Burnt orange vs rust
Burnt orange is still recognisably orange: full saturation, hue 25°, just lowered to 40% lightness. Rust (#A83C09) is darker and redder, at hue 19°, and reads as brown-red. Put simply, burnt orange is a pumpkin; rust is an old iron gate.
| Name | HEX | Hue, lightness | Best text |
|---|---|---|---|
| darkorange (CSS) | #FF8C00 | 33°, 50% | Black, 9.00:1 |
| orangered (CSS) | #FF4500 | 16°, 50% | Black, 6.10:1 |
| Burnt orange | #CC5500 | 25°, 40% | Black, 4.87:1; white 4.31:1 |
| Rust | #A83C09 | 19°, 35% | White, 6.33:1 |
CSS darkorange is, despite the name, a bright orange: far lighter than burnt orange. Burnt orange and rust come from the colour-name list behind our colour names tool.
White text on burnt orange
At 4.31:1, white text falls just under the 4.5:1 AA line for body text. It passes for large headings. If the label is small, darken the orange a few percent (the 35% step in the strip above) or switch to rust, which gives white text 6.33:1.
Autumn and beyond: pairings
Burnt orange with cream and olive is the classic autumn set. With teal or navy it becomes a confident complementary scheme, popular in 1970s-inspired interiors and sports branding. Burnt orange text on cream is 4.18:1, so keep that combination for headings.
Questions
What is burnt orange in RGB?
rgb(204, 85, 0); HSL hsl(25, 100%, 40%).
Does burnt orange print well?
Usually better than bright oranges, which often print duller than they look on screen. The simple CMYK conversion is 0, 58, 100, 20; still proof it if it is a brand colour.