Skip to content

#bd73aa

a balanced, soft magenta / pink · warm · closest name: Orchid

RGB
189, 115, 170
HSL
315°, 36%, 60%
CMYK
0, 39, 10, 26
Luminance
0.2598

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bd73aa is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bd73aa
Hue
315°
magenta / pink
Saturation
36%
soft
Lightness
60%
balanced
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
58%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2598
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
41/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.20:1
Closest name
Orchid
ΔE2000 8.9
Where it sits
Hue315° of 360°
Saturation36%
Lightness60%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool41% cool

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

Every format

HEX#bd73aa
RGBrgb(189, 115, 170)
HSLhsl(315, 36%, 60%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 39%, 10%, 26%)
LABlab(58.0 37.2 -17.1)
LCHlch(58.0 40.9 335.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.653 0.117 337.0)
Decimal12415914
Display P3color(display-p3 0.741 0.451 0.667)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bd73aa;
background-color: #bd73aa;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bd73aa] bg-[#bd73aa]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bd73aa;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.741, green: 0.451, blue: 0.667)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bd73aa")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBD73AA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(170, 115, 189)

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 #bd73aa · 6.20:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.39:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.20:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #bd73aa as text scores 3.39:1 on white and 6.20:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bd73aa on white: 3.39:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bd73aa on black: 6.20:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #7485AC
deuteranopia · #8790A8
tritanopia · #C47587

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bd73aa 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.

#F9F5F8
#F4EBF2
#E8D3E3
#DBB3D1
#C98DBA
#bd73aa
#A64E90
#8B4178
#6F3460
#512947
#331A2C
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F5F8Darkest = 950 · #331A2C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F5F8;
  --brand-100: #F4EBF2;
  --brand-200: #E8D3E3;
  --brand-300: #DBB3D1;
  --brand-400: #C98DBA;
  --brand-500: #bd73aa;
  --brand-600: #A64E90;
  --brand-700: #8B4178;
  --brand-800: #6F3460;
  --brand-900: #512947;
  --brand-950: #331A2C;
  --brand: #bd73aa;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bd73aa

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#FAF5F9
Tinted page background
Border#E5C8DD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B86
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D8F3D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#57294B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7EEF4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#241420
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 #bd73aa

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
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • 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#73BD86
Analogous left#AB73BD
Analogous right#BD7385
Split-complement 1#85BD73
Split-complement 2#73BDAB
Triadic 1#AABD73
Triadic 2#73AABD
Tetradic#BDAB73

RGB percentages

Red74.1%
Green45.1%
Blue66.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta39.2%
Yellow10.1%
Key (black)25.9%

Color previews

#bd73aa text on a black background

contrast 6.20:1

Card sample

#bd73aa text on a white background

contrast 3.39:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bd73aa;
Background color
Panel with #bd73aa background
background-color: #bd73aa;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bd73aa;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(189, 115, 170, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(189, 115, 170, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bd73aa;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bd73aa, #BD7379);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bd73aa

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.

#bd73aa 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#bd73aa, answered

What color is #bd73aa?

#bd73aa is a balanced soft magenta / pink, closest to Orchid (ΔE2000 8.9). It sits at 315° on the hue wheel with 36% saturation and 60% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bd73aa?

rgb(189, 115, 170) — 189 red, 115 green and 170 blue out of 255, or 74.1% / 45.1% / 66.7% by channel.

Is #bd73aa a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2598 and perceived brightness is 58%, so black text on it reaches 6.20:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bd73aa?

Black. It scores 6.20:1 against #bd73aa, versus 3.39:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bd73aa?

#73BD86 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #85BD73 and #73BDAB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bd73aa?

For interface work: #FAF5F9 as the surface, #E5C8DD for borders, #9B4B86 for secondary text, #3D8F3D as an accent and #57294B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #AB73BD and #BD7385 stays calm, while #73BD86 is the loudest partner.

What is #bd73aa in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 39%, 10%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bd73aa warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 41 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BD738F; nudged cooler, #B671BF.

Work with #bd73aa in the Color Lab