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violet · neutral

#ccc9d4

a light, muted violet · neutral · closest name: Light Gray

Token name suggestion: Morning Amethyst

RGB
204, 201, 212
HSL
256°, 11%, 81%
CMYK
4, 5, 0, 17
Luminance
0.5936

#ccc9d4 is a light muted violet, 256° on the wheel and 58/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.87:1). As text it scores 1.63:1 on white — use #79718E instead. Nearest name is Light Gray, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(256 11% 81%)rgb(204 201 212)Base step 300AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ccc9d4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ccc9d4
Hue
256°
violet
Saturation
11%
muted
Lightness
81%
light
Brightness
83%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5936
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
58/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
12.87:1
Closest name
Light Gray
ΔE2000 6.3
Chroma
5.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.842
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 27.8
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue256° of 360°
Saturation11%
Lightness81%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ccc9d4.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool58% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red22%
Green70%
Blue8%

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

Every format

HEX#ccc9d4
HEX (8-digit)#ccc9d4ff
RGBrgb(204, 201, 212)
RGBArgba(204, 201, 212, 1)
HSLhsl(256, 11%, 81%)
HSV / HSBhsv(256, 5%, 83%)
HWBhwb(256 79% 17%)
CMYKcmyk(4%, 5%, 0%, 17%)
LABlab(81.5 3.1 -5.1)
LCHlch(81.5 5.9 301.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.842 0.015 298.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(57.67, 59.36, 70.69)
Decimal13421012
Display P3color(display-p3 0.800 0.788 0.831)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ccc9d4;
background-color: #ccc9d4;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ccc9d4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ccc9d4] bg-[#ccc9d4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ccc9d4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.800, green: 0.788, blue: 0.831)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.800, green: 0.788, blue: 0.831, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CCC9D4</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCCC9D4)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCCC9D4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(212, 201, 204)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(204, 201, 212)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(204, 201, 212)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 204, 201, 212)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8000f, 0.7882f, 0.8314f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{204,201,212}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ccc9d4 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ccc9d4 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#3C3947, #DFDDE4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ccc9d4 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: #F7F7F8;
  --brand-100: #EFEEF1;
  --brand-200: #DCDBE1;
  --brand-300: #ccc9d4;
  --brand-400: #A7A1B4;
  --brand-500: #89829B;
  --brand-600: #746D88;
  --brand-700: #615A72;
  --brand-800: #4D485B;
  --brand-900: #3A3744;
  --brand-950: #24222A;
  --brand: #ccc9d4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F6F8;
  --brand-border: #D4D2DB;
  --brand-hover: #B9B5C4;
  --brand-pressed: #A7A1B4;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1B191F;
    --brand-ink: #DFDDE4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F7F8',
        100: '#EFEEF1',
        200: '#DCDBE1',
        300: '#ccc9d4',
        400: '#A7A1B4',
        500: '#89829B',
        600: '#746D88',
        700: '#615A72',
        800: '#4D485B',
        900: '#3A3744',
        950: '#24222A',
        DEFAULT: '#ccc9d4',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F7F8,
  '100': #EFEEF1,
  '200': #DCDBE1,
  '300': #ccc9d4,
  '400': #A7A1B4,
  '500': #89829B,
  '600': #746D88,
  '700': #615A72,
  '800': #4D485B,
  '900': #3A3744,
  '950': #24222A,
);
$brand-base: #ccc9d4;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F7F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EFEEF1", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DCDBE1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#ccc9d4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#A7A1B4", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#89829B", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#746D88", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#615A72", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#4D485B", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3A3744", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#24222A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ccc9d4 · 12.87:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.63:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.87:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ccc9d4 as text scores 1.63:1 on white and 12.87:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #3C3947 at 6.89:1.

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
#79718E · 4.60:1
AA on white−31% L
#79718E
The quick fox
#5A5469 · 7.22:1
AAA on white−44% L
#5A5469
The quick fox
#ccc9d4 · 12.87:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ccc9d4
The quick fox
#ccc9d4 · 12.87:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ccc9d4

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9690A7 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
#ccc9d4 on white: 1.63:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ccc9d4 on black: 12.87:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ccc9d4 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ccc9d4.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.63:1AaAa
Slate 501.56:1AaAa
Slate 1001.49:1AaAa
Slate 2001.32:1AaAa
Slate 3001.10:1AaAa
Slate 4001.57:1AaAa
Slate 5002.92:1AaAa
Slate 6004.65:1AaAa
Slate 7006.35:1AaAa
Slate 8008.97:1AaAa
Slate 90010.94:1AaAa
Black12.87:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C7CAD5
deuteranopia · #C8CAD4
tritanopia · #CBCACC

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. #ccc9d4 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.

#F7F7F8
#EFEEF1
#DCDBE1
#ccc9d4
#A7A1B4
#89829B
#746D88
#615A72
#4D485B
#3A3744
#24222A
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F7F7F8Darkest = 950 · #24222AText 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 0.004 298.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.006 298.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.009 298.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.012 298.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.014 298.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.015 298.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.015 298.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.014 298.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.013 298.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.011 298.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.008 298.5);
}

Colors that work with #ccc9d4

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#F7F6F8
Tinted page background
Border#D4D2DB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#6D6680
Captions on the surface
Accent#767656
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3C3947
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2F1F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1B191F
Dark-mode background
Hover#B9B5C4
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A7A1B4
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F4F6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D5D1E1
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 #ccc9d4

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading 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 #3C3947
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9690A7

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.

With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. 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
  • EnergyLow
  • Weight19/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • 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#D1D4C9
Analogous left#C9CCD4
Analogous right#D2C9D4
Split-complement 1#D4D2C9
Split-complement 2#CCD4C9
Triadic 1#D4CCC9
Triadic 2#C9D4CC
Tetradic#D4C9CC
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°256°

#ccc9d4 sits at 256°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.0%
Green78.8%
Blue83.1%
R · 0–255
204
0xcc
G · 0–255
201
0xc9
B · 0–255
212
0xd4

CMYK percentages

Cyan3.8%
Magenta5.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)16.9%

Total ink coverage is 26%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ccc9d4 text on a black background

contrast 12.87:1

Card sample

#ccc9d4 text on a white background

contrast 1.63:1

Card sample

#ccc9d4 on grey

1.49:1

#ccc9d4 on its own surface

1.51:1

#ccc9d4 on its dark surface

10.68:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ccc9d4;
Background color
Panel with #ccc9d4 background
background-color: #ccc9d4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ccc9d4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(204, 201, 212, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(204, 201, 212, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ccc9d4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ccc9d4, #D3C9D4);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ccc9d4, #D4C9D2);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ccc9d4;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ccc9d4;
caret-color: #ccc9d4;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ccc9d4;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F2F1F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ccc9d4;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ccc9d4 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ccc9d4 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(204, 201, 212, 0.5)
rgb(204 201 212 / 50%)
#ccc9d480
hsl(256 11% 81% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ccc9d4 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ccc9d41a#FAFAFB
20%#ccc9d433#F5F4F6
40%#ccc9d466#EBE9EE
60%#ccc9d499#E0DFE5
80%#ccc9d4cc#D6D4DD

Gradients from #ccc9d4

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, #ECEBEF, #ccc9d4 45%, #3C3947);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ccc9d4, #C6B8C6);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ccc9d4, #D1D4C9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F7F6F8 0%, #ccc9d4 45%, #3C3947 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F7F6F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E5E7EB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E1DAE2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #3C3947 0%, transparent 65%), #ccc9d4;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ccc9d4

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.

#ccc9d4 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
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
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 12.87:1.

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.

#ccc9d4, answered

What color is #ccc9d4?

#ccc9d4 is a light muted violet, closest to Light Gray (ΔE2000 6.3). It sits at 256° on the hue wheel with 11% saturation and 81% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #ccc9d4?

rgb(204, 201, 212) — 204 red, 201 green and 212 blue out of 255, or 80% / 78.8% / 83.1% by channel.

What is #ccc9d4 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(256, 11%, 81%) and hsv(256, 5%, 83%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ccc9d4 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5936 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 12.87:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ccc9d4?

Black. It scores 12.87:1 against #ccc9d4, versus 1.63:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ccc9d4 accessible on a white background?

#ccc9d4 on white scores 1.63:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #79718E to reach 4.5:1, or #5A5469 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ccc9d4?

#D1D4C9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D4D2C9 and #CCD4C9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ccc9d4?

For interface work: #F7F6F8 as the surface, #D4D2DB for borders, #6D6680 for secondary text, #767656 as an accent and #3C3947 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C9CCD4 and #D2C9D4 stays calm, while #D1D4C9 is the loudest partner.

What is #ccc9d4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(4%, 5%, 0%, 17%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ccc9d4 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 58 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D0C9D4; nudged cooler, #C8C9D5.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ccc9d4?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 27.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ccc9d4 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ccc9d4 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ccc9d4] or text-[#ccc9d4], 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 #ccc9d4 with 50% opacity?

rgba(204, 201, 212, 0.5), or #ccc9d480 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6E4EA; over black, #66656A.

Is #ccc9d4 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ccc9d4 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 low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.

What gradient works with #ccc9d4?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #ECEBEF, #ccc9d4 45%, #3C3947). For more colour, a short hue run to #C6B8C6 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ccc9d4 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ccc9d4 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.