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violet · cool

#c381ec

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Amethyst

RGB
195, 129, 236
HSL
277°, 74%, 72%
CMYK
17, 45, 0, 8
Luminance
0.3336

#c381ec is a light vivid violet, 277° on the wheel and 63/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.67:1). As text it scores 2.74:1 on white — use #A543E3 instead. Nearest name is Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(277 74% 72%)rgb(195 129 236)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c381ec is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c381ec
Hue
277°
violet
Saturation
74%
vivid
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3336
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
63/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
7.67:1
Closest name
Orchid
ΔE2000 7.4
Chroma
62.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.712
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 10.7
Web-safe
#CC99FF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue277° of 360°
Saturation74%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c381ec.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool63% 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
Red35%
Green47%
Blue18%

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

Every format

HEX#c381ec
HEX (8-digit)#c381ecff
RGBrgb(195, 129, 236)
RGBArgba(195, 129, 236, 1)
HSLhsl(277, 74%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(277, 45%, 93%)
HWBhwb(277 51% 7%)
CMYKcmyk(17%, 45%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(64.5 44.4 -44.3)
LCHlch(64.5 62.7 315.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.712 0.164 311.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(45.49, 33.36, 83.38)
Decimal12812780
Display P3color(display-p3 0.765 0.506 0.925)
Web-safe#CC99FF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c381ec;
background-color: #c381ec;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c381ec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c381ec] bg-[#c381ec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c381ec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.765, green: 0.506, blue: 0.925)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.765, green: 0.506, blue: 0.925, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C381EC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC381EC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC381EC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 129, 195)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(195, 129, 236)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(195, 129, 236)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 195, 129, 236)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7647f, 0.5059f, 0.9255f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{195,129,236}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c381ec 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c381ec 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4B116F, #E4D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c381ec 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: #F8F3FC;
  --brand-100: #F2E7F9;
  --brand-200: #E3C8F3;
  --brand-300: #D19DF0;
  --brand-400: #c381ec;
  --brand-500: #A23CE2;
  --brand-600: #8F20D5;
  --brand-700: #781BB1;
  --brand-800: #60158E;
  --brand-900: #471467;
  --brand-950: #2C0C40;
  --brand: #c381ec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F4FA;
  --brand-border: #DBC0ED;
  --brand-hover: #B462E7;
  --brand-pressed: #A543E3;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1E1424;
    --brand-ink: #E4D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F3FC',
        100: '#F2E7F9',
        200: '#E3C8F3',
        300: '#D19DF0',
        400: '#c381ec',
        500: '#A23CE2',
        600: '#8F20D5',
        700: '#781BB1',
        800: '#60158E',
        900: '#471467',
        950: '#2C0C40',
        DEFAULT: '#c381ec',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F3FC,
  '100': #F2E7F9,
  '200': #E3C8F3,
  '300': #D19DF0,
  '400': #c381ec,
  '500': #A23CE2,
  '600': #8F20D5,
  '700': #781BB1,
  '800': #60158E,
  '900': #471467,
  '950': #2C0C40,
);
$brand-base: #c381ec;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2E7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E3C8F3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D19DF0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#c381ec", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A23CE2", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#8F20D5", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#781BB1", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#60158E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#471467", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2C0C40", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c381ec · 7.67:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.74:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.67:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c381ec as text scores 2.74:1 on white and 7.67:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4B116F at 4.77:1.

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
#A543E3 · 4.65:1
AA on white−14% L
#A543E3
The quick fox
#851EC6 · 7.00:1
AAA on white−27% L
#851EC6
The quick fox
#c381ec · 7.67:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c381ec
The quick fox
#c381ec · 7.67:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c381ec

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #BD74EA 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
#c381ec on white: 2.74:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c381ec on black: 7.67:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c381ec as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c381ec.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.74:1AaAa
Slate 502.62:1AaAa
Slate 1002.50:1AaAa
Slate 2002.22:1AaAa
Slate 3001.84:1AaAa
Slate 4001.07:1AaAa
Slate 5001.74:1AaAa
Slate 6002.77:1AaAa
Slate 7003.78:1AaAa
Slate 8005.34:1AaAa
Slate 9006.52:1AaAa
Black7.67:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #6999F0
deuteranopia · #7B9EE9
tritanopia · #BF92AB

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. #c381ec 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.

#F8F3FC
#F2E7F9
#E3C8F3
#D19DF0
#c381ec
#A23CE2
#8F20D5
#781BB1
#60158E
#471467
#2C0C40
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F3FCDarkest = 950 · #2C0C40Text 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 0.041 311.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.066 311.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.098 311.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.128 311.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.151 311.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.164 311.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.164 311.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.154 311.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.138 311.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.115 311.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.090 311.3);
}

Colors that work with #c381ec

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#DBC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7C4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#7CB517
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4B116F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4E9FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#B462E7
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A543E3
Two steps down
Disabled#F0EBF2
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CD8DF5
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 #c381ec

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • 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
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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 #4B116F
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #BD74EA

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.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. 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-high
  • Weight28/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

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#AAEC81
Analogous left#8E81EC
Analogous right#EC81E0
Split-complement 1#E0EC81
Split-complement 2#81EC8E
Triadic 1#ECC381
Triadic 2#81ECC3
Tetradic#EC8E81
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°277°

#c381ec sits at 277°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red76.5%
Green50.6%
Blue92.5%
R · 0–255
195
0xc3
G · 0–255
129
0x81
B · 0–255
236
0xec

CMYK percentages

Cyan17.4%
Magenta45.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Total ink coverage is 70%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c381ec text on a black background

contrast 7.67:1

Card sample

#c381ec text on a white background

contrast 2.74:1

Card sample

#c381ec on grey

2.50:1

#c381ec on its own surface

2.52:1

#c381ec on its dark surface

6.50:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c381ec;
Background color
Panel with #c381ec background
background-color: #c381ec;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c381ec;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(195, 129, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(195, 129, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c381ec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c381ec, #EC81CE);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c381ec, #EC81B3);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c381ec;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c381ec;
caret-color: #c381ec;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c381ec;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F4E9FC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c381ec;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c381ec 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c381ec 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(195, 129, 236, 0.5)
rgb(195 129 236 / 50%)
#c381ec80
hsl(277 74% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c381ec 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c381ec1a#F9F2FD
20%#c381ec33#F3E6FB
40%#c381ec66#E7CDF7
60%#c381ec99#DBB3F4
80%#c381eccc#CF9AF0

Gradients from #c381ec

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, #DCB6F4, #c381ec 45%, #4B116F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c381ec, #E867B9);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c381ec, #AAEC81);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E9D1F8 0%, #c381ec 45%, #4B116F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #B0ADF3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F09CDF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4B116F 0%, transparent 65%), #c381ec;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c381ec

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.

#c381ec 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 7.67:1.

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.

#c381ec, answered

What color is #c381ec?

#c381ec is a light vivid violet, closest to Orchid (ΔE2000 7.4). It sits at 277° on the hue wheel with 74% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #c381ec?

rgb(195, 129, 236) — 195 red, 129 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 76.5% / 50.6% / 92.5% by channel.

What is #c381ec in HSL and HSV?

hsl(277, 74%, 72%) and hsv(277, 45%, 93%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c381ec a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3336 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 7.67:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c381ec?

Black. It scores 7.67:1 against #c381ec, versus 2.74:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c381ec accessible on a white background?

#c381ec on white scores 2.74:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #A543E3 to reach 4.5:1, or #851EC6 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c381ec?

#AAEC81 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E0EC81 and #81EC8E, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c381ec?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DBC0ED for borders, #7C4B9B for secondary text, #7CB517 as an accent and #4B116F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8E81EC and #EC81E0 stays calm, while #AAEC81 is the loudest partner.

What is #c381ec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(17%, 45%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c381ec warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 63 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EA81EC; nudged cooler, #9B80ED.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c381ec?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 10.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c381ec as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c381ec in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c381ec] or text-[#c381ec], 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 #c381ec with 50% opacity?

rgba(195, 129, 236, 0.5), or #c381ec80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E1C0F6; over black, #624176.

Is #c381ec a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99FF, ΔE2000 6.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c381ec 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #c381ec?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DCB6F4, #c381ec 45%, #4B116F). For more colour, a short hue run to #E867B9 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c381ec in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c381ec at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.