Pantone Orange Colors
154 colors in the orange family
Pantone Orange spans the warm spectrum from bright safety orange like Pantone 021 C through vivid pumpkins such as Pantone 165 C and deep burnt tones like Pantone 1675 C. Our catalog includes 154 orange-family colors, each with a unique code, HEX value, and CMYK print equivalent.
| Total colors | 154 |
|---|---|
| Hue range | 15° to 45° |
| Lightness range | 15% to 83% |
| Saturation range | 11% to 100% |
| Light / Medium / Dark | 78 / 62 / 14 |
Featured Pantone Orange colors
Twelve well-known orange codes with full values, shades, harmonies and contrast checks on each color page.
Pantone Orange shades by lightness
Orange-family colors break naturally into three lightness bands. Light oranges - peach, apricot, pale cantaloupe - sit above 65 percent lightness and read as warm pastels. Medium oranges - the recognizable signal orange, pumpkin, and tangerine codes - sit between 35 and 65 percent lightness and carry the bulk of orange's visual weight. Dark oranges - rust, burnt sienna, terracotta, and deep amber - sit below 35 percent lightness and read as grounded, autumnal, or aged.
How to match Pantone Orange in design
Matching Pantone orange in design starts with deciding hue bias, then choosing the right lightness band for the role the color plays in the composition. Warm oranges (yellow-biased) work well as background accents and youthful branding; deep oranges (red-biased) work well for premium packaging and autumnal themes. For digital work, the HEX value usually translates faithfully to screen - orange is one of the safer families for browser consistency. For print, spot inks are essential for bright oranges: CMYK builds lose 10 to 30 percent of the visible saturation because bright orange sits at the edge of the process gamut. Always print a proof on the actual stock - coated versus uncoated paper changes an orange's perceived hue far more than it changes a blue or gray.
Common mistakes with Pantone Orange
Assuming a CMYK build will match a bright orange - most bright oranges shift warm and dull after CMYK conversion, sometimes dramatically
Using pure orange as a large background without contrast testing - orange text on white fails WCAG AA at most weights, so pair orange with dark text on neutral backgrounds instead
Mixing light and deep oranges without an intermediate tone - the two feel disconnected without a bridge color
Forgetting that paper finish changes orange - uncoated stock turns a vivid orange toward rust, and matte stock flattens it
Using orange for status messaging where red or yellow would be clearer - orange's ambiguity between "warning" and "attention" can confuse users
All 154 Pantone Orange colors
Every color in this family, from pale tints to deep shades. Open any color for HEX, RGB, CMYK, shades, harmonies and contrast checks.
Questions about Pantone Orange
What is the most popular Pantone orange?
Pantone 021 C is the "safety orange" most associated with the Pantone brand itself - it is on Pantone's own brand materials and is the classic signal orange for warning and construction contexts. Pantone 158 C is the most common "friendly orange" for food branding and packaging. Pantone 165 C is a close third, frequently used in automotive and sports contexts where a slightly warmer orange is wanted.
What is the Pantone code for traffic-cone orange?
Pantone 021 C is the closest published match to classic traffic-cone orange, sometimes called "Pantone Orange." Its HEX approximation is #FE5000 and its CMYK build is 0/69/100/0 - an unusually clean match because the ink mix was specifically tuned for a highly visible safety orange. Traffic cones themselves use retroreflective film rather than Pantone inks, so the cones you see on the road are visually close but not literally Pantone 021 C.
What is the difference between Pantone 021 C and 1505 C?
Pantone 021 C is a vivid signal orange near the red edge of the family; Pantone 1505 C is a lighter, more playful orange that leans toward amber. Both are common brand colors, but 021 C reads as urgent and industrial while 1505 C reads as approachable and consumer-friendly. A food brand would typically choose 1505 C; a warning-sign vendor would choose 021 C.
How many Pantone oranges are there?
The Pantone Matching System includes more than 250 orange-family colors across its Solid Coated and Solid Uncoated libraries. Our catalog shows 154 of them, filterable by lightness band. The exact count depends on where you draw the boundary with reds, yellows, and browns - some codes could reasonably be classified as either.
Is orange accessible for text?
Rarely. Most Pantone oranges fail WCAG AA contrast against white or light backgrounds, and even against dark backgrounds the contrast is marginal at body-text sizes. Use orange as an accent (icon, button, highlight) and pair it with dark text on neutral backgrounds for readability. For text-critical contrast, consider a darker orange - Pantone 1675 C or similar - or shift to brown or red.