#a409df
a balanced, electric violet · cool · closest name: Dark Orchid
Token name suggestion: Atlas Amethyst
#a409df is a balanced electric violet, 284° on the wheel and 59/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (5.70:1). As text it scores 5.70:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is purple.
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #a409df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #a409df.
Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.
Every format
| HEX | #a409df |
| HEX (8-digit) | #a409dfff |
| RGB | rgb(164, 9, 223) |
| RGBA | rgba(164, 9, 223, 1) |
| HSL | hsl(284, 92%, 46%) |
| HSV / HSB | hsv(283, 96%, 87%) |
| HWB | hwb(284 4% 13%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(27%, 96%, 0%, 13%) |
| LAB | lab(43.4 79.6 -70.9) |
| LCH | lch(43.4 106.6 318.3) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.549 0.271 312.0) |
| XYZ (D65) | xyz(28.72, 13.42, 70.87) |
| Decimal | 10750431 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.643 0.035 0.875) |
| Web-safe | #9900CC |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #a409df;
background-color: #a409df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #a409df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a409df] bg-[#a409df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a409df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.643, green: 0.035, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.643, green: 0.035, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#A409DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFA409DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA409DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 9, 164)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(164, 9, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(164, 9, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 164, 9, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6431f, 0.0353f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{164,9,223}/* mix without leaving CSS */ background: color-mix(in oklab, #a409df 85%, white); border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #a409df 40%, transparent); /* theme-aware in one line */ color: light-dark(#5A057B, #E7D3EE); /* relative colour syntax */ --hover: hsl(from #a409df h s calc(l - 7));
Design tokens
The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.
:root {
--brand-50: #FAF2FD;
--brand-100: #F5E4FB;
--brand-200: #EAC3F9;
--brand-300: #DE93FB;
--brand-400: #CE5DF8;
--brand-500: #BD27F6;
--brand-600: #a409df;
--brand-700: #9008C4;
--brand-800: #73069D;
--brand-900: #550971;
--brand-950: #350647;
--brand: #a409df;
--brand-ink: #ffffff;
--brand-surface: #F9F4FA;
--brand-border: #E0C0ED;
--brand-hover: #8B08BD;
--brand-pressed: #72069A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
:root {
--brand-surface: #201424;
--brand-ink: #E7D3EE;
}
}theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: {
50: '#FAF2FD',
100: '#F5E4FB',
200: '#EAC3F9',
300: '#DE93FB',
400: '#CE5DF8',
500: '#BD27F6',
600: '#a409df',
700: '#9008C4',
800: '#73069D',
900: '#550971',
950: '#350647',
DEFAULT: '#a409df',
},
},
},
}$brand: (
'50': #FAF2FD,
'100': #F5E4FB,
'200': #EAC3F9,
'300': #DE93FB,
'400': #CE5DF8,
'500': #BD27F6,
'600': #a409df,
'700': #9008C4,
'800': #73069D,
'900': #550971,
'950': #350647,
);
$brand-base: #a409df;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;
@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }{
"color": {
"brand": {
"50": { "$value": "#FAF2FD", "$type": "color" },
"100": { "$value": "#F5E4FB", "$type": "color" },
"200": { "$value": "#EAC3F9", "$type": "color" },
"300": { "$value": "#DE93FB", "$type": "color" },
"400": { "$value": "#CE5DF8", "$type": "color" },
"500": { "$value": "#BD27F6", "$type": "color" },
"600": { "$value": "#a409df", "$type": "color" },
"700": { "$value": "#9008C4", "$type": "color" },
"800": { "$value": "#73069D", "$type": "color" },
"900": { "$value": "#550971", "$type": "color" },
"950": { "$value": "#350647", "$type": "color" }
},
"brandInk": { "$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.
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.
Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A409DF 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
Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #a409df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #a409df.
| Neutral | Ratio | Verdict | Both directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| White#ffffff | 5.70:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 50#f8fafc | 5.45:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 100#f1f5f9 | 5.20:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 200#e2e8f0 | 4.63:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 300#cbd5e1 | 3.84:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 400#94a3b8 | 2.22:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 500#64748b | 1.20:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 600#475569 | 1.33:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 700#334155 | 1.82:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 800#1e293b | 2.57:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Slate 900#0f172a | 3.13:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
| Black#000000 | 3.68:1 | AAAA lgAAA | AaAa |
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. #a409df is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.
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.
:root {
--brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.068 312.0);
--brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.108 312.0);
--brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.163 312.0);
--brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.211 312.0);
--brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.249 312.0);
--brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.271 312.0);
--brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.271 312.0);
--brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.255 312.0);
--brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.228 312.0);
--brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.190 312.0);
--brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.149 312.0);
}Colors that work with #a409df
Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.
Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.
Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.
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.
Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.
The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.
How to use #a409df
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Body text and links on white
- ✓Primary buttons and calls to action
- ✓Focus rings, active and selected states
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ✓Chart series and data categories
- ⚠Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
- ⚠Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Meaning and mood
What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.
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 chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.
Deep violets swallow detail on screens with poor gamma; check it on a cheap laptop panel.
- FormalityLow
- EnergyHigh
- Weight55/100
- 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 | #44DF09 | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #3909DF | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #DF09AF | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #AFDF09 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #09DF39 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #DFA409 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #09DFA4 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #DF3909 | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
#a409df sits at 284°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Total ink coverage is 135%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.
Color previews
#a409df text on a black background
contrast 3.68:1
#a409df text on a white background
contrast 5.70:1
#a409df on grey
5.20:1
#a409df on its own surface
5.25:1
#a409df on its dark surface
3.10:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #a409df;
background-color: #a409df;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a409df;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(164, 9, 223, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(164, 9, 223, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #a409df; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a409df, #DF098B);
Gradient headline
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #a409df, #DF0956); -webkit-background-clip: text; color: transparent;
outline: 2px solid #a409df; outline-offset: 3px;
Marked up text
text-decoration-color: #a409df; caret-color: #a409df;
border-left: 4px solid #a409df;
background: #F8E6FE; box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #a409df;
background: conic-gradient(#a409df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);
Transparency
What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #a409df 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.
rgba(164, 9, 223, 0.5) rgb(164 9 223 / 50%) #a409df80 hsl(284 92% 46% / 50%) color-mix(in srgb, #a409df 50%, transparent)
| Alpha | 8-digit hex | Flat on white |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | #a409df1a | #F6E6FC |
| 20% | #a409df33 | #EDCEF9 |
| 40% | #a409df66 | #DB9DF2 |
| 60% | #a409df99 | #C86BEC |
| 80% | #a409dfcc | #B63AE5 |
Gradients from #a409df
Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #C02FF7, #a409df 45%, #5A057B);
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #a409df, #C20869);
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #a409df, #44DF09);
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #C94CF8 0%, #a409df 45%, #5A057B 100%);
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F4FA, #ffffff);
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #4325F6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F511AF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5A057B 0%, transparent 65%), #a409df;
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #a409df
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: HBO Purple (#991eeb) — ΔE2000 2.6 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#a409df in the real world
Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.
Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.
Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.
Too dim on dark surfaces at 3.68:1 — lift it to #BA1BF6 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.
#a409df, answered
What color is #a409df?
#a409df is a balanced electric violet, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 3.4). It sits at 284° on the hue wheel with 92% saturation and 46% lightness, which reads as cool.
What is the RGB value of #a409df?
rgb(164, 9, 223) — 164 red, 9 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 64.3% / 3.5% / 87.5% by channel.
What is #a409df in HSL and HSV?
hsl(284, 92%, 46%) and hsv(283, 96%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.
Is #a409df a light or a dark color?
It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1342 and perceived brightness is 46%, so white text on it reaches 5.70:1.
Should I use black or white text on #a409df?
White. It scores 5.70:1 against #a409df, versus 3.68:1 for black — AA at any size.
Is #a409df accessible on a white background?
#a409df on white scores 5.70:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.
What is the complementary color of #a409df?
#44DF09 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AFDF09 and #09DF39, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #a409df?
For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #E0C0ED for borders, #854B9B for secondary text, #6BC903 as an accent and #5A057B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3909DF and #DF09AF stays calm, while #44DF09 is the loudest partner.
What is #a409df in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(27%, 96%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.
Is #a409df 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 #DF09CB; nudged cooler, #5507E1.
Which Tailwind color is closest to #a409df?
The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 11.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #a409df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.
How do I use #a409df in Tailwind CSS?
Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#a409df] or text-[#a409df], 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 #a409df with 50% opacity?
rgba(164, 9, 223, 0.5), or #a409df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D284EF; over black, #520570.
Is #a409df a web-safe color?
No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9900CC, ΔE2000 3.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.
What does the color #a409df 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.
What gradient works with #a409df?
The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C02FF7, #a409df 45%, #5A057B). For more colour, a short hue run to #C20869 keeps it rich without turning muddy.
Work with #a409df in the Color Lab
Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.
Every value on this page is computed from #a409df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.