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magenta / pink · neutral

#b511ad

a dark, electric magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Dark Orchid

Token name suggestion: Shadow Blossom

RGB
181, 17, 173
HSL
303°, 83%, 39%
CMYK
0, 91, 4, 29
Luminance
0.1324

#b511ad is a dark electric magenta / pink, 303° on the wheel and 48/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (5.76:1). As text it scores 5.76:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(303 83% 39%)rgb(181 17 173)Base step 700AA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b511ad is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b511ad
Hue
303°
magenta / pink
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
39%
dark
Brightness
71%
HSV value
Perceived
45%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1324
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
48/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
5.76:1
Closest name
Dark Orchid
ΔE2000 7.9
Chroma
84.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.542
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 15
Web-safe
#CC0099
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue303° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness39%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b511ad.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool48% 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
Red74%
Green3%
Blue23%

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

Every format

HEX#b511ad
HEX (8-digit)#b511adff
RGBrgb(181, 17, 173)
RGBArgba(181, 17, 173, 1)
HSLhsl(303, 83%, 39%)
HSV / HSBhsv(303, 91%, 71%)
HWBhwb(303 7% 29%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 91%, 4%, 29%)
LABlab(43.1 73.0 -42.1)
LCHlch(43.1 84.3 330.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.542 0.238 330.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(26.80, 13.24, 40.67)
Decimal11866541
Display P3color(display-p3 0.710 0.067 0.678)
Web-safe#CC0099

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b511ad;
background-color: #b511ad;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b511ad;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b511ad] bg-[#b511ad]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b511ad;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.710, green: 0.067, blue: 0.678)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.710, green: 0.067, blue: 0.678, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B511AD</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB511AD)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB511AD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(173, 17, 181)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(181, 17, 173)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(181, 17, 173)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 181, 17, 173)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7098f, 0.0667f, 0.6784f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{181,17,173}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b511ad 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b511ad 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#750B6F, #EED3ED);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b511ad 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: #FCF2FC;
  --brand-100: #FAE6F9;
  --brand-200: #F6C6F4;
  --brand-300: #F598F1;
  --brand-400: #F165EA;
  --brand-500: #EC32E3;
  --brand-600: #E015D6;
  --brand-700: #b511ad;
  --brand-800: #950E8F;
  --brand-900: #6C0F67;
  --brand-950: #430941;
  --brand: #b511ad;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4FA;
  --brand-border: #EDC0EA;
  --brand-hover: #940E8E;
  --brand-pressed: #740B6F;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #241424;
    --brand-ink: #EED3ED;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF2FC',
        100: '#FAE6F9',
        200: '#F6C6F4',
        300: '#F598F1',
        400: '#F165EA',
        500: '#EC32E3',
        600: '#E015D6',
        700: '#b511ad',
        800: '#950E8F',
        900: '#6C0F67',
        950: '#430941',
        DEFAULT: '#b511ad',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF2FC,
  '100': #FAE6F9,
  '200': #F6C6F4,
  '300': #F598F1,
  '400': #F165EA,
  '500': #EC32E3,
  '600': #E015D6,
  '700': #b511ad,
  '800': #950E8F,
  '900': #6C0F67,
  '950': #430941,
);
$brand-base: #b511ad;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF2FC", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#FAE6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F6C6F4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F598F1", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#F165EA", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#EC32E3", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#E015D6", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#b511ad", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#950E8F", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#6C0F67", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#430941", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#ffffff", "$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#ffffff on #b511ad · 5.76:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 5.76:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.65:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #b511ad as text scores 5.76:1 on white and 3.65:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FDE8FC at 4.97:1.

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
#b511ad · 5.76:1
AA on whitealready passes
#b511ad
The quick fox
#9E0F97 · 7.07:1
AAA on white−5% L
#9E0F97
The quick fox
#D114C8 · 4.65:1
AA on black+6% L
#D114C8
The quick fox
#EF52E7 · 7.03:1
AAA on black+24% L
#EF52E7

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B511AD 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
#b511ad on white: 5.76:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b511ad on black: 3.65:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b511ad as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b511ad.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White5.76:1AaAa
Slate 505.50:1AaAa
Slate 1005.25:1AaAa
Slate 2004.67:1AaAa
Slate 3003.88:1AaAa
Slate 4002.24:1AaAa
Slate 5001.21:1AaAa
Slate 6001.32:1AaAa
Slate 7001.80:1AaAa
Slate 8002.54:1AaAa
Slate 9003.10:1AaAa
Black3.65:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #0059B1
deuteranopia · #506DAA
tritanopia · #BC3166

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. #b511ad is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF2FC
#FAE6F9
#F6C6F4
#F598F1
#F165EA
#EC32E3
#E015D6
#b511ad
#950E8F
#6C0F67
#430941
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCF2FCDarkest = 950 · #430941Text step on white = 700
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 0.060 330.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.095 330.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.143 330.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.186 330.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.219 330.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.238 330.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.238 330.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.224 330.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.200 330.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.167 330.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.131 330.7);
}

Colors that work with #b511ad

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#FAF4FA
Tinted page background
Border#EDC0EA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B97
Captions on the surface
Accent#31BF0D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#750B6F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FDE8FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241424
Dark-mode background
Hover#940E8E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#740B6F
Two steps down
Disabled#B185AF
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D208C9
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 #b511ad

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

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
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.

expressiveyouthfulwarmconfident

Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Strong gendered associations in some markets — test it with the audience you actually have.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight61/100
  • 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#11B519
Analogous left#6B11B5
Analogous right#B5115B
Split-complement 1#5BB511
Split-complement 2#11B56B
Triadic 1#ADB511
Triadic 2#11ADB5
Tetradic#B56B11
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°303°

#b511ad sits at 303°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red71.0%
Green6.7%
Blue67.8%
R · 0–255
181
0xb5
G · 0–255
17
0x11
B · 0–255
173
0xad

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta90.6%
Yellow4.4%
Key (black)29.0%

Total ink coverage is 124%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b511ad text on a black background

contrast 3.65:1

Card sample

#b511ad text on a white background

contrast 5.76:1

Card sample

#b511ad on grey

5.25:1

#b511ad on its own surface

5.31:1

#b511ad on its dark surface

3.04:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b511ad;
Background color
Panel with #b511ad background
background-color: #b511ad;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b511ad;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(181, 17, 173, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(181, 17, 173, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b511ad;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b511ad, #B51140);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b511ad, #B51117);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b511ad;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b511ad;
caret-color: #b511ad;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b511ad;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FDE8FC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b511ad;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b511ad 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b511ad 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(181, 17, 173, 0.5)
rgb(181 17 173 / 50%)
#b511ad80
hsl(303 83% 39% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b511ad 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b511ad1a#F8E7F7
20%#b511ad33#F0CFEF
40%#b511ad66#E1A0DE
60%#b511ad99#D370CE
80%#b511adcc#C441BD

Gradients from #b511ad

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, #E91ADF, #b511ad 45%, #750B6F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b511ad, #990E2A);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b511ad, #11B519);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EC36E3 0%, #b511ad 45%, #750B6F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #7515E3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D11459 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #750B6F 0%, transparent 65%), #b511ad;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b511ad

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.

#b511ad in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
BeautyFashionLifestyleYouth brands
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
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

Too dim on dark surfaces at 3.65:1 — lift it to #D114C8 for body text, or reserve it for fills.

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.

#b511ad, answered

What color is #b511ad?

#b511ad is a dark electric magenta / pink, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 7.9). It sits at 303° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 39% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #b511ad?

rgb(181, 17, 173) — 181 red, 17 green and 173 blue out of 255, or 71% / 6.7% / 67.8% by channel.

What is #b511ad in HSL and HSV?

hsl(303, 83%, 39%) and hsv(303, 91%, 71%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b511ad a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1324 and perceived brightness is 45%, so white text on it reaches 5.76:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b511ad?

White. It scores 5.76:1 against #b511ad, versus 3.65:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #b511ad accessible on a white background?

#b511ad on white scores 5.76:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #b511ad?

#11B519 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #5BB511 and #11B56B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b511ad?

For interface work: #FAF4FA as the surface, #EDC0EA for borders, #9B4B97 for secondary text, #31BF0D as an accent and #750B6F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #6B11B5 and #B5115B stays calm, while #11B519 is the loudest partner.

What is #b511ad in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 91%, 4%, 29%). 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 #b511ad warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 48 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B51171; nudged cooler, #810FB7.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b511ad?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 15 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b511ad as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b511ad in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b511ad] or text-[#b511ad], 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 #b511ad with 50% opacity?

rgba(181, 17, 173, 0.5), or #b511ad80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DA88D6; over black, #5B0957.

Is #b511ad a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC0099, ΔE2000 6.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b511ad mean?

As a magenta / pink, it reads expressive, youthful, warm. Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #b511ad?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E91ADF, #b511ad 45%, #750B6F). For more colour, a short hue run to #990E2A keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b511ad in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b511ad at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.