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violet · cool

#bcb0db

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Iris

RGB
188, 176, 219
HSL
257°, 37%, 78%
CMYK
14, 20, 0, 14
Luminance
0.4686

#bcb0db is a light soft violet, 257° on the wheel and 74/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.37:1). As text it scores 2.02:1 on white — use #7E67BA instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(257 37% 78%)rgb(188 176 219)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bcb0db is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bcb0db
Hue
257°
violet
Saturation
37%
soft
Lightness
78%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4686
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
74/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.37:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 8.4
Chroma
23.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.781
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 25.1
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue257° of 360°
Saturation37%
Lightness78%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bcb0db.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool74% 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
Red23%
Green66%
Blue11%

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

Every format

HEX#bcb0db
HEX (8-digit)#bcb0dbff
RGBrgb(188, 176, 219)
RGBArgba(188, 176, 219, 1)
HSLhsl(257, 37%, 78%)
HSV / HSBhsv(257, 20%, 86%)
HWBhwb(257 69% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(14%, 20%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(74.1 12.7 -20.1)
LCHlch(74.1 23.8 302.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.781 0.062 297.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(49.05, 46.86, 73.46)
Decimal12366043
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.690 0.859)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bcb0db;
background-color: #bcb0db;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bcb0db;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bcb0db] bg-[#bcb0db]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bcb0db;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.690, blue: 0.859)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.737, green: 0.690, blue: 0.859, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BCB0DB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBCB0DB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBCB0DB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(219, 176, 188)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(188, 176, 219)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(188, 176, 219)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 188, 176, 219)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7373f, 0.6902f, 0.8588f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{188,176,219}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bcb0db 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bcb0db 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#352858, #DBD5EC);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bcb0db 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: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-100: #EEEBF4;
  --brand-200: #D9D3E9;
  --brand-300: #bcb0db;
  --brand-400: #9D8BCA;
  --brand-500: #7C65B9;
  --brand-600: #664DA8;
  --brand-700: #55408C;
  --brand-800: #443370;
  --brand-900: #342852;
  --brand-950: #201933;
  --brand: #bcb0db;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F4FA;
  --brand-border: #CFC7E5;
  --brand-hover: #A798D0;
  --brand-pressed: #927FC5;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #181424;
    --brand-ink: #DBD5EC;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F5FA',
        100: '#EEEBF4',
        200: '#D9D3E9',
        300: '#bcb0db',
        400: '#9D8BCA',
        500: '#7C65B9',
        600: '#664DA8',
        700: '#55408C',
        800: '#443370',
        900: '#342852',
        950: '#201933',
        DEFAULT: '#bcb0db',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F5FA,
  '100': #EEEBF4,
  '200': #D9D3E9,
  '300': #bcb0db,
  '400': #9D8BCA,
  '500': #7C65B9,
  '600': #664DA8,
  '700': #55408C,
  '800': #443370,
  '900': #342852,
  '950': #201933,
);
$brand-base: #bcb0db;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EEEBF4", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D9D3E9", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#bcb0db", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9D8BCA", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7C65B9", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#664DA8", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#55408C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#443370", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#342852", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#201933", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bcb0db · 10.37:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.02:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.37:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bcb0db as text scores 2.02:1 on white and 10.37:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #352858 at 6.50:1.

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
#7E67BA · 4.63:1
AA on white−21% L
#7E67BA
The quick fox
#61499F · 7.09:1
AAA on white−32% L
#61499F
The quick fox
#bcb0db · 10.37:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bcb0db
The quick fox
#bcb0db · 10.37:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bcb0db

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9B8ACA 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
#bcb0db on white: 2.02:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bcb0db on black: 10.37:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bcb0db as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bcb0db.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.02:1AaAa
Slate 501.94:1AaAa
Slate 1001.85:1AaAa
Slate 2001.64:1AaAa
Slate 3001.36:1AaAa
Slate 4001.27:1AaAa
Slate 5002.35:1AaAa
Slate 6003.74:1AaAa
Slate 7005.11:1AaAa
Slate 8007.22:1AaAa
Slate 9008.82:1AaAa
Black10.37:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A7B6DD
deuteranopia · #A9B6DA
tritanopia · #B7B6BE

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. #bcb0db is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F5FA
#EEEBF4
#D9D3E9
#bcb0db
#9D8BCA
#7C65B9
#664DA8
#55408C
#443370
#342852
#201933
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F5FADarkest = 950 · #201933Text step on white = 500
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 0.015 297.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.025 297.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.037 297.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.048 297.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.057 297.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.062 297.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.062 297.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.058 297.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.052 297.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.043 297.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.034 297.7);
}

Colors that work with #bcb0db

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#F6F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#CFC7E5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#614B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#8E903C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#352858
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0EDF7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#181424
Dark-mode background
Hover#A798D0
One step down in lightness
Pressed#927FC5
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C6B9E6
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 #bcb0db

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 #352858
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9B8ACA

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
  • Weight23/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

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#CFDBB0
Analogous left#B0BADB
Analogous right#D2B0DB
Split-complement 1#DBD2B0
Split-complement 2#BADBB0
Triadic 1#DBBCB0
Triadic 2#B0DBBC
Tetradic#DBB0BA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°257°

#bcb0db sits at 257°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green69.0%
Blue85.9%
R · 0–255
188
0xbc
G · 0–255
176
0xb0
B · 0–255
219
0xdb

CMYK percentages

Cyan14.2%
Magenta19.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)14.1%

Total ink coverage is 48%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bcb0db text on a black background

contrast 10.37:1

Card sample

#bcb0db text on a white background

contrast 2.02:1

Card sample

#bcb0db on grey

1.85:1

#bcb0db on its own surface

1.86:1

#bcb0db on its dark surface

8.91:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bcb0db;
Background color
Panel with #bcb0db background
background-color: #bcb0db;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bcb0db;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 176, 219, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 176, 219, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bcb0db;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bcb0db, #D9B0DB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bcb0db, #DBB0D3);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bcb0db;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bcb0db;
caret-color: #bcb0db;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bcb0db;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0EDF7;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bcb0db;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bcb0db 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bcb0db 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(188, 176, 219, 0.5)
rgb(188 176 219 / 50%)
#bcb0db80
hsl(257 37% 78% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bcb0db 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bcb0db1a#F8F7FB
20%#bcb0db33#F2EFF8
40%#bcb0db66#E4DFF1
60%#bcb0db99#D7D0E9
80%#bcb0dbcc#C9C0E2

Gradients from #bcb0db

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, #E0DAEE, #bcb0db 45%, #352858);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bcb0db, #D29BD0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bcb0db, #CFDBB0);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F2EFF8 0%, #bcb0db 45%, #352858 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D3DAEB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E0C5E5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #352858 0%, transparent 65%), #bcb0db;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bcb0db

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.

#bcb0db 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 10.37:1.

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.

#bcb0db, answered

What color is #bcb0db?

#bcb0db is a light soft violet, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 8.4). It sits at 257° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 78% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bcb0db?

rgb(188, 176, 219) — 188 red, 176 green and 219 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 69% / 85.9% by channel.

What is #bcb0db in HSL and HSV?

hsl(257, 37%, 78%) and hsv(257, 20%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bcb0db a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4686 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.37:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bcb0db?

Black. It scores 10.37:1 against #bcb0db, versus 2.02:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bcb0db accessible on a white background?

#bcb0db on white scores 2.02:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7E67BA to reach 4.5:1, or #61499F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bcb0db?

#CFDBB0 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DBD2B0 and #BADBB0, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bcb0db?

For interface work: #F6F4FA as the surface, #CFC7E5 for borders, #614B9B for secondary text, #8E903C as an accent and #352858 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B0BADB and #D2B0DB stays calm, while #CFDBB0 is the loudest partner.

What is #bcb0db in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(14%, 20%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bcb0db warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 74 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CCB0DB; nudged cooler, #AFB3DC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bcb0db?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 25.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bcb0db as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bcb0db in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bcb0db] or text-[#bcb0db], 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 #bcb0db with 50% opacity?

rgba(188, 176, 219, 0.5), or #bcb0db80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DED8ED; over black, #5E586E.

Is #bcb0db a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 10.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bcb0db 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 #bcb0db?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E0DAEE, #bcb0db 45%, #352858). For more colour, a short hue run to #D29BD0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bcb0db in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bcb0db at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.