The Maroon Color Code: HEX, RGB, CMYK

Few colors carry as much weight as maroon color does across design, fashion, and branding.

Maroon is a warm, dark red shade that combines pure red with black, pulling slightly toward brown. It sits outside the primary and secondary color categories, functioning as a tone on the color theory spectrum with RGB values around (128, 0, 0).

Its deep hue signals authority, tradition, and warmth without the visual aggression of bright red.

This article covers everything about maroon: its color codes, psychology, best pairings, how it compares to burgundy and crimson, and how to use it across design and branding contexts.

Maroon Color Codes

The standard maroon hex code is #800000. This is the most widely referenced value across CSS specifications and digital design tools.

Below are the core color model values for maroon:

• RGB: 128, 0, 0
• HEX: #800000
• CMYK: 0% Cyan, 100% Magenta, 100% Yellow, 49.8% Black
• HSL: 0deg Hue, 100% Saturation, 25.1% Lightness

On the color wheel, maroon sits within the warm tones family. It is not a primary, secondary, or tertiary color in the traditional sense. It is a shade, meaning it is a pure red mixed with black to reduce brightness and lightness.

In RGB, the green and blue channels are both zero, which is why maroon reads as a deeply saturated, brownish-red with no cool influence. In CMYK print, the near-50% black value is what gives it that heavy, muted quality compared to a pure red.

Need to convert between color models? Use an RGB to HEX converter or a HEX to RGB converter to get precise values. For print work, the RGB to CMYK converter is handy when preparing files.

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Maroon Color Palettes

Maroon works in a wider range of color palette combinations than most people expect. Below are the main harmony types based on standard color theory.

Want to generate your own combinations? The color palette generator makes it quick to explore different harmony types starting from any base color.

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Maroon Shades

Maroon encompasses multiple variations including dark maroon, light maroon, rich maroon, deep maroon, maroon pink, and standard maroon.

Each variation differs in saturation, brightness, and undertone composition. Some lean lighter toward rose and pink tones, while others push darker toward near-black territory, creating distinct effects depending on the application.

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What Are the Primary Attributes of Maroon?

Maroon possesses five primary attributes: a deep red hue (derived from pure red mixed with black), strong warmth (from its brown undertone), low lightness (HSL at 25%), high visual weight (creating density in compositions), and historical authority (linked to power and institutional tradition).

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How Is Maroon Used in Interior Design?

Maroon functions as a statement color in interior design, creating warm and sophisticated spaces that add depth to a room without relying on pattern.

Designers use maroon for accent walls, upholstery, curtains, and rugs to build rich, classic, or contemporary-traditional environments that feel grounded and inviting.

It performs well in living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. Less so in small, poorly lit spaces where the low LRV (around 5) can make the room feel heavy.

The most effective pairings in interior use are with cream, gold, navy, and natural wood tones. A maroon accent wall next to off-white trim is one of those combinations that just works every time. Pair it with generous white space in smaller rooms to keep it from feeling too closed in.

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What Psychology and Emotions Does Maroon Evoke?

Maroon evokes feelings of confidence, stability, warmth, and sophistication through its association with heritage, nobility, and natural earthy tones.

Color psychology research indicates maroon signals maturity and authority, reduces impulsive energy compared to bright red, and creates grounded environments that support focus and formality.

It also carries cultural weight. In academic settings, maroon signals tradition and prestige. In religious contexts across multiple cultures, it represents sacrifice and ceremony. In branding, it communicates quality and trustworthiness without the aggression of pure red.

The brown undertone is the key difference from crimson or scarlet. It dials down the urgency and adds emotional depth.

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How Is Maroon Applied in Fashion and Clothing?

Maroon serves as a wardrobe staple in fashion, offering rich, versatile color through knitwear, outerwear, tailoring, and accessories across seasons.

Fashion designers use maroon for its ability to flatter a wide range of skin undertones, transition between casual and formal contexts, and hold its own against both neutrals and bold accent colors.

It is especially strong in autumn and winter wardrobes. Maroon sweaters, scarves, blazers, and trousers are reliable choices that do not date quickly. In streetwear and sportswear, maroon appears constantly in team uniforms and collegiate collections for exactly that reason.

It pairs well with navy, camel, cream, forest green, and charcoal. Avoid pairing it with orange-based browns unless you want a very warm, earthy look that can read as dated depending on the context.

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What Colors Complement and Contrast With Maroon?

Maroon complements gold, cream, navy blue, forest green, and charcoal while contrasting effectively with teal, bright green, and white.

These combinations create warm, rich palettes that use maroon’s depth as either a dominant or accent tone depending on the application.

Complementary Colors

Maroon + Gold

• Color Theory Basis: Both are warm tones with historical associations with prestige and ceremony
• Visual Effect: Rich, luxurious, slightly formal
• Best Applications: Branding, wedding design, academic identity, packaging
• Ratio Recommendations: 70% maroon, 30% gold or use gold as metallic accent only
• Example Uses: University crests, luxury product labels, formal invitations

Maroon + Cream

• Color Theory Basis: High contrast between deep and light warm tones creates clarity without harshness
• Visual Effect: Elegant, soft, accessible
• Best Applications: Interior design, editorial layouts, wedding stationery
• Ratio Recommendations: 60% cream, 30% maroon, 10% natural wood or brass accent
• Example Uses: Persian rugs, classic branding, bedroom textiles

Maroon + Navy Blue

• Color Theory Basis: Two deep, saturated tones that share similar value levels, creating a jewel-toned effect
• Visual Effect: Sophisticated, refined, formal
• Best Applications: Menswear, institutional branding, interior upholstery
• Ratio Recommendations: Equal weighting works; use a neutral buffer like white or ivory between them
• Example Uses: Suits with maroon ties, navy rooms with maroon velvet accent chairs

Maroon + Forest Green

• Color Theory Basis: Both have earthy, natural undertones that sit in the same value range
• Visual Effect: Natural, grounded, classic library aesthetic
• Best Applications: Study rooms, book cover design, heritage branding
• Ratio Recommendations: 50/50 with neutral wood or tan as a bridge
• Example Uses: Traditional club interiors, book covers, outdoor lifestyle branding

Contrasting Colors

Maroon + Teal

• Contrast Type: Near-complementary (teal sits opposite warm red tones on the color wheel)
• Visual Impact: Bold, vibrant, high energy
• Best Applications: Sports branding, poster design, digital UI accents
• Balance Strategies: Use teal sparingly as an accent (10-15%) against dominant maroon to avoid clash

Maroon + White

• Contrast Type: Value contrast (dark vs. light)
• Visual Impact: Clean, high-contrast, minimal
• Best Applications: Typography, signage, print design, sports uniforms
• Balance Strategies: Works at any ratio; white prevents maroon from feeling heavy in large applications

Maroon + Bright Green

• Contrast Type: Direct complementary on the color wheel
• Visual Impact: Maximum contrast, festive (think Christmas), energetic
• Best Applications: Holiday design, eye-catching advertising, nature-themed work
• Balance Strategies: Use muted versions of both colors to keep it from looking too literal; insert a neutral buffer

Color Scheme Types

• Monochromatic: Use tints, shades, and tones of maroon ranging from near-black deep maroon through standard maroon to light maroon and blush rose. Works well for sophisticated, layered interiors.
• Analogous: Pair maroon with adjacent warm reds, dark rose, and oxblood. Creates a rich, harmonious palette without strong contrast.
• Triadic: Maroon with navy and forest green. A bold combination used frequently in institutional and heritage branding.
• Split-Complementary: Maroon with spring green and teal blue. Adds variety while being slightly less jarring than a direct complement pairing.
• Tetradic: Maroon, olive, green, and navy. Complex but rewarding in editorial and packaging design when balanced carefully.

Practical Pairing Guidelines

• 60-30-10 Rule: Maroon works best as the 30% mid-tone when paired with a light neutral (60%) and a metallic or contrasting accent (10%). As the dominant 60% color, it needs very light secondaries to prevent visual heaviness.
• Accent Color Strategy: Gold, brass, and copper work as metallic accents that add warmth without competing with maroon’s hue.
• Neutral Bridging: Cream, warm gray, and natural linen tones act as effective bridges between maroon and its contrasting pairs, preventing color combinations from feeling abrupt.

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How Does Maroon Differ From Similar Warm Colors?

Maroon differs from burgundy (more purple undertone), crimson (brighter, blue-influenced), scarlet (much more vivid, orange-leaning), and oxblood (deeper, more brown-dominant) through its specific balance of red, brown undertone, and near-zero blue that create its distinctive earthy warmth.

Visual Comparison

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How Do You Create Maroon in Different Mediums?

Create maroon by mixing red and black (or red and brown) in paint, adjusting the RGB value to 128, 0, 0 in digital tools, or using the CMYK values 0, 100, 100, 50 for print applications, ensuring the red channel dominates the mixture for accurate color reproduction.

Acrylic Paint

Start with a base of cadmium red or naphthol red. Add small amounts of black to darken. A ratio of roughly 5 parts red to 1 part black gets you close.

If the result looks too purple, add a tiny drop of yellow or a touch of raw umber to push it warmer and browner. Test on a white surface before committing to the mix.

• Base colors needed: Naphthol Red or Cadmium Red, Ivory Black
• Optional adjustment: Raw Umber or Yellow Ochre to add warmth
• Common mistake: Adding too much black too fast. The color shifts to near-black quickly.
• Tip: Mix a small test batch first. Black is powerful.

Oil Paint

Use Alizarin Crimson as your red base, then mix in Ivory Black or Lamp Black gradually. Alizarin already has some brown warmth, which makes it a natural starting point for maroon.

Oils dry slightly darker than they look when wet. Mix slightly lighter than your target value to compensate for the drying shift.

• Pigments required: Alizarin Crimson (PR83), Ivory Black (PBk9)
• Drying shift: Expect a 5-10% darkening; mix accordingly

Watercolor

Quinacridone Red or Perylene Maroon (which is actually a pigment name, not just a color description) is the most direct route. Mix Quinacridone Red with a small amount of neutral black or Payne’s Gray for depth.

Build the color in layers rather than getting the full saturation in one wash. Starting too heavy leaves no room to adjust.

• Pigment selection: PR179 Perylene Maroon (most direct), or PV19 Quinacridone Red + PBk31
• Dilution: Low water ratio for full depth; more water for lighter tints

Gouache

Gouache handles maroon well because of its opacity. Mix similarly to acrylic: red base plus a controlled amount of black. The key difference is that gouache dries significantly lighter, so your wet mix needs to be noticeably darker than your target.

Add white sparingly to create lighter maroon tints without losing the warm undertone.

Print / CMYK

• Cyan: 0%
• Magenta: 100%
• Yellow: 100%
• Black: 49.8%
• Paper type: Uncoated stock shifts maroon slightly warmer and more muted; coated stock preserves depth better
• Pantone matching: Pantone 195 C and Pantone 209 C are among the closest standard matches depending on the specific maroon shade

Working between screen and print? The CMYK to RGB converter helps verify that your print values translate accurately to screen display. Also useful is the HSL to RGB converter if you are working from HSL values in CSS.

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What Are the Best Practices for Using Maroon in Design?

Best practices for maroon include pairing it with light neutrals to prevent visual heaviness, checking contrast ratios for text legibility, limiting its use to 30% or less of total composition area, and anchoring it with metallic or warm accents.

Designers should test maroon against their intended background colors using a color contrast checker, especially for body text, and ensure sufficient saturation is maintained in print outputs where CMYK conversion can dull the hue.

In web design, maroon as a background color requires white or very light text to meet WCAG AA standards. The dark value of #800000 does pass contrast requirements against white (#FFFFFF), but verify this when using lighter maroon variants.

For print design, always soft-proof before final output. The CMYK conversion can sometimes push maroon slightly brownish depending on the press profile and paper stock.

Use visual hierarchy principles to decide where maroon carries the most weight in a layout. As a dominant tone it draws the eye immediately, so place it at focal points rather than using it as a background filler.

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What Role Does Maroon Play in Branding and Marketing?

Maroon plays a heritage and authority role in branding, communicating tradition, quality, and trustworthiness to consumers. Marketing research indicates maroon reduces perceived risk and projects reliability, making it effective for universities, financial institutions, and premium product brands seeking established, credible brand perception.

Universities use it heavily. Texas A&M, Harvard (via their crimson, which is closely related), and dozens of other institutions have maroon or deep red in their color identity precisely because it signals history and credibility.

In luxury product branding, maroon appears on packaging, labels, and brand identities where the goal is to suggest quality without the flashiness of gold or the aggression of pure red. It is a quieter signal of premium positioning.

Building a consistent visual identity around maroon? Define its exact hex, RGB, and CMYK values clearly in your brand guidelines and brand style guide to ensure color consistency across digital and print applications. Color drift between mediums is a common issue with deep, high-saturation colors like maroon.

For logo design specifically, maroon works best in flat, solid applications rather than gradients. A gradient using maroon can look inconsistent across different sizes and output types, which is something to consider early in the design process. Check the logo design principles that apply to color usage at small scales, especially for favicon and app icon contexts.

FAQ on Maroon Color

What Is Maroon Color?

Maroon is a dark, warm red shade created by mixing pure red with black. It sits close to brown on the color spectrum.

Its hex code is #800000, with RGB values of 128, 0, 0. It belongs to the warm tones family and carries strong associations with tradition, authority, and depth.

What Is the Difference Between Maroon and Burgundy?

Maroon leans brown and earthy. Burgundy leans purple and wine-like.

Both are deep reds, but burgundy has a cooler, more violet undertone while maroon stays warmer. Side by side, the difference is clear. In isolation, people confuse them constantly.

What Colors Go With Maroon?

Maroon pairs well with gold, cream, navy blue, forest green, charcoal, and warm neutrals like beige and tan.

For contrast, teal and bright green work effectively. The complementary color of maroon on the color wheel is green, sitting directly opposite it.

What Does Maroon Color Symbolize?

Maroon symbolizes strength, tradition, maturity, and controlled authority. It is widely used in academic and institutional settings for exactly that reason.

In some cultures it represents sacrifice and ceremony. In color psychology, it communicates confidence and sophistication without the urgency of bright red.

Is Maroon a Warm or Cool Color?

Maroon is a warm color. Its brown undertone and near-zero blue channel in RGB push it firmly into warm territory.

It sits on the warm side of the color theory spectrum alongside reds, oranges, and yellows, though it is significantly darker and more muted than most warm tones.

What Is the Maroon Color Code?

The standard maroon hex code is #800000. RGB values are 128, 0, 0. CMYK is 0% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow, 49.8% black. HSL reads as 0 degrees hue, 100% saturation, 25.1% lightness.

How Do You Make Maroon Color?

Mix red with black in roughly a 5:1 ratio. Adding a touch of brown or raw umber pulls it warmer if needed.

In digital design, set your RGB values to 128, 0, 0. In CMYK for print, use 0% cyan, 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and 50% black.

Is Maroon the Same as Dark Red?

Not exactly. Dark red is a broader term. Maroon is a specific shade of dark red with a distinct brownish undertone that sets it apart from other deep reds like crimson or oxblood.

The brown component is what makes maroon feel earthy and muted rather than simply dark.

What Emotions Does Maroon Evoke?

Maroon evokes confidence, warmth, stability, and sophistication. It feels grounded rather than urgent, which is why it works well in formal and institutional contexts.

It also carries a sense of passion and intensity, though more restrained than bright red. Most people associate it with heritage, prestige, and quiet strength.

Is Maroon Used in Branding?

Yes. Maroon is widely used in university branding, luxury products, and heritage businesses. It communicates quality and reliability without the aggression of pure red.

Brands targeting upscale or traditional markets often choose maroon to signal trustworthiness and depth. It appears frequently in academic crests, wine labels, and financial services identities.

Conclusion

This article presenting maroon color covers a shade that genuinely earns its place across design disciplines.

From its CMYK and HSL values to its role in brand style guides, maroon is more versatile than most deep reds. It works in packaging design, interior color schemes, fashion palettes, and digital interfaces.

Its brownish undertone separates it from crimson and dark red variants. That warmth is exactly what makes it so reliable as both a dominant and accent tone.

Understanding its color psychology, complementary pairings, and mixing methods gives you real control over how it performs in any project.

Whether you are building a visual identity or choosing warm color palettes for a space, maroon delivers depth and credibility that few other shades can match.

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Bogdan Sandu

Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008.

Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.

His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.

He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.

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