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violet · cool

#b489dc

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Amethyst

RGB
180, 137, 220
HSL
271°, 54%, 70%
CMYK
18, 38, 0, 14
Luminance
0.3276

#b489dc is a light vivid violet, 271° on the wheel and 66/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.55:1). As text it scores 2.78:1 on white — use #965ACE instead. Nearest name is Medium Purple, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(271 54% 70%)rgb(180 137 220)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b489dc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b489dc
Hue
271°
violet
Saturation
54%
vivid
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
64%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3276
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
66/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
7.55:1
Closest name
Medium Purple
ΔE2000 9.7
Chroma
48.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.702
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 14.1
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue271° of 360°
Saturation54%
Lightness70%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b489dc.

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
Red30%
Green55%
Blue16%

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

Every format

HEX#b489dc
HEX (8-digit)#b489dcff
RGBrgb(180, 137, 220)
RGBArgba(180, 137, 220, 1)
HSLhsl(271, 54%, 70%)
HSV / HSBhsv(271, 38%, 86%)
HWBhwb(271 54% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(18%, 38%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(64.0 32.1 -36.3)
LCHlch(64.0 48.5 311.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.702 0.126 307.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(40.68, 32.76, 71.88)
Decimal11831772
Display P3color(display-p3 0.706 0.537 0.863)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b489dc;
background-color: #b489dc;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b489dc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b489dc] bg-[#b489dc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b489dc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.706, green: 0.537, blue: 0.863)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.706, green: 0.537, blue: 0.863, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B489DC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB489DC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB489DC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(220, 137, 180)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(180, 137, 220)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(180, 137, 220)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 180, 137, 220)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7059f, 0.5373f, 0.8627f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{180,137,220}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b489dc 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b489dc 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#411D62, #E1D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b489dc 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: #F7F4FB;
  --brand-100: #F0E9F6;
  --brand-200: #DECEEE;
  --brand-300: #C8A8E5;
  --brand-400: #b489dc;
  --brand-500: #9152CC;
  --brand-600: #7D38BD;
  --brand-700: #682F9D;
  --brand-800: #53257E;
  --brand-900: #3E1F5C;
  --brand-950: #271339;
  --brand: #b489dc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F4FA;
  --brand-border: #D7C0EC;
  --brand-hover: #A36ED4;
  --brand-pressed: #9152CC;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1C1424;
    --brand-ink: #E1D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F4FB',
        100: '#F0E9F6',
        200: '#DECEEE',
        300: '#C8A8E5',
        400: '#b489dc',
        500: '#9152CC',
        600: '#7D38BD',
        700: '#682F9D',
        800: '#53257E',
        900: '#3E1F5C',
        950: '#271339',
        DEFAULT: '#b489dc',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F4FB,
  '100': #F0E9F6,
  '200': #DECEEE,
  '300': #C8A8E5,
  '400': #b489dc,
  '500': #9152CC,
  '600': #7D38BD,
  '700': #682F9D,
  '800': #53257E,
  '900': #3E1F5C,
  '950': #271339,
);
$brand-base: #b489dc;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F4FB", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0E9F6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DECEEE", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C8A8E5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#b489dc", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9152CC", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7D38BD", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#682F9D", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#53257E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3E1F5C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#271339", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b489dc · 7.55:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.55:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b489dc as text scores 2.78:1 on white and 7.55:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #411D62 at 4.79:1.

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
#965ACE · 4.52:1
AA on white−12% L
#965ACE
The quick fox
#7836B5 · 7.02:1
AAA on white−24% L
#7836B5
The quick fox
#b489dc · 7.55:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b489dc
The quick fox
#b489dc · 7.55:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b489dc

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #AF81DA 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
#b489dc on white: 2.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b489dc on black: 7.55:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b489dc as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b489dc.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.78:1AaAa
Slate 502.66:1AaAa
Slate 1002.54:1AaAa
Slate 2002.26:1AaAa
Slate 3001.87:1AaAa
Slate 4001.08:1AaAa
Slate 5001.71:1AaAa
Slate 6002.73:1AaAa
Slate 7003.72:1AaAa
Slate 8005.26:1AaAa
Slate 9006.42:1AaAa
Black7.55:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #7899DF
deuteranopia · #819BDA
tritanopia · #AE95A8

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. #b489dc 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.

#F7F4FB
#F0E9F6
#DECEEE
#C8A8E5
#b489dc
#9152CC
#7D38BD
#682F9D
#53257E
#3E1F5C
#271339
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F7F4FBDarkest = 950 · #271339Text 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 0.032 307.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.050 307.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.076 307.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.098 307.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.116 307.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.126 307.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.126 307.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.119 307.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.106 307.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.088 307.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.069 307.2);
}

Colors that work with #b489dc

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#D7C0EC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#744B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#81A12B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#411D62
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3EBF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1C1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#A36ED4
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9152CC
Two steps down
Disabled#EBE6EF
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BE92E7
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 #b489dc

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 #411D62
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #AF81DA

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
  • 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#B1DC89
Analogous left#8B89DC
Analogous right#DC89DA
Split-complement 1#DADC89
Split-complement 2#89DC8B
Triadic 1#DCB489
Triadic 2#89DCB4
Tetradic#DC8B89
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°271°

#b489dc sits at 271°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.6%
Green53.7%
Blue86.3%
R · 0–255
180
0xb4
G · 0–255
137
0x89
B · 0–255
220
0xdc

CMYK percentages

Cyan18.2%
Magenta37.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)13.7%

Total ink coverage is 70%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b489dc text on a black background

contrast 7.55:1

Card sample

#b489dc text on a white background

contrast 2.78:1

Card sample

#b489dc on grey

2.54:1

#b489dc on its own surface

2.55:1

#b489dc on its dark surface

6.43:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b489dc;
Background color
Panel with #b489dc background
background-color: #b489dc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b489dc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(180, 137, 220, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(180, 137, 220, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b489dc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b489dc, #DC89CD);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b489dc, #DC89B8);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b489dc;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b489dc;
caret-color: #b489dc;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b489dc;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3EBF9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b489dc;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b489dc 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b489dc 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, 137, 220, 0.5)
rgb(180 137 220 / 50%)
#b489dc80
hsl(271 54% 70% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b489dc 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b489dc1a#F8F3FC
20%#b489dc33#F0E7F8
40%#b489dc66#E1D0F1
60%#b489dc99#D2B8EA
80%#b489dccc#C3A1E3

Gradients from #b489dc

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, #D2B8EA, #b489dc 45%, #411D62);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b489dc, #D571BA);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b489dc, #B1DC89);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E1D0F1 0%, #b489dc 45%, #411D62 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%, #B0B4E8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E3A1DC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #411D62 0%, transparent 65%), #b489dc;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b489dc

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.

#b489dc 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 7.55:1.

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.

#b489dc, answered

What color is #b489dc?

#b489dc is a light vivid violet, closest to Medium Purple (ΔE2000 9.7). It sits at 271° on the hue wheel with 54% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b489dc?

rgb(180, 137, 220) — 180 red, 137 green and 220 blue out of 255, or 70.6% / 53.7% / 86.3% by channel.

What is #b489dc in HSL and HSV?

hsl(271, 54%, 70%) and hsv(271, 38%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b489dc a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3276 and perceived brightness is 64%, so black text on it reaches 7.55:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b489dc?

Black. It scores 7.55:1 against #b489dc, versus 2.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b489dc accessible on a white background?

#b489dc on white scores 2.78:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #965ACE to reach 4.5:1, or #7836B5 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b489dc?

#B1DC89 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DADC89 and #89DC8B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b489dc?

For interface work: #F7F4FA as the surface, #D7C0EC for borders, #744B9B for secondary text, #81A12B as an accent and #411D62 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8B89DC and #DC89DA stays calm, while #B1DC89 is the loudest partner.

What is #b489dc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(18%, 38%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b489dc 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 #D289DC; nudged cooler, #9588DD.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b489dc?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 14.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b489dc as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b489dc in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b489dc] or text-[#b489dc], 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 #b489dc with 50% opacity?

rgba(180, 137, 220, 0.5), or #b489dc80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DAC4EE; over black, #5A456E.

Is #b489dc 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 #b489dc 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 #b489dc?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D2B8EA, #b489dc 45%, #411D62). For more colour, a short hue run to #D571BA keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b489dc in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b489dc at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.