Skip to content
violet · cool

#b49fc3

a light, soft violet · cool · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Meadow Plum

RGB
180, 159, 195
HSL
275°, 23%, 69%
CMYK
8, 19, 0, 24
Luminance
0.3844

#b49fc3 is a light soft violet, 275° on the wheel and 59/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.69:1). As text it scores 2.42:1 on white — use #8A6AA2 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(275 23% 69%)rgb(180 159 195)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b49fc3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b49fc3
Hue
275°
violet
Saturation
23%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
76%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3844
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
59/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.69:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 9.5
Chroma
21.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.733
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 22.3
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue275° of 360°
Saturation23%
Lightness69%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b49fc3.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool59% 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%
Green65%
Blue10%

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

Every format

HEX#b49fc3
HEX (8-digit)#b49fc3ff
RGBrgb(180, 159, 195)
RGBArgba(180, 159, 195, 1)
HSLhsl(275, 23%, 69%)
HSV / HSBhsv(275, 18%, 76%)
HWBhwb(275 62% 24%)
CMYKcmyk(8%, 19%, 0%, 24%)
LABlab(68.3 14.4 -15.7)
LCHlch(68.3 21.3 312.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.733 0.056 311.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(41.07, 38.44, 56.88)
Decimal11837379
Display P3color(display-p3 0.706 0.624 0.765)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b49fc3;
background-color: #b49fc3;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b49fc3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b49fc3] bg-[#b49fc3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b49fc3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.706, green: 0.624, blue: 0.765)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.706, green: 0.624, blue: 0.765, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B49FC3</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB49FC3)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB49FC3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(195, 159, 180)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(180, 159, 195)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(180, 159, 195)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 180, 159, 195)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7059f, 0.6235f, 0.7647f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{180,159,195}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b49fc3 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b49fc3 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#42314E, #E2D9E7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b49fc3 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: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-100: #F0EDF2;
  --brand-200: #DFD7E5;
  --brand-300: #C9BAD4;
  --brand-400: #b49fc3;
  --brand-500: #9375A9;
  --brand-600: #7F5E97;
  --brand-700: #6A4E7E;
  --brand-800: #553F64;
  --brand-900: #3F304A;
  --brand-950: #281E2E;
  --brand: #b49fc3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-border: #D8CDE0;
  --brand-hover: #A389B5;
  --brand-pressed: #9273A8;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1D1623;
    --brand-ink: #E2D9E7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F6F9',
        100: '#F0EDF2',
        200: '#DFD7E5',
        300: '#C9BAD4',
        400: '#b49fc3',
        500: '#9375A9',
        600: '#7F5E97',
        700: '#6A4E7E',
        800: '#553F64',
        900: '#3F304A',
        950: '#281E2E',
        DEFAULT: '#b49fc3',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F6F9,
  '100': #F0EDF2,
  '200': #DFD7E5,
  '300': #C9BAD4,
  '400': #b49fc3,
  '500': #9375A9,
  '600': #7F5E97,
  '700': #6A4E7E,
  '800': #553F64,
  '900': #3F304A,
  '950': #281E2E,
);
$brand-base: #b49fc3;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0EDF2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFD7E5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C9BAD4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#b49fc3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#9375A9", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7F5E97", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6A4E7E", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#553F64", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3F304A", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#281E2E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b49fc3 · 8.69:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.42:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.69:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b49fc3 as text scores 2.42:1 on white and 8.69:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #42314E at 4.88:1.

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
#8A6AA2 · 4.50:1
AA on white−17% L
#8A6AA2
The quick fox
#684D7C · 7.14:1
AAA on white−30% L
#684D7C
The quick fox
#b49fc3 · 8.69:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b49fc3
The quick fox
#b49fc3 · 8.69:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b49fc3

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A389B5 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
#b49fc3 on white: 2.42:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b49fc3 on black: 8.69:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b49fc3 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b49fc3.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.42:1AaAa
Slate 502.31:1AaAa
Slate 1002.21:1AaAa
Slate 2001.96:1AaAa
Slate 3001.63:1AaAa
Slate 4001.06:1AaAa
Slate 5001.97:1AaAa
Slate 6003.13:1AaAa
Slate 7004.28:1AaAa
Slate 8006.05:1AaAa
Slate 9007.39:1AaAa
Black8.69:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9AA6C5
deuteranopia · #9EA7C2
tritanopia · #B3A3AB

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. #b49fc3 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.

#F8F6F9
#F0EDF2
#DFD7E5
#C9BAD4
#b49fc3
#9375A9
#7F5E97
#6A4E7E
#553F64
#3F304A
#281E2E
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F9Darkest = 950 · #281E2EText 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 0.014 311.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.022 311.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.034 311.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.044 311.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.052 311.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.056 311.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.056 311.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.053 311.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.047 311.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.039 311.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.031 311.1);
}

Colors that work with #b49fc3

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#F8F6F9
Tinted page background
Border#D8CDE0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#77588D
Captions on the surface
Accent#6F814B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#42314E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3EFF5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D1623
Dark-mode background
Hover#A389B5
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9273A8
Two steps down
Disabled#EAE4EE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BFA5D2
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 #b49fc3

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary 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 #42314E
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A389B5

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.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. 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
  • Weight31/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • 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#AEC39F
Analogous left#A29FC3
Analogous right#C39FC0
Split-complement 1#C0C39F
Split-complement 2#9FC3A2
Triadic 1#C3B49F
Triadic 2#9FC3B4
Tetradic#C3A29F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°275°

#b49fc3 sits at 275°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.6%
Green62.4%
Blue76.5%
R · 0–255
180
0xb4
G · 0–255
159
0x9f
B · 0–255
195
0xc3

CMYK percentages

Cyan7.7%
Magenta18.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)23.5%

Total ink coverage is 50%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b49fc3 text on a black background

contrast 8.69:1

Card sample

#b49fc3 text on a white background

contrast 2.42:1

Card sample

#b49fc3 on grey

2.21:1

#b49fc3 on its own surface

2.25:1

#b49fc3 on its dark surface

7.29:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b49fc3;
Background color
Panel with #b49fc3 background
background-color: #b49fc3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b49fc3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(180, 159, 195, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(180, 159, 195, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b49fc3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b49fc3, #C39FBA);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b49fc3, #C39FB1);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b49fc3;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b49fc3;
caret-color: #b49fc3;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b49fc3;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3EFF5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b49fc3;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b49fc3 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b49fc3 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, 159, 195, 0.5)
rgb(180 159 195 / 50%)
#b49fc380
hsl(275 23% 69% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b49fc3 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b49fc31a#F8F5F9
20%#b49fc333#F0ECF3
40%#b49fc366#E1D9E7
60%#b49fc399#D2C5DB
80%#b49fc3cc#C3B2CF

Gradients from #b49fc3

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, #D1C5DB, #b49fc3 45%, #42314E);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b49fc3, #B78CA9);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b49fc3, #AEC39F);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E0D7E6 0%, #b49fc3 45%, #42314E 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F6F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #BEBED7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #CFB2CA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #42314E 0%, transparent 65%), #b49fc3;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b49fc3

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.

#b49fc3 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 8.69:1.

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.

#b49fc3, answered

What color is #b49fc3?

#b49fc3 is a light soft violet, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 9.5). It sits at 275° on the hue wheel with 23% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b49fc3?

rgb(180, 159, 195) — 180 red, 159 green and 195 blue out of 255, or 70.6% / 62.4% / 76.5% by channel.

What is #b49fc3 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(275, 23%, 69%) and hsv(275, 18%, 76%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b49fc3 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3844 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 8.69:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b49fc3?

Black. It scores 8.69:1 against #b49fc3, versus 2.42:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b49fc3 accessible on a white background?

#b49fc3 on white scores 2.42:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8A6AA2 to reach 4.5:1, or #684D7C for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b49fc3?

#AEC39F sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C0C39F and #9FC3A2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b49fc3?

For interface work: #F8F6F9 as the surface, #D8CDE0 for borders, #77588D for secondary text, #6F814B as an accent and #42314E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A29FC3 and #C39FC0 stays calm, while #AEC39F is the loudest partner.

What is #b49fc3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(8%, 19%, 0%, 24%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b49fc3 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 59 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C19FC3; nudged cooler, #A69DC5.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b49fc3?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 22.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b49fc3 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b49fc3 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b49fc3] or text-[#b49fc3], 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 #b49fc3 with 50% opacity?

rgba(180, 159, 195, 0.5), or #b49fc380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DACFE1; over black, #5A5062.

Is #b49fc3 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 7.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b49fc3 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #b49fc3?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D1C5DB, #b49fc3 45%, #42314E). For more colour, a short hue run to #B78CA9 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b49fc3 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b49fc3 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.