Skip to content
violet · cool

#a487ba

a balanced, soft violet · cool · closest name: Plum

Token name suggestion: Signal Plum

RGB
164, 135, 186
HSL
274°, 27%, 63%
CMYK
12, 27, 0, 27
Luminance
0.2877

#a487ba is a balanced soft violet, 274° on the wheel and 61/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.75:1). As text it scores 3.11:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Plum, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(274 27% 63%)rgb(164 135 186)Base step 400AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a487ba is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a487ba
Hue
274°
violet
Saturation
27%
soft
Lightness
63%
balanced
Brightness
73%
HSV value
Perceived
59%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2877
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
61/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.75:1
Closest name
Plum
ΔE2000 12
Chroma
30.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.668
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 17.6
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue274° of 360°
Saturation27%
Lightness63%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #a487ba.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool61% 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%
Green60%
Blue12%

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

Every format

HEX#a487ba
HEX (8-digit)#a487baff
RGBrgb(164, 135, 186)
RGBArgba(164, 135, 186, 1)
HSLhsl(274, 27%, 63%)
HSV / HSBhsv(274, 27%, 73%)
HWBhwb(274 53% 27%)
CMYKcmyk(12%, 27%, 0%, 27%)
LABlab(60.6 20.8 -22.6)
LCHlch(60.6 30.7 312.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.668 0.081 310.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(32.84, 28.77, 50.27)
Decimal10782650
Display P3color(display-p3 0.643 0.529 0.729)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #a487ba;
background-color: #a487ba;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #a487ba;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a487ba] bg-[#a487ba]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a487ba;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.643, green: 0.529, blue: 0.729)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.643, green: 0.529, blue: 0.729, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#A487BA</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFA487BA)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA487BA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(186, 135, 164)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(164, 135, 186)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(164, 135, 186)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 164, 135, 186)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6431f, 0.5294f, 0.7294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{164,135,186}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #a487ba 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #a487ba 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#422F51, #E2D8E9);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #a487ba 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: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-100: #F0ECF3;
  --brand-200: #DFD6E6;
  --brand-300: #C9B8D6;
  --brand-400: #a487ba;
  --brand-500: #9371AD;
  --brand-600: #7F599B;
  --brand-700: #6A4A82;
  --brand-800: #553C68;
  --brand-900: #3F2E4C;
  --brand-950: #281D30;
  --brand: #a487ba;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F5F9;
  --brand-border: #D8CBE1;
  --brand-hover: #9370AD;
  --brand-pressed: #815B9E;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1D1424;
    --brand-ink: #E2D8E9;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F6F9',
        100: '#F0ECF3',
        200: '#DFD6E6',
        300: '#C9B8D6',
        400: '#a487ba',
        500: '#9371AD',
        600: '#7F599B',
        700: '#6A4A82',
        800: '#553C68',
        900: '#3F2E4C',
        950: '#281D30',
        DEFAULT: '#a487ba',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F6F9,
  '100': #F0ECF3,
  '200': #DFD6E6,
  '300': #C9B8D6,
  '400': #a487ba,
  '500': #9371AD,
  '600': #7F599B,
  '700': #6A4A82,
  '800': #553C68,
  '900': #3F2E4C,
  '950': #281D30,
);
$brand-base: #a487ba;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0ECF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFD6E6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C9B8D6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#a487ba", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9371AD", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7F599B", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6A4A82", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#553C68", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3F2E4C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#281D30", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #a487ba · 6.75:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.11:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.75:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #a487ba as text scores 3.11:1 on white and 6.75:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #422F51 at 3.84:1.

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
#8B66A7 · 4.61:1
AA on white−10% L
#8B66A7
The quick fox
#694A81 · 7.25:1
AAA on white−23% L
#694A81
The quick fox
#a487ba · 6.75:1
AA on blackalready passes
#a487ba
The quick fox
#A98DBE · 7.24:1
AAA on black+2% L
#A98DBE

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A487BA 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
#a487ba on white: 3.11:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a487ba on black: 6.75:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #a487ba as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #a487ba.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.11:1AaAa
Slate 502.97:1AaAa
Slate 1002.84:1AaAa
Slate 2002.52:1AaAa
Slate 3002.09:1AaAa
Slate 4001.21:1AaAa
Slate 5001.53:1AaAa
Slate 6002.44:1AaAa
Slate 7003.33:1AaAa
Slate 8004.70:1AaAa
Slate 9005.74:1AaAa
Black6.75:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #7F91BC
deuteranopia · #8593B8
tritanopia · #A28E99

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. #a487ba 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.

#F8F6F9
#F0ECF3
#DFD6E6
#C9B8D6
#a487ba
#9371AD
#7F599B
#6A4A82
#553C68
#3F2E4C
#281D30
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F9Darkest = 950 · #281D30Text 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 0.020 310.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.032 310.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.048 310.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.063 310.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.074 310.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.081 310.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.081 310.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.076 310.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.068 310.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.056 310.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.044 310.1);
}

Colors that work with #a487ba

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#F8F5F9
Tinted page background
Border#D8CBE1
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#775492
Captions on the surface
Accent#718646
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#422F51
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3EFF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#9370AD
One step down in lightness
Pressed#815B9E
Two steps down
Disabled#DAD0E1
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#AF8BCA
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 #a487ba

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 #422F51
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
  • Weight37/100
  • 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#9DBA87
Analogous left#8A87BA
Analogous right#BA87B6
Split-complement 1#B6BA87
Split-complement 2#87BA8A
Triadic 1#BAA487
Triadic 2#87BAA4
Tetradic#BA8A87
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°274°

#a487ba sits at 274°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red64.3%
Green52.9%
Blue72.9%
R · 0–255
164
0xa4
G · 0–255
135
0x87
B · 0–255
186
0xba

CMYK percentages

Cyan11.8%
Magenta27.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)27.1%

Total ink coverage is 66%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#a487ba text on a black background

contrast 6.75:1

Card sample

#a487ba text on a white background

contrast 3.11:1

Card sample

#a487ba on grey

2.84:1

#a487ba on its own surface

2.88:1

#a487ba on its dark surface

5.73:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a487ba;
Background color
Panel with #a487ba background
background-color: #a487ba;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a487ba;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(164, 135, 186, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(164, 135, 186, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a487ba;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a487ba, #BA87AE);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #a487ba, #BA87A1);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #a487ba;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #a487ba;
caret-color: #a487ba;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #a487ba;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3EFF6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #a487ba;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#a487ba 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #a487ba 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(164, 135, 186, 0.5)
rgb(164 135 186 / 50%)
#a487ba80
hsl(274 27% 63% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #a487ba 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#a487ba1a#F6F3F8
20%#a487ba33#EDE7F1
40%#a487ba66#DBCFE3
60%#a487ba99#C8B7D6
80%#a487bacc#B69FC8

Gradients from #a487ba

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, #C1AED0, #a487ba 45%, #422F51);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #a487ba, #AF739C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #a487ba, #9DBA87);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D0C1DB 0%, #a487ba 45%, #422F51 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F5F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #A7A8CD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C59ABF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #422F51 0%, transparent 65%), #a487ba;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a487ba

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.

#a487ba 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 6.75:1.

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.

#a487ba, answered

What color is #a487ba?

#a487ba is a balanced soft violet, closest to Plum (ΔE2000 12). It sits at 274° on the hue wheel with 27% saturation and 63% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a487ba?

rgb(164, 135, 186) — 164 red, 135 green and 186 blue out of 255, or 64.3% / 52.9% / 72.9% by channel.

What is #a487ba in HSL and HSV?

hsl(274, 27%, 63%) and hsv(274, 27%, 73%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #a487ba a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2877 and perceived brightness is 59%, so black text on it reaches 6.75:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a487ba?

Black. It scores 6.75:1 against #a487ba, versus 3.11:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #a487ba accessible on a white background?

#a487ba on white scores 3.11:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #8B66A7 to reach 4.5:1, or #694A81 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #a487ba?

#9DBA87 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B6BA87 and #87BA8A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a487ba?

For interface work: #F8F5F9 as the surface, #D8CBE1 for borders, #775492 for secondary text, #718646 as an accent and #422F51 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8A87BA and #BA87B6 stays calm, while #9DBA87 is the loudest partner.

What is #a487ba in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(12%, 27%, 0%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a487ba warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 61 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B787BA; nudged cooler, #9085BC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #a487ba?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 17.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #a487ba as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #a487ba in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#a487ba] or text-[#a487ba], 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 #a487ba with 50% opacity?

rgba(164, 135, 186, 0.5), or #a487ba80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D2C3DD; over black, #52445D.

Is #a487ba a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #a487ba 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 #a487ba?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C1AED0, #a487ba 45%, #422F51). For more colour, a short hue run to #AF739C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #a487ba in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #a487ba at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.