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violet · cool

#b398e3

a light, vivid violet · cool · closest name: Plum

Token name suggestion: Meadow Iris

RGB
179, 152, 227
HSL
262°, 57%, 74%
CMYK
21, 33, 0, 11
Luminance
0.3759

#b398e3 is a light vivid violet, 262° on the wheel and 71/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.52:1). As text it scores 2.47:1 on white — use #875CD3 instead. Nearest name is Plum, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(262 57% 74%)rgb(179 152 227)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b398e3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b398e3
Hue
262°
violet
Saturation
57%
vivid
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
89%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3759
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
71/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
8.52:1
Closest name
Plum
ΔE2000 10.3
Chroma
42.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.732
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 17.5
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue262° of 360°
Saturation57%
Lightness74%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b398e3.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool71% 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
Red25%
Green60%
Blue15%

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

Every format

HEX#b398e3
HEX (8-digit)#b398e3ff
RGBrgb(179, 152, 227)
RGBArgba(179, 152, 227, 1)
HSLhsl(262, 57%, 74%)
HSV / HSBhsv(262, 33%, 89%)
HWBhwb(262 60% 11%)
CMYKcmyk(21%, 33%, 0%, 11%)
LABlab(67.7 25.0 -34.3)
LCHlch(67.7 42.5 306.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.732 0.110 300.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(43.68, 37.59, 77.61)
Decimal11770083
Display P3color(display-p3 0.702 0.596 0.890)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b398e3;
background-color: #b398e3;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b398e3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b398e3] bg-[#b398e3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b398e3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.702, green: 0.596, blue: 0.890)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.702, green: 0.596, blue: 0.890, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B398E3</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB398E3)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB398E3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(227, 152, 179)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(179, 152, 227)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(179, 152, 227)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 179, 152, 227)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7020f, 0.5961f, 0.8902f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{179,152,227}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b398e3 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b398e3 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#361B64, #DDD3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b398e3 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: #F6F4FB;
  --brand-100: #EEE9F7;
  --brand-200: #D9CDEF;
  --brand-300: #b398e3;
  --brand-400: #9D7BDB;
  --brand-500: #7D4FCF;
  --brand-600: #6734C1;
  --brand-700: #562CA0;
  --brand-800: #452380;
  --brand-900: #341D5D;
  --brand-950: #21123A;
  --brand: #b398e3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F4FA;
  --brand-border: #D0C0ED;
  --brand-hover: #9E7CDB;
  --brand-pressed: #8A60D4;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1A1424;
    --brand-ink: #DDD3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F4FB',
        100: '#EEE9F7',
        200: '#D9CDEF',
        300: '#b398e3',
        400: '#9D7BDB',
        500: '#7D4FCF',
        600: '#6734C1',
        700: '#562CA0',
        800: '#452380',
        900: '#341D5D',
        950: '#21123A',
        DEFAULT: '#b398e3',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F4FB,
  '100': #EEE9F7,
  '200': #D9CDEF,
  '300': #b398e3,
  '400': #9D7BDB,
  '500': #7D4FCF,
  '600': #6734C1,
  '700': #562CA0,
  '800': #452380,
  '900': #341D5D,
  '950': #21123A,
);
$brand-base: #b398e3;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F4FB", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EEE9F7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D9CDEF", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#b398e3", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9D7BDB", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7D4FCF", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#6734C1", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#562CA0", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#452380", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#341D5D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#21123A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b398e3 · 8.52:1
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 · 8.52:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b398e3 as text scores 2.47:1 on white and 8.52:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #361B64 at 5.69:1.

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
#875CD3 · 4.66:1
AA on white−15% L
#875CD3
The quick fox
#6A36C6 · 7.10:1
AAA on white−25% L
#6A36C6
The quick fox
#b398e3 · 8.52:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b398e3
The quick fox
#b398e3 · 8.52:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b398e3

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A484DE 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
#b398e3 on white: 2.47:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b398e3 on black: 8.52:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b398e3 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b398e3.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.47:1AaAa
Slate 502.36:1AaAa
Slate 1002.25:1AaAa
Slate 2002.00:1AaAa
Slate 3001.66:1AaAa
Slate 4001.04:1AaAa
Slate 5001.93:1AaAa
Slate 6003.07:1AaAa
Slate 7004.20:1AaAa
Slate 8005.93:1AaAa
Slate 9007.24:1AaAa
Black8.52:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #87A5E6
deuteranopia · #8CA5E1
tritanopia · #AAA4B3

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. #b398e3 is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F4FB
#EEE9F7
#D9CDEF
#b398e3
#9D7BDB
#7D4FCF
#6734C1
#562CA0
#452380
#341D5D
#21123A
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F4FBDarkest = 950 · #21123AText step on white = 500
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 0.027 300.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.044 300.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.066 300.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.086 300.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.101 300.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.110 300.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.110 300.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.103 300.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.092 300.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.077 300.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.060 300.3);
}

Colors that work with #b398e3

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#F6F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#D0C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#684B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#97A527
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#361B64
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0EBFA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1A1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#9E7CDB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8A60D4
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BDA2ED
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 #b398e3

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

Works well for
  • 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
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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 #361B64
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A484DE

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.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. 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-high
  • Weight26/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

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#C8E398
Analogous left#98A2E3
Analogous right#D998E3
Split-complement 1#E3D998
Split-complement 2#A2E398
Triadic 1#E3B398
Triadic 2#98E3B3
Tetradic#E398A2
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°262°

#b398e3 sits at 262°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.2%
Green59.6%
Blue89.0%
R · 0–255
179
0xb3
G · 0–255
152
0x98
B · 0–255
227
0xe3

CMYK percentages

Cyan21.1%
Magenta33.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)11.0%

Total ink coverage is 65%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b398e3 text on a black background

contrast 8.52:1

Card sample

#b398e3 text on a white background

contrast 2.47:1

Card sample

#b398e3 on grey

2.25:1

#b398e3 on its own surface

2.26:1

#b398e3 on its dark surface

7.28:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b398e3;
Background color
Panel with #b398e3 background
background-color: #b398e3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b398e3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(179, 152, 227, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(179, 152, 227, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b398e3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b398e3, #E398E1);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b398e3, #E398CE);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b398e3;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b398e3;
caret-color: #b398e3;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b398e3;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0EBFA;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b398e3;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b398e3 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b398e3 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(179, 152, 227, 0.5)
rgb(179 152 227 / 50%)
#b398e380
hsl(262 57% 74% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b398e3 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b398e31a#F7F5FC
20%#b398e333#F0EAF9
40%#b398e366#E1D6F4
60%#b398e399#D1C1EE
80%#b398e3cc#C2ADE9

Gradients from #b398e3

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, #D6C8F0, #b398e3 45%, #361B64);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b398e3, #DC80D2);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b398e3, #C8E398);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E8E0F7 0%, #b398e3 45%, #361B64 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C0CAEE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E6B0EA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #361B64 0%, transparent 65%), #b398e3;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b398e3

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.

#b398e3 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 8.52:1.

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.

#b398e3, answered

What color is #b398e3?

#b398e3 is a light vivid violet, closest to Plum (ΔE2000 10.3). It sits at 262° on the hue wheel with 57% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b398e3?

rgb(179, 152, 227) — 179 red, 152 green and 227 blue out of 255, or 70.2% / 59.6% / 89% by channel.

What is #b398e3 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(262, 57%, 74%) and hsv(262, 33%, 89%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b398e3 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3759 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 8.52:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b398e3?

Black. It scores 8.52:1 against #b398e3, versus 2.47:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b398e3 accessible on a white background?

#b398e3 on white scores 2.47:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #875CD3 to reach 4.5:1, or #6A36C6 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b398e3?

#C8E398 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E3D998 and #A2E398, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b398e3?

For interface work: #F6F4FA as the surface, #D0C0ED for borders, #684B9B for secondary text, #97A527 as an accent and #361B64 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #98A2E3 and #D998E3 stays calm, while #C8E398 is the loudest partner.

What is #b398e3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(21%, 33%, 0%, 11%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b398e3 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 71 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CE98E3; nudged cooler, #9797E4.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b398e3?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 17.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b398e3 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b398e3 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b398e3] or text-[#b398e3], 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 #b398e3 with 50% opacity?

rgba(179, 152, 227, 0.5), or #b398e380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D9CCF1; over black, #5A4C72.

Is #b398e3 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 9.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b398e3 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #b398e3?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D6C8F0, #b398e3 45%, #361B64). For more colour, a short hue run to #DC80D2 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b398e3 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b398e3 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.