Skip to content

#b871df

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

RGB
184, 113, 223
HSL
279°, 63%, 66%
CMYK
18, 49, 0, 13
Luminance
0.2733

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b871df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b871df
Hue
279°
violet
Saturation
63%
vivid
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2733
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
62/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
6.47:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 6.5
Where it sits
Hue279° of 360°
Saturation63%
Lightness66%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool62% 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#b871df
RGBrgb(184, 113, 223)
HSLhsl(279, 63%, 66%)
CMYKcmyk(18%, 49%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(59.3 47.0 -45.3)
LCHlch(59.3 65.3 316.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.668 0.171 312.4)
Decimal12087775
Display P3color(display-p3 0.722 0.443 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #b871df;
background-color: #b871df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b871df] bg-[#b871df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b871df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.722, green: 0.443, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#b871df")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB871DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 113, 184)

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 #b871df · 6.47:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.25:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.47:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #b871df as text scores 3.25:1 on white and 6.47:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#b871df on white: 3.25:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b871df on black: 6.47:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #578BE3
deuteranopia · #6C90DC
tritanopia · #B4829E

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #b871df 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.

#F8F4FB
#F2E8F7
#E3CBF0
#D1A3EA
#b871df
#A348D6
#912DC8
#7926A6
#611E85
#481A61
#2D103C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F4FBDarkest = 950 · #2D103C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F4FB;
  --brand-100: #F2E8F7;
  --brand-200: #E3CBF0;
  --brand-300: #D1A3EA;
  --brand-400: #b871df;
  --brand-500: #A348D6;
  --brand-600: #912DC8;
  --brand-700: #7926A6;
  --brand-800: #611E85;
  --brand-900: #481A61;
  --brand-950: #2D103C;
  --brand: #b871df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #b871df

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#F8F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#DDC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7E4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#74AA22
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4B1768
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5EAFA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E1424
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 #b871df

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

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#98DF71
Analogous left#8171DF
Analogous right#DF71CF
Split-complement 1#CFDF71
Split-complement 2#71DF81
Triadic 1#DFB871
Triadic 2#71DFB8
Tetradic#DF8171

RGB percentages

Red72.2%
Green44.3%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan17.5%
Magenta49.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#b871df text on a black background

contrast 6.47:1

Card sample

#b871df text on a white background

contrast 3.25:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b871df;
Background color
Panel with #b871df background
background-color: #b871df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b871df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(184, 113, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(184, 113, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b871df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b871df, #DF71BD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b871df

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.

#b871df 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.

#b871df, answered

What color is #b871df?

#b871df is a light vivid violet, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 6.5). It sits at 279° on the hue wheel with 63% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b871df?

rgb(184, 113, 223) — 184 red, 113 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 72.2% / 44.3% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #b871df a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2733 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 6.47:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b871df?

Black. It scores 6.47:1 against #b871df, versus 3.25:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #b871df?

#98DF71 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFDF71 and #71DF81, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b871df?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DDC0ED for borders, #7E4B9B for secondary text, #74AA22 as an accent and #4B1768 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8171DF and #DF71CF stays calm, while #98DF71 is the loudest partner.

What is #b871df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(18%, 49%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b871df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 62 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #DF71DE; nudged cooler, #8F6FE1.

Work with #b871df in the Color Lab