Skip to content
magenta / pink · warm

#c97fad

a balanced, soft magenta / pink · warm · closest name: Pale Violet Red

Token name suggestion: Studio Peony

RGB
201, 127, 173
HSL
323°, 41%, 64%
CMYK
0, 37, 14, 21
Luminance
0.3061

#c97fad is a balanced soft magenta / pink, 323° on the wheel and 37/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.12:1). As text it scores 2.95:1 on white — use #B5508F instead. Nearest name is Pale Violet Red, nearest Tailwind family is pink.

hsl(323 41% 64%)rgb(201 127 173)Base step 400AAA inkWarm

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c97fad is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c97fad
Hue
323°
magenta / pink
Saturation
41%
soft
Lightness
64%
balanced
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
62%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3061
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
37/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
7.12:1
Closest name
Pale Violet Red
ΔE2000 8.1
Chroma
37.4
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.688
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
pink
500 · ΔE 11.7
Web-safe
#CC6699
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue323° of 360°
Saturation41%
Lightness64%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c97fad.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool37% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red41%
Green50%
Blue10%

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

Every format

HEX#c97fad
HEX (8-digit)#c97fadff
RGBrgb(201, 127, 173)
RGBArgba(201, 127, 173, 1)
HSLhsl(323, 41%, 64%)
HSV / HSBhsv(323, 37%, 79%)
HWBhwb(323 50% 21%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 37%, 14%, 21%)
LABlab(62.2 35.3 -12.4)
LCHlch(62.2 37.4 340.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.688 0.108 342.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(39.22, 30.62, 43.37)
Decimal13205421
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.498 0.678)
Web-safe#CC6699

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c97fad;
background-color: #c97fad;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c97fad;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c97fad] bg-[#c97fad]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c97fad;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.498, blue: 0.678)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.498, blue: 0.678, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C97FAD</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC97FAD)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC97FAD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(173, 127, 201)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(201, 127, 173)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(201, 127, 173)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 201, 127, 173)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7882f, 0.4980f, 0.6784f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{201,127,173}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c97fad 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c97fad 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5A2646, #EDD4E3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c97fad 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: #FAF5F8;
  --brand-100: #F5EBF1;
  --brand-200: #EAD2E1;
  --brand-300: #DEB0CC;
  --brand-400: #c97fad;
  --brand-500: #BC619A;
  --brand-600: #AC4987;
  --brand-700: #903C70;
  --brand-800: #73305A;
  --brand-900: #542643;
  --brand-950: #35182A;
  --brand: #c97fad;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4F8;
  --brand-border: #E7C6DA;
  --brand-hover: #BE669D;
  --brand-pressed: #B44D8D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #24141E;
    --brand-ink: #EDD4E3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF5F8',
        100: '#F5EBF1',
        200: '#EAD2E1',
        300: '#DEB0CC',
        400: '#c97fad',
        500: '#BC619A',
        600: '#AC4987',
        700: '#903C70',
        800: '#73305A',
        900: '#542643',
        950: '#35182A',
        DEFAULT: '#c97fad',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF5F8,
  '100': #F5EBF1,
  '200': #EAD2E1,
  '300': #DEB0CC,
  '400': #c97fad,
  '500': #BC619A,
  '600': #AC4987,
  '700': #903C70,
  '800': #73305A,
  '900': #542643,
  '950': #35182A,
);
$brand-base: #c97fad;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF5F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5EBF1", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EAD2E1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DEB0CC", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#c97fad", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#BC619A", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#AC4987", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#903C70", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#73305A", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#542643", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#35182A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c97fad · 7.12:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.95:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.12:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c97fad as text scores 2.95:1 on white and 7.12:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #5A2646 at 3.96:1.

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
#B5508F · 4.66:1
AA on white−13% L
#B5508F
The quick fox
#8D3B6E · 7.04:1
AAA on white−25% L
#8D3B6E
The quick fox
#c97fad · 7.12:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c97fad
The quick fox
#c97fad · 7.12:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c97fad

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C87BAB 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
#c97fad on white: 2.95:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c97fad on black: 7.12:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c97fad as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c97fad.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.95:1AaAa
Slate 502.82:1AaAa
Slate 1002.69:1AaAa
Slate 2002.39:1AaAa
Slate 3001.99:1AaAa
Slate 4001.15:1AaAa
Slate 5001.61:1AaAa
Slate 6002.57:1AaAa
Slate 7003.51:1AaAa
Slate 8004.96:1AaAa
Slate 9006.06:1AaAa
Black7.12:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #838FAF
deuteranopia · #959BAB
tritanopia · #D27F8F

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. #c97fad 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.

#FAF5F8
#F5EBF1
#EAD2E1
#DEB0CC
#c97fad
#BC619A
#AC4987
#903C70
#73305A
#542643
#35182A
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF5F8Darkest = 950 · #35182AText step on white = 600
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 0.027 342.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.043 342.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.065 342.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.085 342.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.100 342.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.108 342.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.108 342.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.102 342.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.091 342.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.076 342.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.060 342.4);
}

Colors that work with #c97fad

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#FAF4F8
Tinted page background
Border#E7C6DA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B7D
Captions on the surface
Accent#389444
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5A2646
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7EDF4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#24141E
Dark-mode background
Hover#BE669D
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B44D8D
Two steps down
Disabled#E4D4DE
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D785B8
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 #c97fad

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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 #5A2646
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C87BAB

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

expressiveyouthfulwarmconfident

Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

Strong gendered associations in some markets — test it with the audience you actually have.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight36/100
  • TemperatureWarm
  • ApproachabilityHigh

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#7FC99B
Analogous left#C07FC9
Analogous right#C97F88
Split-complement 1#88C97F
Split-complement 2#7FC9C0
Triadic 1#ADC97F
Triadic 2#7FADC9
Tetradic#C9C07F
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°323°

#c97fad sits at 323°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green49.8%
Blue67.8%
R · 0–255
201
0xc9
G · 0–255
127
0x7f
B · 0–255
173
0xad

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta36.8%
Yellow13.9%
Key (black)21.2%

Total ink coverage is 72%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c97fad text on a black background

contrast 7.12:1

Card sample

#c97fad text on a white background

contrast 2.95:1

Card sample

#c97fad on grey

2.69:1

#c97fad on its own surface

2.72:1

#c97fad on its dark surface

5.97:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c97fad;
Background color
Panel with #c97fad background
background-color: #c97fad;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c97fad;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 127, 173, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 127, 173, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c97fad;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c97fad, #C9827F);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c97fad, #C9957F);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c97fad;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c97fad;
caret-color: #c97fad;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c97fad;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F7EDF4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c97fad;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c97fad 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c97fad 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(201, 127, 173, 0.5)
rgb(201 127 173 / 50%)
#c97fad80
hsl(323 41% 64% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c97fad 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c97fad1a#FAF2F7
20%#c97fad33#F4E5EF
40%#c97fad66#E9CCDE
60%#c97fad99#DFB2CE
80%#c97fadcc#D499BD

Gradients from #c97fad

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, #DBAAC9, #c97fad 45%, #5A2646);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c97fad, #C07469);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c97fad, #7FC99B);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E4BFD6 0%, #c97fad 45%, #5A2646 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF4F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CDA3D8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D29497 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5A2646 0%, transparent 65%), #c97fad;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c97fad

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.

#c97fad 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.

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 7.12:1.

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.

#c97fad, answered

What color is #c97fad?

#c97fad is a balanced soft magenta / pink, closest to Pale Violet Red (ΔE2000 8.1). It sits at 323° on the hue wheel with 41% saturation and 64% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c97fad?

rgb(201, 127, 173) — 201 red, 127 green and 173 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 49.8% / 67.8% by channel.

What is #c97fad in HSL and HSV?

hsl(323, 41%, 64%) and hsv(323, 37%, 79%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c97fad a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3061 and perceived brightness is 62%, so black text on it reaches 7.12:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c97fad?

Black. It scores 7.12:1 against #c97fad, versus 2.95:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c97fad accessible on a white background?

#c97fad on white scores 2.95:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #B5508F to reach 4.5:1, or #8D3B6E for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c97fad?

#7FC99B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #88C97F and #7FC9C0, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c97fad?

For interface work: #FAF4F8 as the surface, #E7C6DA for borders, #9B4B7D for secondary text, #389444 as an accent and #5A2646 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C07FC9 and #C97F88 stays calm, while #7FC99B is the loudest partner.

What is #c97fad in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 37%, 14%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c97fad warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 37 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C97F92; nudged cooler, #CB7DCA.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c97fad?

The pink family — its 500 step is #ec4899, ΔE2000 11.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c97fad as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c97fad in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c97fad] or text-[#c97fad], 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 #c97fad with 50% opacity?

rgba(201, 127, 173, 0.5), or #c97fad80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E4BFD6; over black, #654057.

Is #c97fad a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC6699, ΔE2000 6.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c97fad mean?

As a magenta / pink, it reads expressive, youthful, warm. Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #c97fad?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DBAAC9, #c97fad 45%, #5A2646). For more colour, a short hue run to #C07469 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c97fad in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c97fad at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.