linked with energy, urgency, and appetite.
Hue family
red
Saturation level
muted
Lightness level
medium-dark
Temperature
warm
Because French Roast is muted and medium-dark, it tends to feel calm and unobtrusive in a design context.
Meaning
Within the red family, colors like French Roast are commonly associated with power, passion, danger, and urgency, though exact interpretation depends on cultural context and surrounding design elements.
Hue family
red
Common associations
power, passion, danger, and urgency
Temperature
warm
History
- 1French Roast is a named point in a modern digital color palette rather than a documented historical pigment, but the red family it belongs to has a long design history. Red is one of the first colors humans evolved to distinguish and is commonly linked with energy, urgency, and appetite.
Color info
Quick actions
Visual perception
- At HSL(9, 16%, 34%), French Roast has a relative luminance of about 0.08 on a 0-1 scale, which can make it harder to distinguish for people with red-green color blindness if used alongside similarly saturated greens or reds; pair it with a distinct lightness or add non-color cues such as icons or labels.
Technology specific
- French Roast (#644C48) renders consistently on standard sRGB displays; on wider-gamut or uncalibrated screens, expect minor shifts in perceived saturation. For print reproduction, convert from RGB to CMYK and proof physically, since muted colors like this can shift noticeably between screen and print.
Guidance
Use French Roast with white text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 7.9:1). It is versatile enough to use for larger surfaces such as backgrounds or cards.
Examples
web design
page backgrounds
branding
neutral brand background
UI design
card and panel backgrounds
body text or subtle fill
Purpose
French Roast works well for backgrounds, body text, or supporting UI surfaces where subtlety matters, given its muted and medium-dark profile.
Benefits
visual contrast
pairs with white text for a WCAG contrast ratio of about 7.9:1
palette flexibility
combines with #486064 (complementary) and #48644C/#4C4864 (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as calm and neutral across most screens