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#cd2ae9

a balanced, electric magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Medium Orchid

RGB
205, 42, 233
HSL
291°, 81%, 54%
CMYK
12, 82, 0, 9
Luminance
0.2052

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd2ae9 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd2ae9
Hue
291°
magenta / pink
Saturation
81%
electric
Lightness
54%
balanced
Brightness
91%
HSV value
Perceived
55%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2052
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
55/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
5.10:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 5.6
Where it sits
Hue291° of 360°
Saturation81%
Lightness54%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool55% cool

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

Every format

HEX#cd2ae9
RGBrgb(205, 42, 233)
HSLhsl(291, 81%, 54%)
CMYKcmyk(12%, 82%, 0%, 9%)
LABlab(52.4 82.0 -61.7)
LCHlch(52.4 102.6 323.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.626 0.275 321.0)
Decimal13445865
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.165 0.914)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cd2ae9;
background-color: #cd2ae9;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd2ae9] bg-[#cd2ae9]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd2ae9;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.165, blue: 0.914)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cd2ae9")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD2AE9)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(233, 42, 205)

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 #cd2ae9 · 5.10:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.11:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.10:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cd2ae9 as text scores 4.11:1 on white and 5.10:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cd2ae9 on white: 4.11:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd2ae9 on black: 5.10:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #0072EE
deuteranopia · #4483E5
tritanopia · #CE568D

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cd2ae9 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.

#FBF2FC
#F7E6F9
#EFC6F6
#E799F5
#DB66EF
#cd2ae9
#C117DE
#A113B9
#800F94
#5E0F6B
#3A0A43
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBF2FCDarkest = 950 · #3A0A43
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF2FC;
  --brand-100: #F7E6F9;
  --brand-200: #EFC6F6;
  --brand-300: #E799F5;
  --brand-400: #DB66EF;
  --brand-500: #cd2ae9;
  --brand-600: #C117DE;
  --brand-700: #A113B9;
  --brand-800: #800F94;
  --brand-900: #5E0F6B;
  --brand-950: #3A0A43;
  --brand: #cd2ae9;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cd2ae9

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#FAF4FA
Tinted page background
Border#E6C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8F4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#54BD0F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#640C74
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FAE8FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#221424
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 #cd2ae9

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
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#46E92A
Analogous left#6D2AE9
Analogous right#E92AA5
Split-complement 1#A5E92A
Split-complement 2#2AE96D
Triadic 1#E9CD2A
Triadic 2#2AE9CD
Tetradic#E96D2A

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green16.5%
Blue91.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan12.0%
Magenta82.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)8.6%

Color previews

#cd2ae9 text on a black background

contrast 5.10:1

Card sample

#cd2ae9 text on a white background

contrast 4.11:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd2ae9;
Background color
Panel with #cd2ae9 background
background-color: #cd2ae9;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd2ae9;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 42, 233, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 42, 233, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd2ae9;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd2ae9, #E92A86);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd2ae9

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.

#cd2ae9 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#cd2ae9, answered

What color is #cd2ae9?

#cd2ae9 is a balanced electric magenta / pink, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 291° on the hue wheel with 81% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #cd2ae9?

rgb(205, 42, 233) — 205 red, 42 green and 233 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 16.5% / 91.4% by channel.

Is #cd2ae9 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2052 and perceived brightness is 55%, so black text on it reaches 5.10:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd2ae9?

Black. It scores 5.10:1 against #cd2ae9, versus 4.11:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cd2ae9?

#46E92A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A5E92A and #2AE96D, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd2ae9?

For interface work: #FAF4FA as the surface, #E6C0ED for borders, #8F4B9B for secondary text, #54BD0F as an accent and #640C74 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #6D2AE9 and #E92AA5 stays calm, while #46E92A is the loudest partner.

What is #cd2ae9 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(12%, 82%, 0%, 9%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #cd2ae9 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 55 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E92ABF; nudged cooler, #8728EB.

Work with #cd2ae9 in the Color Lab