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violet · cool

#ac31df

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

Token name suggestion: Atlas Amethyst

RGB
172, 49, 223
HSL
282°, 73%, 53%
CMYK
23, 78, 0, 13
Luminance
0.1629

#ac31df is a balanced vivid violet, 282° on the wheel and 60/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (4.93:1). As text it scores 4.93:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(282 73% 53%)rgb(172 49 223)Base step 500AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ac31df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ac31df
Hue
282°
violet
Saturation
73%
vivid
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
49%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1629
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
60/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
4.93:1
Closest name
Dark Orchid
ΔE2000 4.2
Chroma
97.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.579
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 7.5
Web-safe
#9933CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue282° of 360°
Saturation73%
Lightness53%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ac31df.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red54%
Green13%
Blue33%

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

Every format

HEX#ac31df
HEX (8-digit)#ac31dfff
RGBrgb(172, 49, 223)
RGBArgba(172, 49, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(282, 73%, 53%)
HSV / HSBhsv(282, 78%, 87%)
HWBhwb(282 19% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(23%, 78%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(47.4 72.7 -64.4)
LCHlch(47.4 97.1 318.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.579 0.251 313.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(31.43, 16.30, 71.29)
Decimal11284959
Display P3color(display-p3 0.675 0.192 0.875)
Web-safe#9933CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ac31df;
background-color: #ac31df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ac31df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ac31df] bg-[#ac31df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ac31df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.675, green: 0.192, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.675, green: 0.192, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#AC31DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFAC31DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAC31DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 49, 172)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(172, 49, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(172, 49, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 172, 49, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6745f, 0.1922f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{172,49,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ac31df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ac31df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#53116E, #E6D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ac31df 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: #F9F3FC;
  --brand-100: #F3E7F8;
  --brand-200: #E7C9F3;
  --brand-300: #D89EF0;
  --brand-400: #C46DE8;
  --brand-500: #ac31df;
  --brand-600: #9F21D4;
  --brand-700: #851BB1;
  --brand-800: #6A168D;
  --brand-900: #4E1466;
  --brand-950: #310D40;
  --brand: #ac31df;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #F9F4FA;
  --brand-border: #DFC0ED;
  --brand-hover: #9A20CC;
  --brand-pressed: #821BAD;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #201424;
    --brand-ink: #E6D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F3FC',
        100: '#F3E7F8',
        200: '#E7C9F3',
        300: '#D89EF0',
        400: '#C46DE8',
        500: '#ac31df',
        600: '#9F21D4',
        700: '#851BB1',
        800: '#6A168D',
        900: '#4E1466',
        950: '#310D40',
        DEFAULT: '#ac31df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F3FC,
  '100': #F3E7F8,
  '200': #E7C9F3,
  '300': #D89EF0,
  '400': #C46DE8,
  '500': #ac31df,
  '600': #9F21D4,
  '700': #851BB1,
  '800': #6A168D,
  '900': #4E1466,
  '950': #310D40,
);
$brand-base: #ac31df;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3E7F8", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7C9F3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D89EF0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#C46DE8", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#ac31df", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9F21D4", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#851BB1", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6A168D", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4E1466", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#310D40", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #ac31df · 4.93:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 4.93:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.26:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ac31df as text scores 4.93:1 on white and 4.26:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #F6E9FC at 4.22:1.

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
#ac31df · 4.93:1
AA on whitealready passes
#ac31df
The quick fox
#891CB6 · 7.23:1
AAA on white−12% L
#891CB6
The quick fox
#AF3AE0 · 4.50:1
AA on black+2% L
#AF3AE0
The quick fox
#C773E9 · 7.06:1
AAA on black+15% L
#C773E9

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AC31DF 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
#ac31df on white: 4.93:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ac31df on black: 4.26:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ac31df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ac31df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White4.93:1AaAa
Slate 504.71:1AaAa
Slate 1004.50:1AaAa
Slate 2004.00:1AaAa
Slate 3003.32:1AaAa
Slate 4001.92:1AaAa
Slate 5001.04:1AaAa
Slate 6001.54:1AaAa
Slate 7002.10:1AaAa
Slate 8002.97:1AaAa
Slate 9003.62:1AaAa
Black4.26:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #006AE4
deuteranopia · #1973DB
tritanopia · #A65B88

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. #ac31df 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.

#F9F3FC
#F3E7F8
#E7C9F3
#D89EF0
#C46DE8
#ac31df
#9F21D4
#851BB1
#6A168D
#4E1466
#310D40
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F3FCDarkest = 950 · #310D40Text 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 0.063 313.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.100 313.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.150 313.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.195 313.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.231 313.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.251 313.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.251 313.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.236 313.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.211 313.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.175 313.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.138 313.3);
}

Colors that work with #ac31df

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#F9F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#DFC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#834B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#6DB517
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#53116E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6E9FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#201424
Dark-mode background
Hover#9A20CC
One step down in lightness
Pressed#821BAD
Two steps down
Disabled#C6B2CE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#B838ED
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 #ac31df

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
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
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.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. 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-high
  • Weight47/100
  • 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#64DF31
Analogous left#5531DF
Analogous right#DF31BB
Split-complement 1#BBDF31
Split-complement 2#31DF55
Triadic 1#DFAC31
Triadic 2#31DFAC
Tetradic#DF5531
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°282°

#ac31df sits at 282°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red67.5%
Green19.2%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
172
0xac
G · 0–255
49
0x31
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan22.9%
Magenta78.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 113%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ac31df text on a black background

contrast 4.26:1

Card sample

#ac31df text on a white background

contrast 4.93:1

Card sample

#ac31df on grey

4.50:1

#ac31df on its own surface

4.54:1

#ac31df on its dark surface

3.59:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ac31df;
Background color
Panel with #ac31df background
background-color: #ac31df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ac31df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(172, 49, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(172, 49, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ac31df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ac31df, #DF319E);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ac31df, #DF3172);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ac31df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ac31df;
caret-color: #ac31df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ac31df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6E9FC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ac31df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ac31df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ac31df 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(172, 49, 223, 0.5)
rgb(172 49 223 / 50%)
#ac31df80
hsl(282 73% 53% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ac31df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ac31df1a#F7EAFC
20%#ac31df33#EED6F9
40%#ac31df66#DEADF2
60%#ac31df99#CD83EC
80%#ac31dfcc#BD5AE5

Gradients from #ac31df

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, #C166E7, #ac31df 45%, #53116E);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ac31df, #D12080);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ac31df, #64DF31);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #CC80EB 0%, #ac31df 45%, #53116E 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #6E5DE6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E34BB7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #53116E 0%, transparent 65%), #ac31df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ac31df

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.

#ac31df 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

Too dim on dark surfaces at 4.26:1 — lift it to #AF3AE0 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.

#ac31df, answered

What color is #ac31df?

#ac31df is a balanced vivid violet, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 4.2). It sits at 282° on the hue wheel with 73% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #ac31df?

rgb(172, 49, 223) — 172 red, 49 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 67.5% / 19.2% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #ac31df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(282, 73%, 53%) and hsv(282, 78%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ac31df a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1629 and perceived brightness is 49%, so white text on it reaches 4.93:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ac31df?

White. It scores 4.93:1 against #ac31df, versus 4.26:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #ac31df accessible on a white background?

#ac31df on white scores 4.93:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #ac31df?

#64DF31 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BBDF31 and #31DF55, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ac31df?

For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #DFC0ED for borders, #834B9B for secondary text, #6DB517 as an accent and #53116E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5531DF and #DF31BB stays calm, while #64DF31 is the loudest partner.

What is #ac31df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(23%, 78%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ac31df 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 #DF31D2; nudged cooler, #6B2EE1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ac31df?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 7.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ac31df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ac31df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ac31df] or text-[#ac31df], 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 #ac31df with 50% opacity?

rgba(172, 49, 223, 0.5), or #ac31df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D698EF; over black, #561970.

Is #ac31df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9933CC, ΔE2000 4.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ac31df 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 #ac31df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C166E7, #ac31df 45%, #53116E). For more colour, a short hue run to #D12080 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ac31df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ac31df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.