Pantone Red
Pantone Red is a color of passion, excitement, and energy. It's commonly used in branding, sports teams, and warning signs due to its ability to grab attention instantly.
Use these values alongside our Pantone to HEX, Pantone to CMYK, and Pantone to RGB converters when you need to hand off exact numbers to developers or printers. Browse the full Pantone color library for more families.
Quick answers
Is this the same as my physical swatch? On-screen approximations depend on your display calibration. Always confirm critical jobs with a printed Pantone guide or press proof.
Which suffix do I use? "C" (coated) and "U" (uncoated) refer to different ink films—follow your brand standards when specifying PMS for vendors.
Pantone Red
Pantone 485 C
CMYK: 0, 100, 100, 0
HEX: #ED1C24
RGB: 237, 28, 36
HSL: 0, 80%, 48%
HSV: 0, 91%, 85%
Color usage
The Pantone Red family is built for campaigns that must interrupt scrolling: retail windows, poster headlines, app badges, and sports merchandise. Rotate reds with neutrals in long-form reading environments so fatigue does not set in. Food brands often anchor packaging red with appetizing photography and warm yellows; tech brands may pair red with black for a sharper edge. Always proof reds under store lighting and mobile night modes—screens and print rarely match without adjustment.
Pair this swatch with production workflows using our color converters when you need HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, or HSV equivalents. For a closest Pantone match from a web code, jump to HEX to Pantone for this color. If you are briefing a printer, it helps to know whether the job uses spot (PMS) ink or process (CMYK) builds—specifications and proofs differ between the two.
Color psychology
Red communicates heat, desire, and immediacy, which supports romance, competition, and limited-time offers. It can also heighten stress if overused in productivity tools—reserve it for true errors or critical deadlines. Appetite associations help QSR categories but may feel off-brand for sleep or meditation apps. Layer storytelling (texture, people, motion) so the hue does not carry the entire message alone.
Perception shifts with lighting, adjacent colors, and culture—use psychology as a guide, not a rule. For how hue, saturation, and brightness behave in design systems, read our color theory basics. When you need the same Pantone story on screens and in print, see Pantone in digital branding, and our overview of RGB, CMYK, HEX, HSL, and HSV.