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violet · cool

#5a427b

a dark, soft violet · cool · closest name: Dark Slate Blue

Token name suggestion: Slate Thistle

RGB
90, 66, 123
HSL
265°, 30%, 37%
CMYK
27, 46, 0, 52
Luminance
0.0750

#5a427b is a dark soft violet, 265° on the wheel and 67/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (8.40:1). As text it scores 8.40:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Slate Blue, nearest Tailwind family is slate.

hsl(265 30% 37%)rgb(90 66 123)Base step 700AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #5a427b is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#5a427b
Hue
265°
violet
Saturation
30%
soft
Lightness
37%
dark
Brightness
48%
HSV value
Perceived
32%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.0750
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
67/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
White
8.40:1
Closest name
Dark Slate Blue
ΔE2000 6.6
Chroma
36.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.431
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
slate
500 · ΔE 19.3
Web-safe
#663366
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue265° of 360°
Saturation30%
Lightness37%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #5a427b.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool67% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red29%
Green52%
Blue19%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#5a427b
HEX (8-digit)#5a427bff
RGBrgb(90, 66, 123)
RGBArgba(90, 66, 123, 1)
HSLhsl(265, 30%, 37%)
HSV / HSBhsv(265, 46%, 48%)
HWBhwb(265 26% 52%)
CMYKcmyk(27%, 46%, 0%, 52%)
LABlab(32.9 23.1 -28.7)
LCHlch(32.9 36.9 308.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.431 0.095 302.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(9.74, 7.50, 19.67)
Decimal5915259
Display P3color(display-p3 0.353 0.259 0.482)
Web-safe#663366

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #5a427b;
background-color: #5a427b;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #5a427b;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#5a427b] bg-[#5a427b]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #5a427b;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.353, green: 0.259, blue: 0.482)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.353, green: 0.259, blue: 0.482, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#5A427B</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF5A427B)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF5A427B)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(123, 66, 90)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(90, 66, 123)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(90, 66, 123)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 90, 66, 123)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.3529f, 0.2588f, 0.4824f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{90,66,123}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #5a427b 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #5a427b 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#3D2C53, #DFD7EA);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #5a427b h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F7F6F9;
  --brand-100: #EFECF3;
  --brand-200: #DCD5E7;
  --brand-300: #C4B6D8;
  --brand-400: #A791C4;
  --brand-500: #896DB1;
  --brand-600: #75559F;
  --brand-700: #5a427b;
  --brand-800: #4E396A;
  --brand-900: #3B2C4E;
  --brand-950: #251C31;
  --brand: #5a427b;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #F7F5FA;
  --brand-border: #D4CAE3;
  --brand-hover: #493664;
  --brand-pressed: #38294D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1B1424;
    --brand-ink: #DFD7EA;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F6F9',
        100: '#EFECF3',
        200: '#DCD5E7',
        300: '#C4B6D8',
        400: '#A791C4',
        500: '#896DB1',
        600: '#75559F',
        700: '#5a427b',
        800: '#4E396A',
        900: '#3B2C4E',
        950: '#251C31',
        DEFAULT: '#5a427b',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F6F9,
  '100': #EFECF3,
  '200': #DCD5E7,
  '300': #C4B6D8,
  '400': #A791C4,
  '500': #896DB1,
  '600': #75559F,
  '700': #5a427b,
  '800': #4E396A,
  '900': #3B2C4E,
  '950': #251C31,
);
$brand-base: #5a427b;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EFECF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DCD5E7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C4B6D8", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#A791C4", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#896DB1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#75559F", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#5a427b", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#4E396A", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3B2C4E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#251C31", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#ffffff", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #5a427b · 8.40:1
Use #ffffffAAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 8.40:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Aa
Black text · 2.50:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #5a427b as text scores 8.40:1 on white and 2.50:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #F2EEF6 at 7.33:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#5a427b · 8.40:1
AA on whitealready passes
#5a427b
The quick fox
#5a427b · 8.40:1
AAA on whitealready passes
#5a427b
The quick fox
#8467AD · 4.52:1
AA on black+17% L
#8467AD
The quick fox
#A28BC1 · 7.00:1
AAA on black+28% L
#A28BC1

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #5A427B is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#5a427b on white: 8.40:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#5a427b on black: 2.50:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #5a427b as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #5a427b.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White8.40:1AaAa
Slate 508.03:1AaAa
Slate 1007.67:1AaAa
Slate 2006.81:1AaAa
Slate 3005.66:1AaAa
Slate 4003.28:1AaAa
Slate 5001.77:1AaAa
Slate 6001.11:1AaAa
Slate 7001.23:1AaAa
Slate 8001.74:1AaAa
Slate 9002.13:1AaAa
Black2.50:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #324D7D
deuteranopia · #384D7A
tritanopia · #544C58

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #5a427b is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F7F6F9
#EFECF3
#DCD5E7
#C4B6D8
#A791C4
#896DB1
#75559F
#5a427b
#4E396A
#3B2C4E
#251C31
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #F7F6F9Darkest = 950 · #251C31Text step on white = 600
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.024 302.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.038 302.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.057 302.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.074 302.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.087 302.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.095 302.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.095 302.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.089 302.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.080 302.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.066 302.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.052 302.0);
}

Colors that work with #5a427b

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#F7F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#D4CAE3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#6D5095
Captions on the surface
Accent#747F3E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3D2C53
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2EEF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1B1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#493664
One step down in lightness
Pressed#38294D
Two steps down
Disabled#9380AE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#623F93
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #5a427b

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text on black or near-black surfaces
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

creativepremiummodernimaginative

Violet sits between the warmth of red and the calm of blue, so it reads as inventive without reading as risky. Current shorthand for software craft.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Deep violets swallow detail on screens with poor gamma; check it on a cheap laptop panel.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight63/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#637B42
Analogous left#42477B
Analogous right#77427B
Split-complement 1#7B7742
Split-complement 2#477B42
Triadic 1#7B5A42
Triadic 2#427B5A
Tetradic#7B4247
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°265°

#5a427b sits at 265°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red35.3%
Green25.9%
Blue48.2%
R · 0–255
90
0x5a
G · 0–255
66
0x42
B · 0–255
123
0x7b

CMYK percentages

Cyan26.8%
Magenta46.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)51.8%

Total ink coverage is 125%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#5a427b text on a black background

contrast 2.50:1

Card sample

#5a427b text on a white background

contrast 8.40:1

Card sample

#5a427b on grey

7.67:1

#5a427b on its own surface

7.76:1

#5a427b on its dark surface

2.13:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #5a427b;
Background color
Panel with #5a427b background
background-color: #5a427b;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #5a427b;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(90, 66, 123, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(90, 66, 123, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #5a427b;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #5a427b, #7B4276);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #5a427b, #7B4268);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #5a427b;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #5a427b;
caret-color: #5a427b;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #5a427b;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F2EEF6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #5a427b;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#5a427b 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #5a427b over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(90, 66, 123, 0.5)
rgb(90 66 123 / 50%)
#5a427b80
hsl(265 30% 37% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #5a427b 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#5a427b1a#EFECF2
20%#5a427b33#DED9E5
40%#5a427b66#BDB3CA
60%#5a427b99#9C8EB0
80%#5a427bcc#7B6895

Gradients from #5a427b

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #7757A3, #5a427b 45%, #3D2C53);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #5a427b, #67375F);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #5a427b, #637B42);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #876AAF 0%, #5a427b 45%, #3D2C53 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F7F5FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #54609C 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #8F4D8F 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #3D2C53 0%, transparent 65%), #5a427b;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #5a427b

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#5a427b in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
Creative toolsFintechBeautyLuxury
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Too dim on dark surfaces at 2.50:1 — lift it to #8467AD for body text, or reserve it for fills.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#5a427b, answered

What color is #5a427b?

#5a427b is a dark soft violet, closest to Dark Slate Blue (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 265° on the hue wheel with 30% saturation and 37% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #5a427b?

rgb(90, 66, 123) — 90 red, 66 green and 123 blue out of 255, or 35.3% / 25.9% / 48.2% by channel.

What is #5a427b in HSL and HSV?

hsl(265, 30%, 37%) and hsv(265, 46%, 48%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #5a427b a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.0750 and perceived brightness is 32%, so white text on it reaches 8.40:1.

Should I use black or white text on #5a427b?

White. It scores 8.40:1 against #5a427b, versus 2.50:1 for black — AAA at any size.

Is #5a427b accessible on a white background?

#5a427b on white scores 8.40:1, which clears AAA at every size.

What is the complementary color of #5a427b?

#637B42 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7B7742 and #477B42, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #5a427b?

For interface work: #F7F5FA as the surface, #D4CAE3 for borders, #6D5095 for secondary text, #747F3E as an accent and #3D2C53 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #42477B and #77427B stays calm, while #637B42 is the loudest partner.

What is #5a427b in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(27%, 46%, 0%, 52%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #5a427b warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 67 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #6F427B; nudged cooler, #43407D.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #5a427b?

The slate family — its 500 step is #64748b, ΔE2000 19.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #5a427b as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #5a427b in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#5a427b] or text-[#5a427b], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #5a427b with 50% opacity?

rgba(90, 66, 123, 0.5), or #5a427b80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #ADA1BD; over black, #2D213E.

Is #5a427b a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #663366, ΔE2000 8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #5a427b mean?

As a violet, it reads creative, premium, modern. Violet sits between the warmth of red and the calm of blue, so it reads as inventive without reading as risky. Current shorthand for software craft. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #5a427b?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #7757A3, #5a427b 45%, #3D2C53). For more colour, a short hue run to #67375F keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #5a427b in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #5a427b at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.