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#ad5fef

a light, electric violet · cool · closest name: Medium Orchid

RGB
173, 95, 239
HSL
273°, 82%, 66%
CMYK
28, 60, 0, 6
Luminance
0.2330

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ad5fef is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ad5fef
Hue
273°
violet
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
57%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2330
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
65/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
5.66:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 5.8
Where it sits
Hue273° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness66%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool65% cool

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

Every format

HEX#ad5fef
RGBrgb(173, 95, 239)
HSLhsl(273, 82%, 66%)
CMYKcmyk(28%, 60%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(55.4 57.1 -60.5)
LCHlch(55.4 83.2 313.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.640 0.212 306.3)
Decimal11362287
Display P3color(display-p3 0.678 0.373 0.937)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ad5fef;
background-color: #ad5fef;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ad5fef] bg-[#ad5fef]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ad5fef;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.678, green: 0.373, blue: 0.937)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ad5fef")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAD5FEF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(239, 95, 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 #ad5fef · 5.66:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.71:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.66:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ad5fef as text scores 3.71:1 on white and 5.66:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ad5fef on white: 3.71:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ad5fef on black: 5.66:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #1582F4
deuteranopia · #4285EC
tritanopia · #A27C9E

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ad5fef 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.

#F8F2FC
#F1E6F9
#E0C6F6
#CB99F5
#ad5fef
#9633EB
#8316DF
#6D13B9
#570F94
#410F6B
#290943
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F2FCDarkest = 950 · #290943
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F2FC;
  --brand-100: #F1E6F9;
  --brand-200: #E0C6F6;
  --brand-300: #CB99F5;
  --brand-400: #ad5fef;
  --brand-500: #9633EB;
  --brand-600: #8316DF;
  --brand-700: #6D13B9;
  --brand-800: #570F94;
  --brand-900: #410F6B;
  --brand-950: #290943;
  --brand: #ad5fef;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ad5fef

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#F8F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#D8C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#764B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#8ABE0E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#440C74
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3E8FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D1424
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 #ad5fef

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
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#A1EF5F
Analogous left#655FEF
Analogous right#EF5FE9
Split-complement 1#E9EF5F
Split-complement 2#5FEF65
Triadic 1#EFAD5F
Triadic 2#5FEFAD
Tetradic#EF655F

RGB percentages

Red67.8%
Green37.3%
Blue93.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan27.6%
Magenta60.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#ad5fef text on a black background

contrast 5.66:1

Card sample

#ad5fef text on a white background

contrast 3.71:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ad5fef;
Background color
Panel with #ad5fef background
background-color: #ad5fef;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ad5fef;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(173, 95, 239, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(173, 95, 239, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ad5fef;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ad5fef, #EF5FD1);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ad5fef

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.

#ad5fef 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#ad5fef, answered

What color is #ad5fef?

#ad5fef is a light electric violet, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 5.8). It sits at 273° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #ad5fef?

rgb(173, 95, 239) — 173 red, 95 green and 239 blue out of 255, or 67.8% / 37.3% / 93.7% by channel.

Is #ad5fef a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2330 and perceived brightness is 57%, so black text on it reaches 5.66:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ad5fef?

Black. It scores 5.66:1 against #ad5fef, versus 3.71:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ad5fef?

#A1EF5F sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E9EF5F and #5FEF65, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ad5fef?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #D8C0ED for borders, #764B9B for secondary text, #8ABE0E as an accent and #440C74 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #655FEF and #EF5FE9 stays calm, while #A1EF5F is the loudest partner.

What is #ad5fef in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(28%, 60%, 0%, 6%). 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 #ad5fef warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 65 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E25FEF; nudged cooler, #775DF1.

Work with #ad5fef in the Color Lab