Cadmium Red

Uses & contexts

Nearest named colours, and how they differ

• Alizarin Crimson is the closest, at ΔE00 3.7 from cadmium red: 2 points lighter, 8 points less saturated and 4° round towards red. That is visibly different side by side, easily confused apart.

• Cherry Red is next, at ΔE00 5.0 from cadmium red: 3 points darker, 9 points less saturated and 5° round towards red. That is visibly different side by side, easily confused apart.

• Vermilion is next, at ΔE00 5.8 from cadmium red: 5 points lighter, 13 points less saturated and 2° round towards yellow. That is visibly different side by side, easily confused apart.

• Crimson is next, at ΔE00 6.4 from cadmium red: 10 points less saturated and 8° round towards red. That is clearly different, though many people would use one name for both.

Distances are CIEDE2000 between catalogue reference values; lightness and saturation are CIELAB L* and C*. How to read a ΔE figure · Measure any two colours

Using cadmium red in a real space

Worked out from this colour’s own measurements — its lightness, saturation and undertone — rather than written for it. That is why the guidance differs from one colour to the next even when the two look similar.

What role it can play

This is a small-scale colour. At chroma 89 it holds attention easily, which is a strength on a cushion or a door and a liability across four walls.

• Walls and large surfaces

  difficult

  At chroma 89 this is far above the level walls and large surfaces usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Secondary surfaces

  difficult

  At chroma 89 this is far above the level secondary surfaces usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Furniture

  difficult

  At chroma 89 this is far above the level furniture usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Rugs, curtains and bedding

  difficult

  At chroma 89 this is far above the level rugs, curtains and bedding usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Trim and joinery

  workable

  Chroma 89 is above the usual comfort level for trim and joinery, so expect it to take charge. That is a legitimate choice in a room that wants a subject. Trim is a small area but a long edge, so it reads more than its square metreage suggests.

• Accents and small objects

  strong

  Chroma 89 is exactly what an accent is for. The saturation that makes this difficult across a wall is the reason it works on a cushion, a door or a single chair.

How it behaves under different lightresilient

Under warm bulbs

Warm light reinforces this colour's own bias, so it will read warmer and more saturated in the evening than it does at noon. At this chroma that can tip from rich into strident.

Under cool bulbs

Cool sources drain warm colours: expect this to lose some of its warmth and read greyer.

In daylight

A mid-tone reads most consistently across the day, which is why so much upholstery sits in this band.

In a dim room

Enough lightness and chroma to stay recognisable in a dim room, though it will lose some saturation.

Compared with the sample card

Expect a modest step darker than the chart, which is normal and is why sampling a large area matters.

What colour temperature actually means · Why two bulbs at the same rating can differ

With wood

• Light wood (ash, birch, beech) · Dark wood

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Light wood (ash, birch, beech) and Dark wood, so they agree about the temperature of the room, and 25–38 points of lightness keep them readable as separate from this colour.

• Walnut · Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak)

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Walnut and Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak) and sits within 20 points of them in lightness, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast.

• Oak · Pine · Plywood

  needs care

  Shares the warm bias of Oak, Pine and Plywood, but at chroma 89 against materials that carry colour of their own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large.

The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room’s dominant colour. More on working with wood tones

With metal fittings

• Chrome · Stainless steel · Black metal

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Chrome, Stainless steel and Black metal, so they agree about the temperature of the room, and 28–40 points of lightness keep them readable as separate from this colour.

• Brass · Gold-tone · Copper

  needs care

  Shares the warm bias of Brass, Gold-tone and Copper, but at chroma 89 against materials that carry colour of their own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large.

Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish. More on metals and mixing them

Where it can go wrong

• May overwhelm at any size above an accent. At chroma 89 this holds attention involuntarily, so a room containing much of it will be about this colour whether or not that was intended. It also makes every other colour in the room look more muted by comparison.

Lighter, darker & directional variants

Calculated directional adjustments. Some directions converge on the same result from this starting colour — shown as one merged card with an explanation, not repeated duplicates. Generated shades link to a curated profile only when one is close enough.