#ba51af
a balanced, soft magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Medium Orchid
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #ba51af is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Reads neutral. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Every format
| HEX | #ba51af |
| RGB | rgb(186, 81, 175) |
| HSL | hsl(306, 43%, 52%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 57%, 6%, 27%) |
| LAB | lab(51.2 54.4 -30.5) |
| LCH | lch(51.2 62.4 330.7) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.602 0.176 331.7) |
| Decimal | 12210607 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.729 0.318 0.686) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #ba51af;
background-color: #ba51af;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ba51af] bg-[#ba51af]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ba51af;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.729, green: 0.318, blue: 0.686)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ba51af")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBA51AF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(175, 81, 186)Best text color
Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.
Accessibility — WCAG contrast
Color scale — 50 to 950
A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ba51af is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.
:root {
--brand-50: #FAF5F9;
--brand-100: #F5EBF4;
--brand-200: #EAD1E8;
--brand-300: #DFAFDA;
--brand-400: #CF86C8;
--brand-500: #ba51af;
--brand-600: #AF46A4;
--brand-700: #923A89;
--brand-800: #752E6D;
--brand-900: #562550;
--brand-950: #351732;
--brand: #ba51af;
--brand-ink: #000000;
}Colors that work with #ba51af
Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.
Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.
Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.
How to use #ba51af
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Headings from 24px up on white
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠Small text on white — under 4.5:1
- ⚠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 | #51BA5C | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #9151BA | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #BA517B | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #7BBA51 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #51BA91 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #AFBA51 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #51AFBA | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #BA9151 | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#ba51af text on a black background
contrast 4.88:1
#ba51af text on a white background
contrast 4.30:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #ba51af;
background-color: #ba51af;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ba51af;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(186, 81, 175, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(186, 81, 175, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #ba51af; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ba51af, #BA5169);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #ba51af
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: Mulberry (#c54b8c) — ΔE2000 8.5 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#ba51af in the real world
Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.
Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.
#ba51af, answered
What color is #ba51af?
#ba51af is a balanced soft magenta / pink, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 306° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as neutral.
What is the RGB value of #ba51af?
rgb(186, 81, 175) — 186 red, 81 green and 175 blue out of 255, or 72.9% / 31.8% / 68.6% by channel.
Is #ba51af a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.1942 and perceived brightness is 52%, so black text on it reaches 4.88:1.
Should I use black or white text on #ba51af?
Black. It scores 4.88:1 against #ba51af, versus 4.30:1 for white — AA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #ba51af?
#51BA5C sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7BBA51 and #51BA91, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #ba51af?
For interface work: #FAF4FA as the surface, #E8C5E4 for borders, #9B4B92 for secondary text, #449636 as an accent and #5B2456 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #9151BA and #BA517B stays calm, while #51BA5C is the loudest partner.
What is #ba51af in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(0%, 57%, 6%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #ba51af warm or cool?
Neutral — it scores 47 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BA5189; nudged cooler, #A04FBC.