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blue · cool

#9b8acf

a light, soft blue · cool · closest name: Medium Purple

Token name suggestion: Meadow Denim

RGB
155, 138, 207
HSL
255°, 42%, 68%
CMYK
25, 33, 0, 19
Luminance
0.2965

#9b8acf is a light soft blue, 255° on the wheel and 75/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.93:1). As text it scores 3.03:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Medium Purple, nearest Tailwind family is violet.

hsl(255 42% 68%)rgb(155 138 207)Base step 400AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9b8acf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9b8acf
Hue
255°
blue
Saturation
42%
soft
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2965
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
75/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.93:1
Closest name
Medium Purple
ΔE2000 8.9
Chroma
39.4
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.675
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
violet
500 · ΔE 15.2
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue255° of 360°
Saturation42%
Lightness68%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #9b8acf.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool75% 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
Red24%
Green61%
Blue15%

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

Every format

HEX#9b8acf
HEX (8-digit)#9b8acfff
RGBrgb(155, 138, 207)
RGBArgba(155, 138, 207, 1)
HSLhsl(255, 42%, 68%)
HSV / HSBhsv(255, 33%, 81%)
HWBhwb(255 54% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(25%, 33%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(61.4 21.1 -33.3)
LCHlch(61.4 39.4 302.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.675 0.102 294.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(33.87, 29.65, 62.96)
Decimal10193615
Display P3color(display-p3 0.608 0.541 0.812)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #9b8acf;
background-color: #9b8acf;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #9b8acf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9b8acf] bg-[#9b8acf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9b8acf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.608, green: 0.541, blue: 0.812)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.608, green: 0.541, blue: 0.812, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#9B8ACF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF9B8ACF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9B8ACF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 138, 155)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(155, 138, 207)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(155, 138, 207)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 155, 138, 207)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6078f, 0.5412f, 0.8118f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{155,138,207}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #9b8acf 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #9b8acf 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#32255A, #DAD4ED);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #9b8acf 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: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-100: #EDEBF5;
  --brand-200: #D8D2EA;
  --brand-300: #BBAFDE;
  --brand-400: #9b8acf;
  --brand-500: #7760BE;
  --brand-600: #6047AE;
  --brand-700: #503B91;
  --brand-800: #402F74;
  --brand-900: #312655;
  --brand-950: #1F1835;
  --brand: #9b8acf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F4FA;
  --brand-border: #CEC5E7;
  --brand-hover: #8571C5;
  --brand-pressed: #7057BA;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #181424;
    --brand-ink: #DAD4ED;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F5FA',
        100: '#EDEBF5',
        200: '#D8D2EA',
        300: '#BBAFDE',
        400: '#9b8acf',
        500: '#7760BE',
        600: '#6047AE',
        700: '#503B91',
        800: '#402F74',
        900: '#312655',
        950: '#1F1835',
        DEFAULT: '#9b8acf',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F5FA,
  '100': #EDEBF5,
  '200': #D8D2EA,
  '300': #BBAFDE,
  '400': #9b8acf,
  '500': #7760BE,
  '600': #6047AE,
  '700': #503B91,
  '800': #402F74,
  '900': #312655,
  '950': #1F1835,
);
$brand-base: #9b8acf;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EDEBF5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D8D2EA", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#BBAFDE", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9b8acf", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7760BE", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#6047AE", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#503B91", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#402F74", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#312655", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1F1835", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #9b8acf · 6.93:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.03:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.93:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #9b8acf as text scores 3.03:1 on white and 6.93:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #32255A at 4.48:1.

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
#7C66C0 · 4.65:1
AA on white−10% L
#7C66C0
The quick fox
#6047AC · 7.01:1
AAA on white−20% L
#6047AC
The quick fox
#9b8acf · 6.93:1
AA on blackalready passes
#9b8acf
The quick fox
#9E8DD0 · 7.17:1
AAA on black+1% L
#9E8DD0

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B8ACF 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
#9b8acf on white: 3.03:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9b8acf on black: 6.93:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #9b8acf as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #9b8acf.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.03:1AaAa
Slate 502.90:1AaAa
Slate 1002.77:1AaAa
Slate 2002.46:1AaAa
Slate 3002.04:1AaAa
Slate 4001.18:1AaAa
Slate 5001.57:1AaAa
Slate 6002.50:1AaAa
Slate 7003.42:1AaAa
Slate 8004.83:1AaAa
Slate 9005.89:1AaAa
Black6.93:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #7995D2
deuteranopia · #7B93CD
tritanopia · #9096A3

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. #9b8acf is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F5FA
#EDEBF5
#D8D2EA
#BBAFDE
#9b8acf
#7760BE
#6047AE
#503B91
#402F74
#312655
#1F1835
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F6F5FADarkest = 950 · #1F1835Text step on white = 500
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 0.025 294.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.041 294.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.061 294.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.079 294.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.093 294.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.102 294.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.102 294.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.096 294.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.085 294.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.071 294.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.056 294.8);
}

Colors that work with #9b8acf

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#F6F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#CEC5E7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#5E4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#949438
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#32255A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0EDF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#181424
Dark-mode background
Hover#8571C5
One step down in lightness
Pressed#7057BA
Two steps down
Disabled#E2DFEA
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#A491DC
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 #9b8acf

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • White text placed on it
  • 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 #32255A
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.

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight32/100
  • 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#BECF8A
Analogous left#8A9BCF
Analogous right#BD8ACF
Split-complement 1#CFBD8A
Split-complement 2#9BCF8A
Triadic 1#CF9B8A
Triadic 2#8ACF9B
Tetradic#CF8A9B
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°255°

#9b8acf sits at 255°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red60.8%
Green54.1%
Blue81.2%
R · 0–255
155
0x9b
G · 0–255
138
0x8a
B · 0–255
207
0xcf

CMYK percentages

Cyan25.1%
Magenta33.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 77%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#9b8acf text on a black background

contrast 6.93:1

Card sample

#9b8acf text on a white background

contrast 3.03:1

Card sample

#9b8acf on grey

2.77:1

#9b8acf on its own surface

2.78:1

#9b8acf on its dark surface

5.95:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9b8acf;
Background color
Panel with #9b8acf background
background-color: #9b8acf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9b8acf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(155, 138, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(155, 138, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9b8acf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9b8acf, #C98ACF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b8acf, #CF8AC4);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #9b8acf;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #9b8acf;
caret-color: #9b8acf;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #9b8acf;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0EDF8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #9b8acf;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#9b8acf 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #9b8acf 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, 138, 207, 0.5)
rgb(155 138 207 / 50%)
#9b8acf80
hsl(255 42% 68% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #9b8acf 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#9b8acf1a#F5F3FA
20%#9b8acf33#EBE8F5
40%#9b8acf66#D7D0EC
60%#9b8acf99#C3B9E2
80%#9b8acfcc#AFA1D9

Gradients from #9b8acf

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, #C0B5E1, #9b8acf 45%, #32255A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #9b8acf, #C674C6);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #9b8acf, #BECF8A);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D3CBEA 0%, #9b8acf 45%, #32255A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #AEBEDE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #CEA0D8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #32255A 0%, transparent 65%), #9b8acf;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9b8acf

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.

#9b8acf in the real world

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

Industries
TechnologyFinanceHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
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 6.93:1.

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.

#9b8acf, answered

What color is #9b8acf?

#9b8acf is a light soft blue, closest to Medium Purple (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 255° on the hue wheel with 42% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9b8acf?

rgb(155, 138, 207) — 155 red, 138 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 60.8% / 54.1% / 81.2% by channel.

What is #9b8acf in HSL and HSV?

hsl(255, 42%, 68%) and hsv(255, 33%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #9b8acf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2965 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 6.93:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9b8acf?

Black. It scores 6.93:1 against #9b8acf, versus 3.03:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #9b8acf accessible on a white background?

#9b8acf on white scores 3.03:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #7C66C0 to reach 4.5:1, or #6047AC for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #9b8acf?

#BECF8A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFBD8A and #9BCF8A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9b8acf?

For interface work: #F6F4FA as the surface, #CEC5E7 for borders, #5E4B9B for secondary text, #949438 as an accent and #32255A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8A9BCF and #BD8ACF stays calm, while #BECF8A is the loudest partner.

What is #9b8acf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(25%, 33%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9b8acf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 75 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B48ACF; nudged cooler, #8891D1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #9b8acf?

The violet family — its 500 step is #8b5cf6, ΔE2000 15.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #9b8acf as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #9b8acf in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#9b8acf] or text-[#9b8acf], 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 #9b8acf with 50% opacity?

rgba(155, 138, 207, 0.5), or #9b8acf80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #CDC5E7; over black, #4E4568.

Is #9b8acf a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 5.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #9b8acf mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #9b8acf?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C0B5E1, #9b8acf 45%, #32255A). For more colour, a short hue run to #C674C6 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #9b8acf in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #9b8acf at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.