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#a240cf

a balanced, vivid violet · cool · closest name: Dark Orchid

RGB
162, 64, 207
HSL
281°, 60%, 53%
CMYK
22, 69, 0, 19
Luminance
0.1585

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a240cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a240cf
Hue
281°
violet
Saturation
60%
vivid
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
48%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1585
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
60/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
5.04:1
Closest name
Dark Orchid
ΔE2000 3.4
Where it sits
Hue281° of 360°
Saturation60%
Lightness53%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool60% 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#a240cf
RGBrgb(162, 64, 207)
HSLhsl(281, 60%, 53%)
CMYKcmyk(22%, 69%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(46.8 62.1 -56.3)
LCHlch(46.8 83.8 317.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.569 0.217 313.0)
Decimal10633423
Display P3color(display-p3 0.635 0.251 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a240cf;
background-color: #a240cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a240cf] bg-[#a240cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a240cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.635, green: 0.251, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a240cf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA240CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 64, 162)

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 #a240cf · 5.04:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 5.04:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.17:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #a240cf as text scores 5.04:1 on white and 4.17:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a240cf on white: 5.04:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a240cf on black: 4.17:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #006AD3
deuteranopia · #3471CC
tritanopia · #9D5E83

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a240cf 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.

#F9F4FB
#F2E9F7
#E4CCEF
#D3A5E8
#BD79DD
#a240cf
#9531C4
#7D29A3
#642182
#4A1C5F
#2E113B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F4FBDarkest = 950 · #2E113B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F4FB;
  --brand-100: #F2E9F7;
  --brand-200: #E4CCEF;
  --brand-300: #D3A5E8;
  --brand-400: #BD79DD;
  --brand-500: #a240cf;
  --brand-600: #9531C4;
  --brand-700: #7D29A3;
  --brand-800: #642182;
  --brand-900: #4A1C5F;
  --brand-950: #2E113B;
  --brand: #a240cf;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #a240cf

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#F8F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#DFC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#824B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#6EA725
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4E1A66
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5EBFA
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 #a240cf

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

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#6DCF40
Analogous left#5A40CF
Analogous right#CF40B4
Split-complement 1#B4CF40
Split-complement 2#40CF5A
Triadic 1#CFA240
Triadic 2#40CFA2
Tetradic#CF5A40

RGB percentages

Red63.5%
Green25.1%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan21.7%
Magenta69.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#a240cf text on a black background

contrast 4.17:1

Card sample

#a240cf text on a white background

contrast 5.04:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a240cf;
Background color
Panel with #a240cf background
background-color: #a240cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a240cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(162, 64, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(162, 64, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a240cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a240cf, #CF409D);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a240cf

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.

#a240cf 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.

#a240cf, answered

What color is #a240cf?

#a240cf is a balanced vivid violet, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 3.4). It sits at 281° on the hue wheel with 60% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a240cf?

rgb(162, 64, 207) — 162 red, 64 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 63.5% / 25.1% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #a240cf a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1585 and perceived brightness is 48%, so white text on it reaches 5.04:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a240cf?

White. It scores 5.04:1 against #a240cf, versus 4.17:1 for black — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a240cf?

#6DCF40 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B4CF40 and #40CF5A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a240cf?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DFC0ED for borders, #824B9B for secondary text, #6EA725 as an accent and #4E1A66 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5A40CF and #CF40B4 stays calm, while #6DCF40 is the loudest partner.

What is #a240cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(22%, 69%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a240cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 60 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CF40C8; nudged cooler, #6D3DD1.

Work with #a240cf in the Color Lab