Skip to content

#ad98af

a balanced, muted magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Thistle

RGB
173, 152, 175
HSL
295°, 13%, 64%
CMYK
1, 13, 0, 31
Luminance
0.3444

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ad98af is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ad98af
Hue
295°
magenta / pink
Saturation
13%
muted
Lightness
64%
balanced
Brightness
69%
HSV value
Perceived
63%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3444
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
51/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
7.89:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 11.1
Where it sits
Hue295° of 360°
Saturation13%
Lightness64%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool51% 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#ad98af
RGBrgb(173, 152, 175)
HSLhsl(295, 13%, 64%)
CMYKcmyk(1%, 13%, 0%, 31%)
LABlab(65.3 12.0 -9.1)
LCHlch(65.3 15.0 322.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.706 0.041 323.3)
Decimal11376815
Display P3color(display-p3 0.678 0.596 0.686)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ad98af;
background-color: #ad98af;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ad98af] bg-[#ad98af]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ad98af;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.678, green: 0.596, blue: 0.686)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ad98af")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAD98AF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(175, 152, 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 #ad98af · 7.89:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.89:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ad98af as text scores 2.66:1 on white and 7.89:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ad98af on white: 2.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ad98af on black: 7.89:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #969DB0
deuteranopia · #9B9FAE
tritanopia · #AE9AA0

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ad98af 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.

#F8F7F8
#F1EEF1
#E1DAE2
#CDC0CE
#ad98af
#9A819D
#876B8A
#715973
#5A475C
#433644
#2A222B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F7F8Darkest = 950 · #2A222B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F7F8;
  --brand-100: #F1EEF1;
  --brand-200: #E1DAE2;
  --brand-300: #CDC0CE;
  --brand-400: #ad98af;
  --brand-500: #9A819D;
  --brand-600: #876B8A;
  --brand-700: #715973;
  --brand-800: #5A475C;
  --brand-900: #433644;
  --brand-950: #2A222B;
  --brand: #ad98af;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ad98af

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#F8F6F8
Tinted page background
Border#DAD1DB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7F6481
Captions on the surface
Accent#607755
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#463848
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4F1F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1F1920
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 #ad98af

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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#9AAF98
Analogous left#A198AF
Analogous right#AF98A5
Split-complement 1#A5AF98
Split-complement 2#98AFA1
Triadic 1#AFAD98
Triadic 2#98AFAD
Tetradic#AFA198

RGB percentages

Red67.8%
Green59.6%
Blue68.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.1%
Magenta13.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)31.4%

Color previews

#ad98af text on a black background

contrast 7.89:1

Card sample

#ad98af text on a white background

contrast 2.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ad98af;
Background color
Panel with #ad98af background
background-color: #ad98af;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ad98af;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(173, 152, 175, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(173, 152, 175, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ad98af;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ad98af, #AF98A2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ad98af

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.

#ad98af 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
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
Print note

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

#ad98af, answered

What color is #ad98af?

#ad98af is a balanced muted magenta / pink, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 11.1). It sits at 295° on the hue wheel with 13% saturation and 64% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #ad98af?

rgb(173, 152, 175) — 173 red, 152 green and 175 blue out of 255, or 67.8% / 59.6% / 68.6% by channel.

Is #ad98af a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3444 and perceived brightness is 63%, so black text on it reaches 7.89:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ad98af?

Black. It scores 7.89:1 against #ad98af, versus 2.66:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ad98af?

#9AAF98 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A5AF98 and #98AFA1, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ad98af?

For interface work: #F8F6F8 as the surface, #DAD1DB for borders, #7F6481 for secondary text, #607755 as an accent and #463848 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A198AF and #AF98A5 stays calm, while #9AAF98 is the loudest partner.

What is #ad98af in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(1%, 13%, 0%, 31%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ad98af warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 51 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AF98A9; nudged cooler, #A596B1.

Work with #ad98af in the Color Lab