Burnt Umber
Burnt Umber is a highly saturated, near pure orange shade with RGB(160, 69, 14) and hex code #A0450E, reading as medium-dark at a glance.
HEX
#A0450E
RGB
160, 69, 14
HSL
23°, 84%, 34%
CMYK
0%, 57%, 91%, 37%
LAB
41, 35, 47
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Description
- •Burnt Umber (#A0450E) is a warm-toned orange color defined by RGB values of 160, 69, 14 and HSL values of 23 degrees hue, 84% saturation, and 34% lightness. At 34% lightness it appears medium-dark, and its highly saturated, near pure character makes it suitable as a strong accent or brand color. It pairs naturally with its complementary shade #0E69A0 for high-contrast schemes, or with the analogous tones #A08E0E and #A00E20 for a more harmonious palette.
Psychology
As a orange shade, Burnt Umber tends to carry the general associations of that hue family: creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Hue family
orange
Saturation level
highly saturated, near pure
Lightness level
medium-dark
Temperature
warm
Because Burnt Umber is highly saturated, near pure and medium-dark, it tends to feel bold and attention-grabbing in a design context.
Meaning
Within the orange family, colors like Burnt Umber are commonly associated with creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability, though exact interpretation depends on cultural context and surrounding design elements.
Hue family
orange
Common associations
creativity, enthusiasm, and approachability
Temperature
warm
History
- 1Burnt Umber is a named point in a modern digital color palette rather than a documented historical pigment, but the orange family it belongs to has a long design history. Orange sits between red and yellow on the wheel and is often associated with warmth, enthusiasm, and affordability in branding.
Color info
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Visual perception
- At HSL(23, 84%, 34%), Burnt Umber has a relative luminance of about 0.12 on a 0-1 scale, which generally poses low risk for common color vision deficiencies, though pairing with sufficient lightness contrast is still recommended.
Technology specific
- Burnt Umber (#A0450E) 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 highly saturated colors like this can shift noticeably between screen and print.
Guidance
Use Burnt Umber with white text for readability (contrast ratio approximately 6.3:1). Reserve it for smaller accent areas rather than large backgrounds since high saturation can overwhelm at scale.
Examples
web design
call-to-action buttons
branding
logo accent color
UI design
alert or highlight states
spot color for emphasis
Purpose
Burnt Umber works well for accent elements, buttons, and calls-to-action that need to stand out, given its highly saturated, near pure and medium-dark profile.
Benefits
visual contrast
pairs with white text for a WCAG contrast ratio of about 6.3:1
palette flexibility
combines with #0E69A0 (complementary) and #0EA045/#450EA0 (triadic) for varied schemes
brand consistency
reads as bold and energetic across most screens