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violet · neutral

#b09eb7

a light, muted violet · neutral · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Meadow Thistle

RGB
176, 158, 183
HSL
283°, 15%, 67%
CMYK
4, 14, 0, 28
Luminance
0.3710

#b09eb7 is a light muted violet, 283° on the wheel and 54/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.42:1). As text it scores 2.49:1 on white — use #886C92 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(283 15% 67%)rgb(176 158 183)Base step 400AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b09eb7 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b09eb7
Hue
283°
violet
Saturation
15%
muted
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
72%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3710
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
54/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
8.42:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 9.7
Chroma
15.4
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.723
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 20.3
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue283° of 360°
Saturation15%
Lightness67%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b09eb7.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool54% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red25%
Green66%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#b09eb7
HEX (8-digit)#b09eb7ff
RGBrgb(176, 158, 183)
RGBArgba(176, 158, 183, 1)
HSLhsl(283, 15%, 67%)
HSV / HSBhsv(283, 14%, 72%)
HWBhwb(283 62% 28%)
CMYKcmyk(4%, 14%, 0%, 28%)
LABlab(67.3 11.2 -10.5)
LCHlch(67.3 15.4 316.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.723 0.041 316.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(38.68, 37.10, 49.91)
Decimal11574967
Display P3color(display-p3 0.690 0.620 0.718)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b09eb7;
background-color: #b09eb7;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b09eb7;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b09eb7] bg-[#b09eb7]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b09eb7;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.690, green: 0.620, blue: 0.718)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.690, green: 0.620, blue: 0.718, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B09EB7</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB09EB7)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB09EB7)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(183, 158, 176)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(176, 158, 183)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(176, 158, 183)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 176, 158, 183)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6902f, 0.6196f, 0.7176f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{176,158,183}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b09eb7 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b09eb7 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#443649, #E2DCE5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b09eb7 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: #F8F6F8;
  --brand-100: #F0EEF1;
  --brand-200: #E0DAE2;
  --brand-300: #CBBFCF;
  --brand-400: #b09eb7;
  --brand-500: #967E9F;
  --brand-600: #82688D;
  --brand-700: #6D5775;
  --brand-800: #57465E;
  --brand-900: #413546;
  --brand-950: #29212B;
  --brand: #b09eb7;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F6F8;
  --brand-border: #D9D0DC;
  --brand-hover: #9F8AA8;
  --brand-pressed: #8F7599;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1E1820;
    --brand-ink: #E2DCE5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F6F8',
        100: '#F0EEF1',
        200: '#E0DAE2',
        300: '#CBBFCF',
        400: '#b09eb7',
        500: '#967E9F',
        600: '#82688D',
        700: '#6D5775',
        800: '#57465E',
        900: '#413546',
        950: '#29212B',
        DEFAULT: '#b09eb7',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F6F8,
  '100': #F0EEF1,
  '200': #E0DAE2,
  '300': #CBBFCF,
  '400': #b09eb7,
  '500': #967E9F,
  '600': #82688D,
  '700': #6D5775,
  '800': #57465E,
  '900': #413546,
  '950': #29212B,
);
$brand-base: #b09eb7;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F6F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0EEF1", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E0DAE2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#CBBFCF", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#b09eb7", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#967E9F", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#82688D", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6D5775", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#57465E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#413546", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#29212B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b09eb7 · 8.42:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.49:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.42:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b09eb7 as text scores 2.49:1 on white and 8.42:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #443649 at 4.50:1.

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
#886C92 · 4.56:1
AA on white−17% L
#886C92
The quick fox
#64506C · 7.23:1
AAA on white−30% L
#64506C
The quick fox
#b09eb7 · 8.42:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b09eb7
The quick fox
#b09eb7 · 8.42:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b09eb7

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A28DAA 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
#b09eb7 on white: 2.49:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b09eb7 on black: 8.42:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b09eb7 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b09eb7.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.49:1AaAa
Slate 502.38:1AaAa
Slate 1002.28:1AaAa
Slate 2002.02:1AaAa
Slate 3001.68:1AaAa
Slate 4001.03:1AaAa
Slate 5001.91:1AaAa
Slate 6003.04:1AaAa
Slate 7004.15:1AaAa
Slate 8005.87:1AaAa
Slate 9007.16:1AaAa
Black8.42:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9BA3B8
deuteranopia · #9FA5B6
tritanopia · #B0A1A6

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. #b09eb7 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.

#F8F6F8
#F0EEF1
#E0DAE2
#CBBFCF
#b09eb7
#967E9F
#82688D
#6D5775
#57465E
#413546
#29212B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F8Darkest = 950 · #29212BText 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 0.010 316.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.016 316.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.025 316.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.032 316.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.038 316.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.041 316.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.041 316.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.038 316.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.034 316.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.029 316.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.022 316.6);
}

Colors that work with #b09eb7

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#D9D0DC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7A6284
Captions on the surface
Accent#687953
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#443649
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3F0F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E1820
Dark-mode background
Hover#9F8AA8
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8F7599
Two steps down
Disabled#E5DFE7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BDA2C7
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 #b09eb7

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
  • 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 #443649
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A28DAA

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.

With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. 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
  • EnergyLow
  • Weight33/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • 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#A5B79E
Analogous left#A49EB7
Analogous right#B79EB2
Split-complement 1#B2B79E
Split-complement 2#9EB7A4
Triadic 1#B7B09E
Triadic 2#9EB7B0
Tetradic#B7A49E
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°283°

#b09eb7 sits at 283°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red69.0%
Green62.0%
Blue71.8%
R · 0–255
176
0xb0
G · 0–255
158
0x9e
B · 0–255
183
0xb7

CMYK percentages

Cyan3.8%
Magenta13.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)28.2%

Total ink coverage is 46%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b09eb7 text on a black background

contrast 8.42:1

Card sample

#b09eb7 text on a white background

contrast 2.49:1

Card sample

#b09eb7 on grey

2.28:1

#b09eb7 on its own surface

2.32:1

#b09eb7 on its dark surface

6.98:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b09eb7;
Background color
Panel with #b09eb7 background
background-color: #b09eb7;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b09eb7;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(176, 158, 183, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(176, 158, 183, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b09eb7;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b09eb7, #B79EAD);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b09eb7, #B79EA7);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b09eb7;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b09eb7;
caret-color: #b09eb7;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b09eb7;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3F0F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b09eb7;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b09eb7 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b09eb7 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(176, 158, 183, 0.5)
rgb(176 158 183 / 50%)
#b09eb780
hsl(283 15% 67% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b09eb7 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b09eb71a#F7F5F8
20%#b09eb733#EFECF1
40%#b09eb766#DFD8E2
60%#b09eb799#D0C5D4
80%#b09eb7cc#C0B1C5

Gradients from #b09eb7

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, #CDC1D1, #b09eb7 45%, #443649);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b09eb7, #AA8D9C);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b09eb7, #A5B79E);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #DBD3DE 0%, #b09eb7 45%, #443649 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F6F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #BEBBCD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C4B0BE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #443649 0%, transparent 65%), #b09eb7;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b09eb7

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.

#b09eb7 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
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
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 8.42:1.

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.

#b09eb7, answered

What color is #b09eb7?

#b09eb7 is a light muted violet, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 9.7). It sits at 283° on the hue wheel with 15% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #b09eb7?

rgb(176, 158, 183) — 176 red, 158 green and 183 blue out of 255, or 69% / 62% / 71.8% by channel.

What is #b09eb7 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(283, 15%, 67%) and hsv(283, 14%, 72%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b09eb7 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3710 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 8.42:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b09eb7?

Black. It scores 8.42:1 against #b09eb7, versus 2.49:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b09eb7 accessible on a white background?

#b09eb7 on white scores 2.49:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #886C92 to reach 4.5:1, or #64506C for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b09eb7?

#A5B79E sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B2B79E and #9EB7A4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b09eb7?

For interface work: #F8F6F8 as the surface, #D9D0DC for borders, #7A6284 for secondary text, #687953 as an accent and #443649 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A49EB7 and #B79EB2 stays calm, while #A5B79E is the loudest partner.

What is #b09eb7 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(4%, 14%, 0%, 28%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b09eb7 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 54 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B79EB5; nudged cooler, #A69CB9.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b09eb7?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 20.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b09eb7 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b09eb7 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b09eb7] or text-[#b09eb7], 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 #b09eb7 with 50% opacity?

rgba(176, 158, 183, 0.5), or #b09eb780 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D8CFDB; over black, #584F5C.

Is #b09eb7 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 10.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b09eb7 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 low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.

What gradient works with #b09eb7?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #CDC1D1, #b09eb7 45%, #443649). For more colour, a short hue run to #AA8D9C keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b09eb7 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b09eb7 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.