Skip to content

#ad5abc

a balanced, soft magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Medium Orchid

RGB
173, 90, 188
HSL
291°, 42%, 55%
CMYK
8, 52, 0, 26
Luminance
0.1983

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ad5abc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ad5abc
Hue
291°
magenta / pink
Saturation
42%
soft
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
52%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1983
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
55/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
4.97:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 4.1
Where it sits
Hue291° of 360°
Saturation42%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool55% cool

Reads neutral. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#ad5abc
RGBrgb(173, 90, 188)
HSLhsl(291, 42%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(8%, 52%, 0%, 26%)
LABlab(51.6 48.7 -37.5)
LCHlch(51.6 61.5 322.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.604 0.166 321.3)
Decimal11360956
Display P3color(display-p3 0.678 0.353 0.737)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ad5abc;
background-color: #ad5abc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ad5abc] bg-[#ad5abc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ad5abc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.678, green: 0.353, blue: 0.737)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ad5abc")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAD5ABC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(188, 90, 173)

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 #ad5abc · 4.97:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.23:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.97:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ad5abc as text scores 4.23:1 on white and 4.97:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ad5abc on white: 4.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ad5abc on black: 4.97:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #4A75BF
deuteranopia · #647EB9
tritanopia · #AF6783

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ad5abc 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.

#F9F5FA
#F3EBF5
#E6D2EA
#D7AFDF
#C387CE
#ad5abc
#9E47AE
#843B91
#692F74
#4E2555
#311735
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F5FADarkest = 950 · #311735
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F5FA;
  --brand-100: #F3EBF5;
  --brand-200: #E6D2EA;
  --brand-300: #D7AFDF;
  --brand-400: #C387CE;
  --brand-500: #ad5abc;
  --brand-600: #9E47AE;
  --brand-700: #843B91;
  --brand-800: #692F74;
  --brand-900: #4E2555;
  --brand-950: #311735;
  --brand: #ad5abc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ad5abc

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#F9F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#E2C5E7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#5D9636
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#52255B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6EDF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#221424
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 #ad5abc

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
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • 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#69BC5A
Analogous left#7C5ABC
Analogous right#BC5A9A
Split-complement 1#9ABC5A
Split-complement 2#5ABC7C
Triadic 1#BCAD5A
Triadic 2#5ABCAD
Tetradic#BC7C5A

RGB percentages

Red67.8%
Green35.3%
Blue73.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan8.0%
Magenta52.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)26.3%

Color previews

#ad5abc text on a black background

contrast 4.97:1

Card sample

#ad5abc text on a white background

contrast 4.23:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ad5abc;
Background color
Panel with #ad5abc background
background-color: #ad5abc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ad5abc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(173, 90, 188, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(173, 90, 188, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ad5abc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ad5abc, #BC5A8A);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ad5abc

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.

#ad5abc in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
BeautyFashionLifestyleYouth brands
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#ad5abc, answered

What color is #ad5abc?

#ad5abc is a balanced soft magenta / pink, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 4.1). It sits at 291° on the hue wheel with 42% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #ad5abc?

rgb(173, 90, 188) — 173 red, 90 green and 188 blue out of 255, or 67.8% / 35.3% / 73.7% by channel.

Is #ad5abc a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.1983 and perceived brightness is 52%, so black text on it reaches 4.97:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ad5abc?

Black. It scores 4.97:1 against #ad5abc, versus 4.23:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ad5abc?

#69BC5A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9ABC5A and #5ABC7C, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ad5abc?

For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #E2C5E7 for borders, #8F4B9B for secondary text, #5D9636 as an accent and #52255B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7C5ABC and #BC5A9A stays calm, while #69BC5A is the loudest partner.

What is #ad5abc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(8%, 52%, 0%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ad5abc warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 55 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BC5AA7; nudged cooler, #8958BE.

Work with #ad5abc in the Color Lab