Skip to content

#cd5ba1

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

RGB
205, 91, 161
HSL
323°, 53%, 58%
CMYK
0, 56, 22, 20
Luminance
0.2303

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd5ba1 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd5ba1
Hue
323°
magenta / pink
Saturation
53%
vivid
Lightness
58%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
56%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2303
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
37/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
5.61:1
Closest name
Pale Violet Red
ΔE2000 9.3
Where it sits
Hue323° of 360°
Saturation53%
Lightness58%
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.

Every format

HEX#cd5ba1
RGBrgb(205, 91, 161)
HSLhsl(323, 53%, 58%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 56%, 22%, 20%)
LABlab(55.1 53.1 -16.1)
LCHlch(55.1 55.5 343.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.634 0.165 345.0)
Decimal13458337
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.357 0.631)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cd5ba1;
background-color: #cd5ba1;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd5ba1] bg-[#cd5ba1]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd5ba1;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.357, blue: 0.631)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cd5ba1")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD5BA1)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(161, 91, 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 #cd5ba1 · 5.61:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.75:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #cd5ba1 as text scores 3.75:1 on white and 5.61:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cd5ba1 on white: 3.75:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd5ba1 on black: 5.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #6578A3
deuteranopia · #858B9E
tritanopia · #D95A77

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cd5ba1 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.

#FBF4F8
#F6E9F1
#EDCEE1
#E5A9CE
#D87EB5
#cd5ba1
#BC3989
#9C3072
#7D265B
#5B1F44
#39132B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #FBF4F8Darkest = 950 · #39132B
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF4F8;
  --brand-100: #F6E9F1;
  --brand-200: #EDCEE1;
  --brand-300: #E5A9CE;
  --brand-400: #D87EB5;
  --brand-500: #cd5ba1;
  --brand-600: #BC3989;
  --brand-700: #9C3072;
  --brand-800: #7D265B;
  --brand-900: #5B1F44;
  --brand-950: #39132B;
  --brand: #cd5ba1;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cd5ba1

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#ECC0DB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B7C
Captions on the surface
Accent#2CA03B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#621E47
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9EBF4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#24141E
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 #cd5ba1

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#5BCD87
Analogous left#C05BCD
Analogous right#CD5B68
Split-complement 1#68CD5B
Split-complement 2#5BCDC0
Triadic 1#A1CD5B
Triadic 2#5BA1CD
Tetradic#CDC05B

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green35.7%
Blue63.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta55.6%
Yellow21.5%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cd5ba1 text on a black background

contrast 5.61:1

Card sample

#cd5ba1 text on a white background

contrast 3.75:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd5ba1;
Background color
Panel with #cd5ba1 background
background-color: #cd5ba1;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd5ba1;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 91, 161, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 91, 161, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd5ba1;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd5ba1, #CD615B);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd5ba1

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.

#cd5ba1 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.

#cd5ba1, answered

What color is #cd5ba1?

#cd5ba1 is a balanced vivid magenta / pink, closest to Pale Violet Red (ΔE2000 9.3). It sits at 323° on the hue wheel with 53% saturation and 58% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cd5ba1?

rgb(205, 91, 161) — 205 red, 91 green and 161 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 35.7% / 63.1% by channel.

Is #cd5ba1 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2303 and perceived brightness is 56%, so black text on it reaches 5.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd5ba1?

Black. It scores 5.61:1 against #cd5ba1, versus 3.75:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cd5ba1?

#5BCD87 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #68CD5B and #5BCDC0, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd5ba1?

For interface work: #FAF4F8 as the surface, #ECC0DB for borders, #9B4B7C for secondary text, #2CA03B as an accent and #621E47 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C05BCD and #CD5B68 stays calm, while #5BCD87 is the loudest partner.

What is #cd5ba1 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 56%, 22%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cd5ba1 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 #CD5B77; nudged cooler, #CF59CD.

Work with #cd5ba1 in the Color Lab