What color is vermilion? An exploration of the world’s most passionate color

Ah, vermilion! Has there ever been a color to incite more passion and desire throughout the centuries? We think not!

Join us as we explore the fascinating history of vermilion and delve into its meaning and symbolism.

So, what is vermilion? Vermilion is a vibrant orange-red pigment that’s sometimes called vermilion red. You can differentiate vermilion red from other brightly saturated reds, like scarlet and crimson, due to the addition of orange, which creates a red coral color.

Vermilion is a naturally occurring pigment derived from the powdered form of the mineral cinnabar. Cinnabar contains mercury and is thus toxic to humans. In fact, in the early days of the mining of cinnabar, before its level of toxicity was known, many miners lost their lives.

Now, what does vermilion mean? The word vermilion is derived from the French vermeil, which in turn is derived from the Latin word vermiculus. Vermiculus is the diminutive form of the word vermis, meaning ‘worm,’ which was the name given to the red dye that was made from an insect called ‘kermes vermilio.’

To use vermilion in different environments, it’s helpful to know the vermilion color code values.

Use these vermilion color code values to select the perfect red-orange background color or build your own vermilion color palette. Find out how to convert CMYK to Pantone colors, learn more about the Pantone color guide, and explore color trends for 2025.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the shades and tints you can create using vermilion red. If you don’t know what shades and tints are, here’s a great color theory guide you can use to get up to speed.

You can obtain darker shades of vermilion by adding various percentages of black to its pure hue. In the image below, we start out with pure vermilion and then add 10% black incrementally to get darker shades until we end up at black.

Alternatively, you can obtain lighter tints of vermilion by adding various percentages of white to the pure hue. In the image below, we start out with pure vermilion and then add 10% white incrementally to get lighter tints until we end up at plain white.

You now know the vermilion definition and its meaning. For vermilion color palette inspiration, take a look at the following examples.

Let’s start with a beautiful, harmonious color palette based on colors that are similar to vermilion red. This palette is bright, bold, and cheerful. Use this on your website or marketing if you want to convey a positive attitude.

This combination, on the other hand, is darker and more serious. The earthy green and brown tones are very grounded, allowing the bright color vermilion to pop off the page or screen by contrast. Use this one if you want vermilion to be the star while the other colors help increase the contrast.

Here’s one that mixes the best of the first two color palettes. It contains complementary greens and browns, but that bright purple is much closer to vermilion and helps to brighten up the whole palette.

Inspired by the triad color combination, this elegant combo would be great for corporate branding materials. You can just picture a classy logo made from the first three colors, can’t you? Then, you could use the darker shades for the accompanying tagline or other text.

Using a square color palette produces an interesting combination, including one hue that’s similar to the popular seafoam green but a little darker. The overall effect is more serious than the bright, bubbly palette we started with, showing how different combinations can bring out completely different sides of the same color. Use this palette to convey maturity and reliability.

The first documented use of vermilion pigment dates back to a Neolithic village in the area that is now known as Turkey, around 8000–7000 BC. Since then, this vibrant pigment has been widely used throughout Asia and Europe.

It was used throughout all aspects of ancient Chinese royal life; by the Romans who valued it for painting the faces of triumphant generals; in illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages in Europe; and as the primary red pigment in the paintings of the European Renaissance.

In fact, between the 12th and 19th centuries, vermilion became so popular in Europe that supply couldn’t keep up with demand, and suppliers began to mix their vermilion with cheaper materials like brick dust, iron oxide, and red lead. Unfortunately, these techniques degraded the pigment and led to unreliable results.

It was not until the 20th century that interest in vermilion declined, mostly due to its cost and toxicity and the availability of a safer and cheaper alternative pigment, cadmium red, which offers a similar opacity and color. Today, vermilion pigment from cinnabar is mainly produced in China.

Beyond a definition, the vermilion meaning it’s important for what the color itself conveys. As a member of the red hue, vermilion shares certain meanings with all other reds. It can mean life, vitality, love, passion, romance, energy, anger, danger, or aggression, depending on the context and area of the world in which it is used.

According to one’s location and culture, vermilion symbolizes different things. Here are a few examples:

Want to add a burst of passion and interest to your projects with vermilion’s lovely red and orange hue? Whether you’re creating interesting patterns or business cards, this vibrant color is bound to capture attention. Here are some cool designs illustrating the hot–yet-cool edge that the color vermilion can add to your projects.

These chevrons are attractive, but add vermilion to make them eye-catching at a whole new level. This wonderful vermilion chevron pattern is available to download in both high-res EPS and JPG file formats. You can change the hue to the exact vermilion color code using the EPS file on the Adobe apps.

Who says business brochures have to be boring? There’s nothing like a cool design and a pop of vermilion to lift your design to the stratosphere. This red brochure layout template contains 12 unique page layouts, so all the work is done for you. All you need to do is add your own text and images.

Whether you need a portrait or landscape business card, you’ll love this vermilion Luxury Business Card template with its terrific combination with white. The template offers both back and front layouts which are fully editable in the software of your choice.

Are you looking for an awesome mobile phone mockup to showcase your designs? How about this vermilion iPhone mockup? It offers six fully editable PSD files that you can customize in a matter of minutes.

For a flyer to be effective, it has to capture the attention of its target audience, and there’s no better way to do that than with an awesome design and the color vermilion. This trifold flyer comes in both A4 and US Letter sizes and is easy to edit in InDesign.

Branding is an art and a science. It requires great design and the right color combinations to motivate your target customers and clients. That’s just what you get with this fabulous corporate identity branding mockup. Use Photoshop to customize your mockup features quickly and easily.

You know what color is vermilion, the vermilion definition, and everything in between! Vermilion is vibrant and exciting, and it will bring an explosion of color to your projects.

When you want to wake up the senses and inspire, there is no better color. It’s great for everything from business cards to brochures, branding designs, and any other cool project you have in mind.

Check out all the cool vermilion creative assets available at Envato for more inspiration.

While crimson is a deep red color with a slightly blue or purple undertone, vermilion is a vivid reddish-orange. You can say that crimson is a “colder” color than vermilion which is hotter.

A color close to vermilion is the color scarlet; it is also a bright red with a slightly orange tinge, making it a near synonym for vermilion for many uses. You can also consider red-orange as a close match.