Skip to content

#c98ba2

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

RGB
201, 139, 162
HSL
338°, 37%, 67%
CMYK
0, 31, 19, 21
Luminance
0.3349

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c98ba2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c98ba2
Hue
338°
magenta / pink
Saturation
37%
soft
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
64%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3349
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
29/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
7.70:1
Closest name
Pale Violet Red
ΔE2000 8.1
Where it sits
Hue338° of 360°
Saturation37%
Lightness67%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool29% 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#c98ba2
RGBrgb(201, 139, 162)
HSLhsl(338, 37%, 67%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 31%, 19%, 21%)
LABlab(64.6 27.0 -2.6)
LCHlch(64.6 27.1 354.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.705 0.081 355.4)
Decimal13208482
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.545 0.635)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c98ba2;
background-color: #c98ba2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c98ba2] bg-[#c98ba2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c98ba2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.545, blue: 0.635)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c98ba2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC98BA2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(162, 139, 201)

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 #c98ba2 · 7.70:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.73:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.70:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c98ba2 as text scores 2.73:1 on white and 7.70:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c98ba2 on white: 2.73:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c98ba2 on black: 7.70:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9296A3
deuteranopia · #A1A1A1
tritanopia · #D38893

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c98ba2 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.

#FAF5F7
#F4EBEF
#E8D3DB
#DBB2C2
#c98ba2
#B86684
#A74E6F
#8B415C
#6F344A
#522938
#331923
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF5F7Darkest = 950 · #331923
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF5F7;
  --brand-100: #F4EBEF;
  --brand-200: #E8D3DB;
  --brand-300: #DBB2C2;
  --brand-400: #c98ba2;
  --brand-500: #B86684;
  --brand-600: #A74E6F;
  --brand-700: #8B415C;
  --brand-800: #6F344A;
  --brand-900: #522938;
  --brand-950: #331923;
  --brand: #c98ba2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c98ba2

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#FAF5F7
Tinted page background
Border#E5C7D2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B68
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D8F5C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#57283A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7EEF1
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#24141A
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 #c98ba2

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

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#8BC9B2
Analogous left#C98BC1
Analogous right#C9938B
Split-complement 1#8BC993
Split-complement 2#8BC1C9
Triadic 1#A2C98B
Triadic 2#8BA2C9
Tetradic#C1C98B

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green54.5%
Blue63.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta30.8%
Yellow19.4%
Key (black)21.2%

Color previews

#c98ba2 text on a black background

contrast 7.70:1

Card sample

#c98ba2 text on a white background

contrast 2.73:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c98ba2;
Background color
Panel with #c98ba2 background
background-color: #c98ba2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c98ba2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 139, 162, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 139, 162, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c98ba2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c98ba2, #C99D8B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c98ba2

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.

#c98ba2 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#c98ba2, answered

What color is #c98ba2?

#c98ba2 is a light soft magenta / pink, closest to Pale Violet Red (ΔE2000 8.1). It sits at 338° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #c98ba2?

rgb(201, 139, 162) — 201 red, 139 green and 162 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 54.5% / 63.5% by channel.

Is #c98ba2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3349 and perceived brightness is 64%, so black text on it reaches 7.70:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c98ba2?

Black. It scores 7.70:1 against #c98ba2, versus 2.73:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c98ba2?

#8BC9B2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8BC993 and #8BC1C9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c98ba2?

For interface work: #FAF5F7 as the surface, #E5C7D2 for borders, #9B4B68 for secondary text, #3D8F5C as an accent and #57283A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C98BC1 and #C9938B stays calm, while #8BC9B2 is the loudest partner.

What is #c98ba2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 31%, 19%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c98ba2 warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 29 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C98B8B; nudged cooler, #CB89BA.

Work with #c98ba2 in the Color Lab