Skip to content
violet · cool

#b474f0

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Iris

RGB
180, 116, 240
HSL
271°, 81%, 70%
CMYK
25, 52, 0, 6
Luminance
0.2849

#b474f0 is a light electric violet, 271° on the wheel and 66/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.70:1). As text it scores 3.14:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Medium Purple, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(271 81% 70%)rgb(180 116 240)Base step 400AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b474f0 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b474f0
Hue
271°
violet
Saturation
81%
electric
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
61%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2849
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
66/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
6.70:1
Closest name
Medium Purple
ΔE2000 6.6
Chroma
71.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.678
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 7.6
Web-safe
#CC66FF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue271° of 360°
Saturation81%
Lightness70%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b474f0.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool66% 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
Red34%
Green44%
Blue22%

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

Every format

HEX#b474f0
HEX (8-digit)#b474f0ff
RGBrgb(180, 116, 240)
RGBArgba(180, 116, 240, 1)
HSLhsl(271, 81%, 70%)
HSV / HSBhsv(271, 52%, 94%)
HWBhwb(271 45% 6%)
CMYKcmyk(25%, 52%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(60.3 48.2 -53.1)
LCHlch(60.3 71.7 312.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.678 0.184 305.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(40.79, 28.49, 85.77)
Decimal11826416
Display P3color(display-p3 0.706 0.455 0.941)
Web-safe#CC66FF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b474f0;
background-color: #b474f0;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b474f0;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b474f0] bg-[#b474f0]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b474f0;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.706, green: 0.455, blue: 0.941)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.706, green: 0.455, blue: 0.941, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B474F0</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB474F0)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB474F0)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(240, 116, 180)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(180, 116, 240)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(180, 116, 240)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 180, 116, 240)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7059f, 0.4549f, 0.9412f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{180,116,240}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b474f0 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b474f0 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#410C73, #E1D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b474f0 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: #F8F3FC;
  --brand-100: #F0E6F9;
  --brand-200: #DFC6F5;
  --brand-300: #C89AF4;
  --brand-400: #b474f0;
  --brand-500: #9234E9;
  --brand-600: #7E18DD;
  --brand-700: #6914B8;
  --brand-800: #541093;
  --brand-900: #3F106B;
  --brand-950: #270A43;
  --brand: #b474f0;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F4FA;
  --brand-border: #D7C0ED;
  --brand-hover: #A354ED;
  --brand-pressed: #9134E9;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1C1424;
    --brand-ink: #E1D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F3FC',
        100: '#F0E6F9',
        200: '#DFC6F5',
        300: '#C89AF4',
        400: '#b474f0',
        500: '#9234E9',
        600: '#7E18DD',
        700: '#6914B8',
        800: '#541093',
        900: '#3F106B',
        950: '#270A43',
        DEFAULT: '#b474f0',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F3FC,
  '100': #F0E6F9,
  '200': #DFC6F5,
  '300': #C89AF4,
  '400': #b474f0,
  '500': #9234E9,
  '600': #7E18DD,
  '700': #6914B8,
  '800': #541093,
  '900': #3F106B,
  '950': #270A43,
);
$brand-base: #b474f0;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0E6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFC6F5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C89AF4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#b474f0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9234E9", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7E18DD", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6914B8", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#541093", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3F106B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#270A43", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b474f0 · 6.70:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.14:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.70:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #b474f0 as text scores 3.14:1 on white and 6.70:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #410C73 at 4.39:1.

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
#9E4BEC · 4.50:1
AA on white−9% L
#9E4BEC
The quick fox
#7B17D7 · 7.13:1
AAA on white−23% L
#7B17D7
The quick fox
#b474f0 · 6.70:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b474f0
The quick fox
#B779F0 · 7.01:1
AAA on black+1% L
#B779F0

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B474F0 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
#b474f0 on white: 3.14:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b474f0 on black: 6.70:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b474f0 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b474f0.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.14:1AaAa
Slate 503.00:1AaAa
Slate 1002.86:1AaAa
Slate 2002.54:1AaAa
Slate 3002.11:1AaAa
Slate 4001.22:1AaAa
Slate 5001.52:1AaAa
Slate 6002.42:1AaAa
Slate 7003.30:1AaAa
Slate 8004.67:1AaAa
Slate 9005.69:1AaAa
Black6.70:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #4D8FF4
deuteranopia · #6192ED
tritanopia · #AA8AA7

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. #b474f0 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.

#F8F3FC
#F0E6F9
#DFC6F5
#C89AF4
#b474f0
#9234E9
#7E18DD
#6914B8
#541093
#3F106B
#270A43
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F3FCDarkest = 950 · #270A43Text 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 0.046 305.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.074 305.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.111 305.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.144 305.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.169 305.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.184 305.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.184 305.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.173 305.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.155 305.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.129 305.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.101 305.9);
}

Colors that work with #b474f0

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#F7F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#D7C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#744B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#8EBC10
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#410C73
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3E8FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1C1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#A354ED
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9134E9
Two steps down
Disabled#EAE5EF
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BE80F9
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 #b474f0

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
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #410C73
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight30/100
  • 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#B0F074
Analogous left#7674F0
Analogous right#F074EE
Split-complement 1#EEF074
Split-complement 2#74F076
Triadic 1#F0B474
Triadic 2#74F0B4
Tetradic#F07674
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°271°

#b474f0 sits at 271°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.6%
Green45.5%
Blue94.1%
R · 0–255
180
0xb4
G · 0–255
116
0x74
B · 0–255
240
0xf0

CMYK percentages

Cyan25.0%
Magenta51.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)5.9%

Total ink coverage is 83%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b474f0 text on a black background

contrast 6.70:1

Card sample

#b474f0 text on a white background

contrast 3.14:1

Card sample

#b474f0 on grey

2.86:1

#b474f0 on its own surface

2.88:1

#b474f0 on its dark surface

5.70:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b474f0;
Background color
Panel with #b474f0 background
background-color: #b474f0;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b474f0;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(180, 116, 240, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(180, 116, 240, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b474f0;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b474f0, #F074D9);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b474f0, #F074BA);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b474f0;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b474f0;
caret-color: #b474f0;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b474f0;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3E8FD;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b474f0;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b474f0 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b474f0 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(180, 116, 240, 0.5)
rgb(180 116 240 / 50%)
#b474f080
hsl(271 81% 70% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b474f0 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b474f01a#F8F1FE
20%#b474f033#F0E3FC
40%#b474f066#E1C7F9
60%#b474f099#D2ACF6
80%#b474f0cc#C390F3

Gradients from #b474f0

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, #D2ABF6, #b474f0 45%, #410C73);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b474f0, #ED58C5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b474f0, #B0F074);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E1C7F9 0%, #b474f0 45%, #410C73 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F7F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #A2A8F5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F390E9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #410C73 0%, transparent 65%), #b474f0;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b474f0

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.

#b474f0 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.

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 6.70:1.

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.

#b474f0, answered

What color is #b474f0?

#b474f0 is a light electric violet, closest to Medium Purple (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 271° on the hue wheel with 81% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b474f0?

rgb(180, 116, 240) — 180 red, 116 green and 240 blue out of 255, or 70.6% / 45.5% / 94.1% by channel.

What is #b474f0 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(271, 81%, 70%) and hsv(271, 52%, 94%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b474f0 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2849 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 6.70:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b474f0?

Black. It scores 6.70:1 against #b474f0, versus 3.14:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #b474f0 accessible on a white background?

#b474f0 on white scores 3.14:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #9E4BEC to reach 4.5:1, or #7B17D7 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b474f0?

#B0F074 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EEF074 and #74F076, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b474f0?

For interface work: #F7F4FA as the surface, #D7C0ED for borders, #744B9B for secondary text, #8EBC10 as an accent and #410C73 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7674F0 and #F074EE stays calm, while #B0F074 is the loudest partner.

What is #b474f0 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(25%, 52%, 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 #b474f0 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 66 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E274F0; nudged cooler, #8672F2.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b474f0?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 7.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b474f0 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b474f0 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b474f0] or text-[#b474f0], 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 #b474f0 with 50% opacity?

rgba(180, 116, 240, 0.5), or #b474f080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DABAF8; over black, #5A3A78.

Is #b474f0 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC66FF, ΔE2000 4.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b474f0 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 #b474f0?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D2ABF6, #b474f0 45%, #410C73). For more colour, a short hue run to #ED58C5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b474f0 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b474f0 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.