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violet · cool

#aca0ba

a light, soft violet · cool · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Drift Iris

RGB
172, 160, 186
HSL
268°, 16%, 68%
CMYK
8, 14, 0, 27
Luminance
0.3746

#aca0ba is a light soft violet, 268° on the wheel and 58/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.49:1). As text it scores 2.47:1 on white — use #806E95 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(268 16% 68%)rgb(172 160 186)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #aca0ba is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#aca0ba
Hue
268°
violet
Saturation
16%
soft
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
73%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3746
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
58/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.49:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 10.1
Chroma
15.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.724
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 19.9
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue268° of 360°
Saturation16%
Lightness68%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #aca0ba.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool58% 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
Red23%
Green67%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#aca0ba
HEX (8-digit)#aca0baff
RGBrgb(172, 160, 186)
RGBArgba(172, 160, 186, 1)
HSLhsl(268, 16%, 68%)
HSV / HSBhsv(268, 14%, 73%)
HWBhwb(268 63% 27%)
CMYKcmyk(8%, 14%, 0%, 27%)
LABlab(67.6 9.3 -11.8)
LCHlch(67.6 15.1 308.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.724 0.039 306.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(38.45, 37.46, 51.65)
Decimal11313338
Display P3color(display-p3 0.675 0.627 0.729)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #aca0ba;
background-color: #aca0ba;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #aca0ba;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#aca0ba] bg-[#aca0ba]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #aca0ba;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.675, green: 0.627, blue: 0.729)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.675, green: 0.627, blue: 0.729, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#ACA0BA</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFACA0BA)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFACA0BA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(186, 160, 172)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(172, 160, 186)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(172, 160, 186)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 172, 160, 186)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6745f, 0.6275f, 0.7294f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{172,160,186}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #aca0ba 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #aca0ba 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#3F364A, #E0DCE5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #aca0ba 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: #F7F6F8;
  --brand-100: #F0EEF2;
  --brand-200: #DDD9E2;
  --brand-300: #C6BED0;
  --brand-400: #aca0ba;
  --brand-500: #8D7DA1;
  --brand-600: #79678E;
  --brand-700: #655676;
  --brand-800: #51455F;
  --brand-900: #3D3446;
  --brand-950: #26212C;
  --brand: #aca0ba;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F6F9;
  --brand-border: #D6D0DD;
  --brand-hover: #9A8BAB;
  --brand-pressed: #88769C;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1C1821;
    --brand-ink: #E0DCE5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F6F8',
        100: '#F0EEF2',
        200: '#DDD9E2',
        300: '#C6BED0',
        400: '#aca0ba',
        500: '#8D7DA1',
        600: '#79678E',
        700: '#655676',
        800: '#51455F',
        900: '#3D3446',
        950: '#26212C',
        DEFAULT: '#aca0ba',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F6F8,
  '100': #F0EEF2,
  '200': #DDD9E2,
  '300': #C6BED0,
  '400': #aca0ba,
  '500': #8D7DA1,
  '600': #79678E,
  '700': #655676,
  '800': #51455F,
  '900': #3D3446,
  '950': #26212C,
);
$brand-base: #aca0ba;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F6F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0EEF2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DDD9E2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C6BED0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#aca0ba", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#8D7DA1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#79678E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#655676", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#51455F", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3D3446", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#26212C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #aca0ba · 8.49:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.47:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.49:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #aca0ba as text scores 2.47:1 on white and 8.49:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #3F364A at 4.62:1.

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
#806E95 · 4.58:1
AA on white−17% L
#806E95
The quick fox
#5F5170 · 7.25:1
AAA on white−30% L
#5F5170
The quick fox
#aca0ba · 8.49:1
AA on blackalready passes
#aca0ba
The quick fox
#aca0ba · 8.49:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#aca0ba

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9C8EAD 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
#aca0ba on white: 2.47:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#aca0ba on black: 8.49:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #aca0ba as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #aca0ba.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.47:1AaAa
Slate 502.36:1AaAa
Slate 1002.26:1AaAa
Slate 2002.01:1AaAa
Slate 3001.67:1AaAa
Slate 4001.04:1AaAa
Slate 5001.92:1AaAa
Slate 6003.06:1AaAa
Slate 7004.19:1AaAa
Slate 8005.92:1AaAa
Slate 9007.22:1AaAa
Black8.49:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9CA4BB
deuteranopia · #9EA5B9
tritanopia · #AAA3A9

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. #aca0ba 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.

#F7F6F8
#F0EEF2
#DDD9E2
#C6BED0
#aca0ba
#8D7DA1
#79678E
#655676
#51455F
#3D3446
#26212C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F7F6F8Darkest = 950 · #26212CText 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 0.010 306.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.016 306.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.024 306.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.031 306.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.036 306.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.039 306.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.039 306.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.037 306.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.033 306.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.028 306.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.022 306.2);
}

Colors that work with #aca0ba

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#F7F6F9
Tinted page background
Border#D6D0DD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#716185
Captions on the surface
Accent#717A52
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3F364A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2F0F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1C1821
Dark-mode background
Hover#9A8BAB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#88769C
Two steps down
Disabled#E5E1E9
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#B6A4CA
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 #aca0ba

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #3F364A
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9C8EAD

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 lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Deep violets swallow detail on screens with poor gamma; check it on a cheap laptop panel.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight32/100
  • 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#AEBAA0
Analogous left#A0A1BA
Analogous right#B9A0BA
Split-complement 1#BAB9A0
Split-complement 2#A1BAA0
Triadic 1#BAACA0
Triadic 2#A0BAAC
Tetradic#BAA0A1
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°268°

#aca0ba sits at 268°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red67.5%
Green62.7%
Blue72.9%
R · 0–255
172
0xac
G · 0–255
160
0xa0
B · 0–255
186
0xba

CMYK percentages

Cyan7.5%
Magenta14.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)27.1%

Total ink coverage is 49%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#aca0ba text on a black background

contrast 8.49:1

Card sample

#aca0ba text on a white background

contrast 2.47:1

Card sample

#aca0ba on grey

2.26:1

#aca0ba on its own surface

2.30:1

#aca0ba on its dark surface

7.06:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #aca0ba;
Background color
Panel with #aca0ba background
background-color: #aca0ba;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #aca0ba;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(172, 160, 186, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(172, 160, 186, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #aca0ba;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #aca0ba, #BAA0B7);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #aca0ba, #BAA0B0);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #aca0ba;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #aca0ba;
caret-color: #aca0ba;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #aca0ba;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F2F0F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #aca0ba;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#aca0ba 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #aca0ba 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, 160, 186, 0.5)
rgb(172 160 186 / 50%)
#aca0ba80
hsl(268 16% 68% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #aca0ba 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#aca0ba1a#F7F6F8
20%#aca0ba33#EEECF1
40%#aca0ba66#DED9E3
60%#aca0ba99#CDC6D6
80%#aca0bacc#BDB3C8

Gradients from #aca0ba

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, #CBC3D4, #aca0ba 45%, #3F364A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #aca0ba, #AD8EA7);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #aca0ba, #AEBAA0);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #DAD5E1 0%, #aca0ba 45%, #3F364A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F7F6F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #BDC0CF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C7B2C6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #3F364A 0%, transparent 65%), #aca0ba;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #aca0ba

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.

#aca0ba 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
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 8.49:1.

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.

#aca0ba, answered

What color is #aca0ba?

#aca0ba is a light soft violet, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 10.1). It sits at 268° on the hue wheel with 16% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #aca0ba?

rgb(172, 160, 186) — 172 red, 160 green and 186 blue out of 255, or 67.5% / 62.7% / 72.9% by channel.

What is #aca0ba in HSL and HSV?

hsl(268, 16%, 68%) and hsv(268, 14%, 73%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #aca0ba a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3746 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 8.49:1.

Should I use black or white text on #aca0ba?

Black. It scores 8.49:1 against #aca0ba, versus 2.47:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #aca0ba accessible on a white background?

#aca0ba on white scores 2.47:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #806E95 to reach 4.5:1, or #5F5170 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #aca0ba?

#AEBAA0 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BAB9A0 and #A1BAA0, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #aca0ba?

For interface work: #F7F6F9 as the surface, #D6D0DD for borders, #716185 for secondary text, #717A52 as an accent and #3F364A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A0A1BA and #B9A0BA stays calm, while #AEBAA0 is the loudest partner.

What is #aca0ba in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(8%, 14%, 0%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #aca0ba warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 58 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B5A0BA; nudged cooler, #A19EBC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #aca0ba?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 19.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #aca0ba as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #aca0ba in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#aca0ba] or text-[#aca0ba], 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 #aca0ba with 50% opacity?

rgba(172, 160, 186, 0.5), or #aca0ba80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D6D0DD; over black, #56505D.

Is #aca0ba a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 9.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #aca0ba 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 #aca0ba?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #CBC3D4, #aca0ba 45%, #3F364A). For more colour, a short hue run to #AD8EA7 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #aca0ba in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #aca0ba at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.