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violet · cool

#cd50fe

a light, electric violet · cool · closest name: Medium Orchid

Token name suggestion: Drift Iris

RGB
205, 80, 254
HSL
283°, 99%, 66%
CMYK
19, 69, 0, 0
Luminance
0.2587

#cd50fe is a light electric violet, 283° on the wheel and 59/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.17:1). As text it scores 3.40:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Medium Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(283 99% 66%)rgb(205 80 254)Base step 400AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd50fe is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd50fe
Hue
283°
violet
Saturation
99%
electric
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2587
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
59/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
6.17:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 6.3
Chroma
98.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.670
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 3.3
Web-safe
#CC66FF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue283° of 360°
Saturation99%
Lightness66%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cd50fe.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool59% 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
Red50%
Green22%
Blue28%

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

Every format

HEX#cd50fe
HEX (8-digit)#cd50feff
RGBrgb(205, 80, 254)
RGBArgba(205, 80, 254, 1)
HSLhsl(283, 99%, 66%)
HSV / HSBhsv(283, 69%, 100%)
HWBhwb(283 31% 0%)
CMYKcmyk(19%, 69%, 0%, 0%)
LABlab(57.9 73.8 -64.5)
LCHlch(57.9 98.0 318.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.670 0.256 314.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(45.93, 25.87, 96.32)
Decimal13455614
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.314 0.996)
Web-safe#CC66FF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cd50fe;
background-color: #cd50fe;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cd50fe;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd50fe] bg-[#cd50fe]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd50fe;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.314, blue: 0.996)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.314, blue: 0.996, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CD50FE</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCD50FE)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD50FE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(254, 80, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 80, 254)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 80, 254)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 80, 254)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.3137f, 0.9961f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,80,254}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cd50fe 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cd50fe 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#5B017F, #E6D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cd50fe 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: #FAF1FE;
  --brand-100: #F5E3FC;
  --brand-200: #EBC0FB;
  --brand-300: #DF8FFE;
  --brand-400: #cd50fe;
  --brand-500: #BF20FE;
  --brand-600: #AF01F3;
  --brand-700: #9201CB;
  --brand-800: #7501A2;
  --brand-900: #560675;
  --brand-950: #350349;
  --brand: #cd50fe;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F4FA;
  --brand-border: #E0C0ED;
  --brand-hover: #C32DFE;
  --brand-pressed: #B909FE;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #201424;
    --brand-ink: #E6D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FAF1FE',
        100: '#F5E3FC',
        200: '#EBC0FB',
        300: '#DF8FFE',
        400: '#cd50fe',
        500: '#BF20FE',
        600: '#AF01F3',
        700: '#9201CB',
        800: '#7501A2',
        900: '#560675',
        950: '#350349',
        DEFAULT: '#cd50fe',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FAF1FE,
  '100': #F5E3FC,
  '200': #EBC0FB,
  '300': #DF8FFE,
  '400': #cd50fe,
  '500': #BF20FE,
  '600': #AF01F3,
  '700': #9201CB,
  '800': #7501A2,
  '900': #560675,
  '950': #350349,
);
$brand-base: #cd50fe;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FAF1FE", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F5E3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#EBC0FB", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#DF8FFE", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cd50fe", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#BF20FE", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#AF01F3", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#9201CB", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#7501A2", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#560675", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#350349", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cd50fe · 6.17:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.40:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.17:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cd50fe as text scores 3.40:1 on white and 6.17:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #5B017F at 3.52:1.

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
#BC13FE · 4.50:1
AA on white−12% L
#BC13FE
The quick fox
#8D01C3 · 7.18:1
AAA on white−27% L
#8D01C3
The quick fox
#cd50fe · 6.17:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cd50fe
The quick fox
#D364FE · 7.02:1
AAA on black+4% L
#D364FE

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #CD50FE 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
#cd50fe on white: 3.40:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd50fe on black: 6.17:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cd50fe as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cd50fe.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.40:1AaAa
Slate 503.25:1AaAa
Slate 1003.10:1AaAa
Slate 2002.76:1AaAa
Slate 3002.29:1AaAa
Slate 4001.33:1AaAa
Slate 5001.40:1AaAa
Slate 6002.23:1AaAa
Slate 7003.04:1AaAa
Slate 8004.30:1AaAa
Slate 9005.25:1AaAa
Black6.17:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #0084FF
deuteranopia · #498EFA
tritanopia · #C974A2

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. #cd50fe 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.

#FAF1FE
#F5E3FC
#EBC0FB
#DF8FFE
#cd50fe
#BF20FE
#AF01F3
#9201CB
#7501A2
#560675
#350349
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF1FEDarkest = 950 · #350349Text 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 0.064 314.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.102 314.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.154 314.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.200 314.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.235 314.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.256 314.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.256 314.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.241 314.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.215 314.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.179 314.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.141 314.7);
}

Colors that work with #cd50fe

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#F9F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#E0C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#844B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#6DCC00
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#5B017F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F8E6FF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#201424
Dark-mode background
Hover#C32DFE
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B909FE
Two steps down
Disabled#E2D8E6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D363FF
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 #cd50fe

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • 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
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #5B017F
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight35/100
  • 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#81FE50
Analogous left#7650FE
Analogous right#FE50D8
Split-complement 1#D8FE50
Split-complement 2#50FE76
Triadic 1#FECD50
Triadic 2#50FECD
Tetradic#FE7650
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°283°

#cd50fe sits at 283°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green31.4%
Blue99.6%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
80
0x50
B · 0–255
254
0xfe

CMYK percentages

Cyan19.3%
Magenta68.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)0.4%

Total ink coverage is 88%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cd50fe text on a black background

contrast 6.17:1

Card sample

#cd50fe text on a white background

contrast 3.40:1

Card sample

#cd50fe on grey

3.10:1

#cd50fe on its own surface

3.13:1

#cd50fe on its dark surface

5.20:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd50fe;
Background color
Panel with #cd50fe background
background-color: #cd50fe;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd50fe;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 80, 254, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 80, 254, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd50fe;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd50fe, #FE50BB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd50fe, #FE5090);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cd50fe;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cd50fe;
caret-color: #cd50fe;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cd50fe;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F8E6FF;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cd50fe;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cd50fe 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cd50fe 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(205, 80, 254, 0.5)
rgb(205 80 254 / 50%)
#cd50fe80
hsl(283 99% 66% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cd50fe 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cd50fe1a#FAEEFF
20%#cd50fe33#F5DCFF
40%#cd50fe66#EBB9FF
60%#cd50fe99#E196FE
80%#cd50fecc#D773FE

Gradients from #cd50fe

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, #DE8DFE, #cd50fe 45%, #5B017F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cd50fe, #FE329E);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd50fe, #81FE50);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E7ABFF 0%, #cd50fe 45%, #5B017F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #9383FE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #FE6ED3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #5B017F 0%, transparent 65%), #cd50fe;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd50fe

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.

#cd50fe 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

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

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 6.17:1.

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.

#cd50fe, answered

What color is #cd50fe?

#cd50fe is a light electric violet, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 6.3). It sits at 283° on the hue wheel with 99% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cd50fe?

rgb(205, 80, 254) — 205 red, 80 green and 254 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 31.4% / 99.6% by channel.

What is #cd50fe in HSL and HSV?

hsl(283, 99%, 66%) and hsv(283, 69%, 100%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cd50fe a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2587 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 6.17:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd50fe?

Black. It scores 6.17:1 against #cd50fe, versus 3.40:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #cd50fe accessible on a white background?

#cd50fe on white scores 3.40:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #BC13FE to reach 4.5:1, or #8D01C3 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cd50fe?

#81FE50 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D8FE50 and #50FE76, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd50fe?

For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #E0C0ED for borders, #844B9B for secondary text, #6DCC00 as an accent and #5B017F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7650FE and #FE50D8 stays calm, while #81FE50 is the loudest partner.

What is #cd50fe in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(19%, 69%, 0%, 0%). 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 #cd50fe warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 59 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #FE50EF; nudged cooler, #8D4FFF.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cd50fe?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 3.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cd50fe as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cd50fe in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cd50fe] or text-[#cd50fe], 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 #cd50fe with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 80, 254, 0.5), or #cd50fe80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6A8FF; over black, #67287F.

Is #cd50fe a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC66FF, ΔE2000 3.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cd50fe 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 #cd50fe?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DE8DFE, #cd50fe 45%, #5B017F). For more colour, a short hue run to #FE329E keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cd50fe in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cd50fe at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.