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#b5a2cf

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

RGB
181, 162, 207
HSL
265°, 32%, 72%
CMYK
13, 22, 0, 19
Luminance
0.4017

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b5a2cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b5a2cf
Hue
265°
violet
Saturation
32%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4017
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
68/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.03:1
Closest name
Plum
ΔE2000 9.3
Where it sits
Hue265° of 360°
Saturation32%
Lightness72%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool68% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#b5a2cf
RGBrgb(181, 162, 207)
HSLhsl(265, 32%, 72%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 22%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(69.6 15.6 -20.4)
LCHlch(69.6 25.7 307.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.744 0.067 304.0)
Decimal11903695
Display P3color(display-p3 0.710 0.635 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #b5a2cf;
background-color: #b5a2cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b5a2cf] bg-[#b5a2cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b5a2cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.710, green: 0.635, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#b5a2cf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB5A2CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 162, 181)

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 #b5a2cf · 9.03:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.32:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.03:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b5a2cf as text scores 2.32:1 on white and 9.03:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#b5a2cf on white: 2.32:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b5a2cf on black: 9.03:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9AA9D1
deuteranopia · #9DAACE
tritanopia · #B1A8B1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #b5a2cf 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.

#F7F5F9
#EFECF4
#DCD5E7
#C4B5D9
#b5a2cf
#896BB3
#7453A1
#614587
#4E386C
#3A2B4F
#241B31
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F7F5F9Darkest = 950 · #241B31
:root {
  --brand-50: #F7F5F9;
  --brand-100: #EFECF4;
  --brand-200: #DCD5E7;
  --brand-300: #C4B5D9;
  --brand-400: #b5a2cf;
  --brand-500: #896BB3;
  --brand-600: #7453A1;
  --brand-700: #614587;
  --brand-800: #4E386C;
  --brand-900: #3A2B4F;
  --brand-950: #241B31;
  --brand: #b5a2cf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #b5a2cf

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#F7F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#D4C9E3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#6D4E97
Captions on the surface
Accent#7E8B41
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3D2B54
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2EEF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1B1424
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #b5a2cf

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

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#BCCFA2
Analogous left#A2A6CF
Analogous right#CCA2CF
Split-complement 1#CFCCA2
Split-complement 2#A6CFA2
Triadic 1#CFB5A2
Triadic 2#A2CFB5
Tetradic#CFA2A6

RGB percentages

Red71.0%
Green63.5%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan12.6%
Magenta21.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#b5a2cf text on a black background

contrast 9.03:1

Card sample

#b5a2cf text on a white background

contrast 2.32:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b5a2cf;
Background color
Panel with #b5a2cf background
background-color: #b5a2cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b5a2cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(181, 162, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(181, 162, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b5a2cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b5a2cf, #CFA2CB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b5a2cf

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#b5a2cf 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.

#b5a2cf, answered

What color is #b5a2cf?

#b5a2cf is a light soft violet, closest to Plum (ΔE2000 9.3). It sits at 265° on the hue wheel with 32% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b5a2cf?

rgb(181, 162, 207) — 181 red, 162 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 71% / 63.5% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #b5a2cf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4017 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.03:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b5a2cf?

Black. It scores 9.03:1 against #b5a2cf, versus 2.32:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #b5a2cf?

#BCCFA2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFCCA2 and #A6CFA2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b5a2cf?

For interface work: #F7F5FA as the surface, #D4C9E3 for borders, #6D4E97 for secondary text, #7E8B41 as an accent and #3D2B54 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A2A6CF and #CCA2CF stays calm, while #BCCFA2 is the loudest partner.

What is #b5a2cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(13%, 22%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b5a2cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 68 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C6A2CF; nudged cooler, #A3A1D0.

Work with #b5a2cf in the Color Lab