Color Conversion
#ea9f7dSalt-Kissed Apricot
About this color
Warm, cozy optimism with a handcrafted edge
A warm, sunlit apricot with a gentle coral-pink blush and a bronzed, slightly desaturated finish. It feels cozy and intimate — like late-afternoon light that invites conversation and small comforts.
Designer tip: Use Salt-Kissed Apricot as a mid-weight accent: place it on 1–3 key UI elements (CTA, badges, hero overlay) on a very light neutral background and set type in high-contrast white or deep charcoal to preserve legibility and warmth.
Best use case: Packaging and signage for artisanal food brands (bakeries, cafes, small-batch confectionery) where appetite appeal and handcrafted authenticity are crucial.
Psychology
Psychological traits and emotional associations
Effect
In a space or design, Salt-Kissed Apricot reduces perceived formality and encourages social interaction by creating a warm focal area. It raises appetite and perceived comfort, making environments feel lived-in and welcoming while still retaining a refined softness.
Emotional impact
A gentle lift of mood that feels both comforting and slightly energizing.
Meaning & symbolism
Cultural symbolism and significance
Cultural significance
In Western contexts this peach-coral shade reads as friendly, approachable, and slightly feminine; in East Asian traditions, apricot tones can evoke spring and renewal (peach blossoms signify longevity and rejuvenation in Chinese culture); in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern contexts it resonates with terracotta architecture and pottery, suggesting earthiness and craft. Across these cultures it often sits between festive and domestic — useful for both celebration and everyday warmth.
Positive associations
Associated with welcome and hospitality in Mediterranean decor and artisanal food branding (Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Western artisan cultures).
Negative associations
Can read as overly nostalgic or ’vintage kitchen’ if used exclusively in older domestic palettes, which may feel dated in some urban modern contexts (Western audiences).
Design applications
How this color is used across different fields
Packaging for artisanal bakery or confectionery
Works as the primary label background or accent stripe to convey freshness and handcrafted quality while stimulating appetite and approachability.
Hospitality interiors (lobby or café feature wall)
Used on a feature wall or banquette upholstery it warms the space and encourages lingering without overwhelming the senses.
Brand identity marks and badges
As a mark color it reads as friendly and memorable against clean neutrals, helping small brands appear both modern and handcrafted.
Fashion accessories (knitwear, scarves)
Flat knit or suede accessories in this shade add soft warmth and pair easily with denim and olive tones for seasonal capsules.
Editorial photography overlays and accents
Semi-opaque overlays in this hue add a sunlit, cohesive tint to lifestyle images and highlight warmth in skin tones and food photography.
Design guidance
Practical tips for using this color effectively in your designs
Do this
- + Pair with a very light warm neutral (cream or pale beige) to keep the apricot tone luminous and avoid muddiness.
- + Use as an accent no larger than 20–30% of the composition for balance — ideal spots: CTAs, badges, small furniture, or a single wall.
- + Combine with a cool complementary accent (teal-cyan) for high-impact contrast in CTA or signage applications.
Avoid this
- - Don’t set large bodies of fine dark text directly on Salt-Kissed Apricot — contrast will be insufficient; reserve it for backgrounds with bold white or dark anchors.
- - Avoid pairing with vivid, saturated reds or magentas that push the apricot toward an unintended neon coral.
- - Don’t use it as the sole brand color for corporate finance or medical industries where cooler, more neutral trust colors are expected.
Fundamentals: Maintain contrast and hierarchy: treat this hue as an accent, always pairing it with neutrals and at least one cool or deep anchor to preserve clarity and sophistication.
Overuse risk: If Salt-Kissed Apricot dominates a design it flattens hierarchy and can make the aesthetic feel overly nostalgic or kitchen-like rather than refined; contrast and cool accents are needed to maintain modernity. Excess use also reduces its appetite-stimulating effectiveness by normalizing the hue.
Brand fit
Industries and brand archetypes that align with this color
Trust level
medium
Seriousness
balanced
Trend
Color pairing
Colors that complement and enhance this shade
#7DCFEA
Complementary teal-cyan provides vibrant contrast and legibility for CTAs and accents (complementary harmony).
#EA7D5F
A deeper terracotta analogue intensifies warmth and creates a cohesive monochromatic gradient (analogous harmony).
#9F7DEA
Muted lavender gives a soft triadic balance, adding subtle coolness without harshness (triadic harmony).
Typography hints: For text on Salt-Kissed Apricot use a clean sans-serif (e.g., Montserrat, Avenir) in Bold or SemiBold with white or very dark charcoal for contrast; for brand headlines pair a warm serif (e.g., Playfair Display Medium) with deep charcoal body text.
Historical significance
The story and heritage of this color
Warm apricot-corals have roots in natural earth pigments and organic dyes used since antiquity: artisans mixed red lake pigments (from madder or cochineal) with yellow ochres and lead- or tin-based whites to produce pale coral and apricot tones. In many regions, thin washes on ceramics and frescoes produced the sun-warmed apricot washes seen in domestic interiors.
In art and fashion, similar tones gained prominence with 19th-century post-impressionists and later with 20th-century textile makers, who favored softened warm hues for domestic interiors and garments; terracotta and apricot variants became trademarks of Mediterranean architecture and mid-century modern palettes. The shade resurfaced periodically in fashion as a softer alternative to bright coral or strict peach.
Today this exact warm-peach coral is common in boutique branding, food packaging, and interiors that aim to feel handcrafted and approachable: digital color systems and modern pigments (organic pigments and island-resilient dyes) make it easier to reproduce across print and screens, so it appears frequently in contemporary hospitality, beauty, and small-batch food design.
Variations
The purpose of this section is to accurately produce tints (pure white added) and shades (pure black added) of your selected color in 10% increments.
Pro Tip: Use shades for hover states and shadows, tints for highlights and backgrounds.
Shades
Darker variations created by adding black to your base color.
Tints
Lighter variations created by adding white to your base color.
Common Use Cases
- • UI component states (hover, active, disabled)
- • Creating depth with shadows and highlights
- • Building consistent color systems
Design System Tip
These variations form the foundation of a cohesive color palette. Export them to maintain consistency across your entire project.
Color Combinations
Each harmony has its own mood. Use harmonies to brainstorm color combos that work well together.
How to Use
Click on any color to copy its hex value. These combinations are mathematically proven to create visual harmony.
Why It Matters
Color harmonies create balance and evoke specific emotions in your designs.
Complement
A color and its opposite on the color wheel, +180 degrees of hue. High contrast.
Split-complementary
A color and two adjacent to its complement, +/-30 degrees of hue from the value opposite the main color. Bold like a straight complement, but more versatile.
Triadic
Three colors spaced evenly along the color wheel, each 120 degrees of hue apart. Best to allow one color to dominate and use the others as accents.
Analogous
Three colors of the same luminance and saturation with hues that are adjacent on the color wheel, 30 degrees apart. Smooth transitions.
Monochromatic
Three colors of the same hue with luminance values +/-50%. Subtle and refined.
Tetradic
Two sets of complementary colors, separated by 60 degrees of hue.
Color Theory Principles
Balance
Use one dominant color, support with secondary, and accent sparingly.
Contrast
Ensure sufficient contrast for readability and accessibility.
Harmony
Colors should work together to create a unified visual experience.
Color Contrast Checker
Test color combinations to ensure they meet WCAG accessibility standards for text readability.
Text Color
Background Color
Contrast
WCAG Standards
Advanced Contrast Checker
Fine-tune with sliders, multiple previews & more
Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid.
Technical Formats
Practical Formats
Color Analysis
Blindness Simulator
Creative Aspects
Frequently asked questions
- What color is #EA9F7D?
- #EA9F7D is Salt-Kissed Apricot – A warm, sunlit apricot with a gentle coral-pink blush and a bronzed, slightly desaturated finish. It feels cozy and intimate — like late-afternoon light that invites conversation and small comforts.
- What does Salt-Kissed Apricot symbolize?
- Hospitality and welcome, Sunset and warmth, Handmade authenticity, Renewal and gentle optimism, Earth-bound comfort. In Western contexts this peach-coral shade reads as friendly, approachable, and slightly feminine; in East Asian traditions, apricot tones can evoke spring and renewal (peach blossoms signify longevity and rejuvenation in Chinese culture); in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern contexts it resonates with terracotta architecture and pottery, suggesting earthiness and craft. Across these cultures it often sits between festive and domestic — useful for both celebration and everyday warmth.
- Where is Salt-Kissed Apricot used in design?
- In a space or design, Salt-Kissed Apricot reduces perceived formality and encourages social interaction by creating a warm focal area. It raises appetite and perceived comfort, making environments feel lived-in and welcoming while still retaining a refined softness.