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violet · cool

#9b7eb8

a balanced, soft violet · cool · closest name: Medium Purple

Token name suggestion: True Thistle

RGB
155, 126, 184
HSL
270°, 29%, 61%
CMYK
16, 32, 0, 28
Luminance
0.2535

#9b7eb8 is a balanced soft violet, 270° on the wheel and 64/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.07:1). As text it scores 3.46:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Medium Purple, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(270 29% 61%)rgb(155 126 184)Base step 500AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9b7eb8 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9b7eb8
Hue
270°
violet
Saturation
29%
soft
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
72%
HSV value
Perceived
56%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2535
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
64/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.07:1
Closest name
Medium Purple
ΔE2000 9.6
Chroma
34.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.642
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 15.3
Web-safe
#9966CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue270° of 360°
Saturation29%
Lightness61%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #9b7eb8.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool64% 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
Red27%
Green59%
Blue14%

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

Every format

HEX#9b7eb8
HEX (8-digit)#9b7eb8ff
RGBrgb(155, 126, 184)
RGBArgba(155, 126, 184, 1)
HSLhsl(270, 29%, 61%)
HSV / HSBhsv(270, 32%, 72%)
HWBhwb(270 49% 28%)
CMYKcmyk(16%, 32%, 0%, 28%)
LABlab(57.4 22.6 -26.3)
LCHlch(57.4 34.7 310.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.642 0.090 306.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(29.63, 25.35, 48.67)
Decimal10190520
Display P3color(display-p3 0.608 0.494 0.722)
Web-safe#9966CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #9b7eb8;
background-color: #9b7eb8;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #9b7eb8;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9b7eb8] bg-[#9b7eb8]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9b7eb8;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.608, green: 0.494, blue: 0.722)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.608, green: 0.494, blue: 0.722, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#9B7EB8</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF9B7EB8)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9B7EB8)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(184, 126, 155)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(155, 126, 184)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(155, 126, 184)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 155, 126, 184)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6078f, 0.4941f, 0.7216f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{155,126,184}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #9b7eb8 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #9b7eb8 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#402D52, #E0D8E9);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #9b7eb8 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: #F0ECF3;
  --brand-200: #DED5E6;
  --brand-300: #C7B7D7;
  --brand-400: #AB92C3;
  --brand-500: #9b7eb8;
  --brand-600: #7A579E;
  --brand-700: #664884;
  --brand-800: #523A69;
  --brand-900: #3D2D4E;
  --brand-950: #261C30;
  --brand: #9b7eb8;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F5FA;
  --brand-border: #D6CAE2;
  --brand-hover: #8967AB;
  --brand-pressed: #77559A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1C1424;
    --brand-ink: #E0D8E9;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F6F9',
        100: '#F0ECF3',
        200: '#DED5E6',
        300: '#C7B7D7',
        400: '#AB92C3',
        500: '#9b7eb8',
        600: '#7A579E',
        700: '#664884',
        800: '#523A69',
        900: '#3D2D4E',
        950: '#261C30',
        DEFAULT: '#9b7eb8',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F6F9,
  '100': #F0ECF3,
  '200': #DED5E6,
  '300': #C7B7D7,
  '400': #AB92C3,
  '500': #9b7eb8,
  '600': #7A579E,
  '700': #664884,
  '800': #523A69,
  '900': #3D2D4E,
  '950': #261C30,
);
$brand-base: #9b7eb8;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0ECF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DED5E6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C7B7D7", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#AB92C3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9b7eb8", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7A579E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#664884", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#523A69", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3D2D4E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#261C30", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$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#000000 on #9b7eb8 · 6.07:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.46:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.07:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #9b7eb8 as text scores 3.46:1 on white and 6.07:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #402D52 at 3.54:1.

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
#8967AB · 4.57:1
AA on white−7% L
#8967AB
The quick fox
#684A86 · 7.21:1
AAA on white−20% L
#684A86
The quick fox
#9b7eb8 · 6.07:1
AA on blackalready passes
#9b7eb8
The quick fox
#A58BBF · 7.05:1
AAA on black+4% L
#A58BBF

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B7EB8 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
#9b7eb8 on white: 3.46:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9b7eb8 on black: 6.07:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #9b7eb8 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #9b7eb8.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.46:1AaAa
Slate 503.31:1AaAa
Slate 1003.16:1AaAa
Slate 2002.81:1AaAa
Slate 3002.33:1AaAa
Slate 4001.35:1AaAa
Slate 5001.38:1AaAa
Slate 6002.19:1AaAa
Slate 7002.99:1AaAa
Slate 8004.23:1AaAa
Slate 9005.16:1AaAa
Black6.07:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #7389BA
deuteranopia · #798AB6
tritanopia · #978693

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. #9b7eb8 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F7F6F9
#F0ECF3
#DED5E6
#C7B7D7
#AB92C3
#9b7eb8
#7A579E
#664884
#523A69
#3D2D4E
#261C30
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F7F6F9Darkest = 950 · #261C30Text 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 0.023 306.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.036 306.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.054 306.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.071 306.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.083 306.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.090 306.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.090 306.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.085 306.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.076 306.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.063 306.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.050 306.9);
}

Colors that work with #9b7eb8

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

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F7F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#D6CAE2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#735194
Captions on the surface
Accent#778844
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#402D52
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2EFF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1C1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#8967AB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#77559A
Two steps down
Disabled#D3C9DD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#A582C8
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 #9b7eb8

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

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #402D52
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 mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

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

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight39/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

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#9BB87E
Analogous left#7E7EB8
Analogous right#B87EB8
Split-complement 1#B8B87E
Split-complement 2#7EB87E
Triadic 1#B89B7E
Triadic 2#7EB89B
Tetradic#B87E7E
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°270°

#9b7eb8 sits at 270°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red60.8%
Green49.4%
Blue72.2%
R · 0–255
155
0x9b
G · 0–255
126
0x7e
B · 0–255
184
0xb8

CMYK percentages

Cyan15.8%
Magenta31.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)27.8%

Total ink coverage is 75%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#9b7eb8 text on a black background

contrast 6.07:1

Card sample

#9b7eb8 text on a white background

contrast 3.46:1

Card sample

#9b7eb8 on grey

3.16:1

#9b7eb8 on its own surface

3.20:1

#9b7eb8 on its dark surface

5.17:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9b7eb8;
Background color
Panel with #9b7eb8 background
background-color: #9b7eb8;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9b7eb8;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(155, 126, 184, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(155, 126, 184, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9b7eb8;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9b7eb8, #B87EAE);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b7eb8, #B87EA0);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #9b7eb8;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #9b7eb8;
caret-color: #9b7eb8;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #9b7eb8;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F2EFF6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #9b7eb8;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#9b7eb8 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #9b7eb8 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(155, 126, 184, 0.5)
rgb(155 126 184 / 50%)
#9b7eb880
hsl(270 29% 61% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #9b7eb8 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#9b7eb81a#F5F2F8
20%#9b7eb833#EBE5F1
40%#9b7eb866#D7CBE3
60%#9b7eb899#C3B2D4
80%#9b7eb8cc#AF98C6

Gradients from #9b7eb8

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, #BAA6CE, #9b7eb8 45%, #402D52);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #9b7eb8, #AD6A9C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b7eb8, #9BB87E);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #C9B9D9 0%, #9b7eb8 45%, #402D52 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%, #9FA3CA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C392BF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #402D52 0%, transparent 65%), #9b7eb8;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9b7eb8

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.

#9b7eb8 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

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 6.07:1.

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.

#9b7eb8, answered

What color is #9b7eb8?

#9b7eb8 is a balanced soft violet, closest to Medium Purple (ΔE2000 9.6). It sits at 270° on the hue wheel with 29% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9b7eb8?

rgb(155, 126, 184) — 155 red, 126 green and 184 blue out of 255, or 60.8% / 49.4% / 72.2% by channel.

What is #9b7eb8 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(270, 29%, 61%) and hsv(270, 32%, 72%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #9b7eb8 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2535 and perceived brightness is 56%, so black text on it reaches 6.07:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9b7eb8?

Black. It scores 6.07:1 against #9b7eb8, versus 3.46:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #9b7eb8 accessible on a white background?

#9b7eb8 on white scores 3.46:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #8967AB to reach 4.5:1, or #684A86 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #9b7eb8?

#9BB87E sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B8B87E and #7EB87E, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9b7eb8?

For interface work: #F7F5FA as the surface, #D6CAE2 for borders, #735194 for secondary text, #778844 as an accent and #402D52 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7E7EB8 and #B87EB8 stays calm, while #9BB87E is the loudest partner.

What is #9b7eb8 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(16%, 32%, 0%, 28%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9b7eb8 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 64 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B07EB8; nudged cooler, #847CBA.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #9b7eb8?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 15.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #9b7eb8 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #9b7eb8 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#9b7eb8] or text-[#9b7eb8], 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 #9b7eb8 with 50% opacity?

rgba(155, 126, 184, 0.5), or #9b7eb880 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #CDBFDC; over black, #4E3F5C.

Is #9b7eb8 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9966CC, ΔE2000 9.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #9b7eb8 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 #9b7eb8?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #BAA6CE, #9b7eb8 45%, #402D52). For more colour, a short hue run to #AD6A9C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #9b7eb8 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #9b7eb8 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.