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#9c6eb2

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

RGB
156, 110, 178
HSL
281°, 31%, 57%
CMYK
12, 38, 0, 30
Luminance
0.2143

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9c6eb2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9c6eb2
Hue
281°
violet
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
57%
balanced
Brightness
70%
HSV value
Perceived
53%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2143
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
59/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
5.29:1
Closest name
Medium Purple
ΔE2000 8.9
Where it sits
Hue281° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness57%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool59% cool

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

Every format

HEX#9c6eb2
RGBrgb(156, 110, 178)
HSLhsl(281, 31%, 57%)
CMYKcmyk(12%, 38%, 0%, 30%)
LABlab(53.4 30.8 -29.1)
LCHlch(53.4 42.3 316.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.611 0.112 314.3)
Decimal10251954
Display P3color(display-p3 0.612 0.431 0.698)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #9c6eb2;
background-color: #9c6eb2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9c6eb2] bg-[#9c6eb2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9c6eb2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.612, green: 0.431, blue: 0.698)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#9c6eb2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9C6EB2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(178, 110, 156)

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 #9c6eb2 · 5.29:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.97:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.29:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #9c6eb2 as text scores 3.97:1 on white and 5.29:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9c6eb2 on white: 3.97:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9c6eb2 on black: 5.29:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #637DB5
deuteranopia · #6E81B0
tritanopia · #9B7788

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #9c6eb2 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.

#F8F6F9
#F1ECF3
#E1D5E7
#CDB6D8
#B491C5
#9c6eb2
#8855A0
#714785
#5A396B
#432C4E
#2A1B31
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F9Darkest = 950 · #2A1B31
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-100: #F1ECF3;
  --brand-200: #E1D5E7;
  --brand-300: #CDB6D8;
  --brand-400: #B491C5;
  --brand-500: #9c6eb2;
  --brand-600: #8855A0;
  --brand-700: #714785;
  --brand-800: #5A396B;
  --brand-900: #432C4E;
  --brand-950: #2A1B31;
  --brand: #9c6eb2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #9c6eb2

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#F8F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#DBCAE3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7F5096
Captions on the surface
Accent#6B8943
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#472C53
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4EEF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1F1424
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #9c6eb2

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
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

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#84B26E
Analogous left#7A6EB2
Analogous right#B26EA6
Split-complement 1#A6B26E
Split-complement 2#6EB27A
Triadic 1#B29C6E
Triadic 2#6EB29C
Tetradic#B27A6E

RGB percentages

Red61.2%
Green43.1%
Blue69.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan12.4%
Magenta38.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)30.2%

Color previews

#9c6eb2 text on a black background

contrast 5.29:1

Card sample

#9c6eb2 text on a white background

contrast 3.97:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9c6eb2;
Background color
Panel with #9c6eb2 background
background-color: #9c6eb2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9c6eb2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(156, 110, 178, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(156, 110, 178, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9c6eb2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9c6eb2, #B26E9B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9c6eb2

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#9c6eb2 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.

#9c6eb2, answered

What color is #9c6eb2?

#9c6eb2 is a balanced soft violet, closest to Medium Purple (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 281° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 57% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9c6eb2?

rgb(156, 110, 178) — 156 red, 110 green and 178 blue out of 255, or 61.2% / 43.1% / 69.8% by channel.

Is #9c6eb2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2143 and perceived brightness is 53%, so black text on it reaches 5.29:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9c6eb2?

Black. It scores 5.29:1 against #9c6eb2, versus 3.97:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #9c6eb2?

#84B26E sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A6B26E and #6EB27A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9c6eb2?

For interface work: #F8F5FA as the surface, #DBCAE3 for borders, #7F5096 for secondary text, #6B8943 as an accent and #472C53 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7A6EB2 and #B26EA6 stays calm, while #84B26E is the loudest partner.

What is #9c6eb2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(12%, 38%, 0%, 30%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9c6eb2 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 59 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B26EAF; nudged cooler, #826CB4.

Work with #9c6eb2 in the Color Lab