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violet · cool

#cd7af5

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

Token name suggestion: Linen Thistle

RGB
205, 122, 245
HSL
281°, 86%, 72%
CMYK
16, 50, 0, 4
Luminance
0.3349

#cd7af5 is a light electric violet, 281° on the wheel and 61/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (7.70:1). As text it scores 2.73:1 on white — use #B233F0 instead. Nearest name is Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(281 86% 72%)rgb(205 122 245)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd7af5 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd7af5
Hue
281°
violet
Saturation
86%
electric
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
96%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3349
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
61/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
7.70:1
Closest name
Orchid
ΔE2000 6.7
Chroma
71.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.716
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 8.9
Web-safe
#CC66FF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue281° of 360°
Saturation86%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cd7af5.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool61% 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
Red39%
Green42%
Blue20%

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

Every format

HEX#cd7af5
HEX (8-digit)#cd7af5ff
RGBrgb(205, 122, 245)
RGBArgba(205, 122, 245, 1)
HSLhsl(281, 86%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(280, 50%, 96%)
HWBhwb(281 48% 4%)
CMYKcmyk(16%, 50%, 0%, 4%)
LABlab(64.6 52.6 -49.0)
LCHlch(64.6 71.9 317.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.716 0.189 313.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.62, 33.49, 90.27)
Decimal13466357
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.478 0.961)
Web-safe#CC66FF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cd7af5;
background-color: #cd7af5;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cd7af5;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd7af5] bg-[#cd7af5]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd7af5;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.478, blue: 0.961)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.478, blue: 0.961, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CD7AF5</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCD7AF5)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD7AF5)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(245, 122, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 122, 245)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 122, 245)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 122, 245)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.4784f, 0.9608f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,122,245}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cd7af5 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cd7af5 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#530977, #E5D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cd7af5 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: #F9F2FD;
  --brand-100: #F3E5FA;
  --brand-200: #E7C5F7;
  --brand-300: #D897F7;
  --brand-400: #cd7af5;
  --brand-500: #B12EEF;
  --brand-600: #9F11E4;
  --brand-700: #850EBE;
  --brand-800: #6A0B98;
  --brand-900: #4E0D6E;
  --brand-950: #310845;
  --brand: #cd7af5;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F4FA;
  --brand-border: #DEC0ED;
  --brand-hover: #C159F3;
  --brand-pressed: #B438F0;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1F1424;
    --brand-ink: #E5D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F2FD',
        100: '#F3E5FA',
        200: '#E7C5F7',
        300: '#D897F7',
        400: '#cd7af5',
        500: '#B12EEF',
        600: '#9F11E4',
        700: '#850EBE',
        800: '#6A0B98',
        900: '#4E0D6E',
        950: '#310845',
        DEFAULT: '#cd7af5',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F2FD,
  '100': #F3E5FA,
  '200': #E7C5F7,
  '300': #D897F7,
  '400': #cd7af5,
  '500': #B12EEF,
  '600': #9F11E4,
  '700': #850EBE,
  '800': #6A0B98,
  '900': #4E0D6E,
  '950': #310845,
);
$brand-base: #cd7af5;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F2FD", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F3E5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E7C5F7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D897F7", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#cd7af5", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#B12EEF", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#9F11E4", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#850EBE", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#6A0B98", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#4E0D6E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#310845", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cd7af5 · 7.70:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
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: #cd7af5 as text scores 2.73:1 on white and 7.70:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #530977 at 4.60:1.

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
#B233F0 · 4.54:1
AA on white−15% L
#B233F0
The quick fox
#8B0FC7 · 7.02:1
AAA on white−30% L
#8B0FC7
The quick fox
#cd7af5 · 7.70:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cd7af5
The quick fox
#cd7af5 · 7.70:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cd7af5

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C86CF4 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
#cd7af5 on white: 2.73:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd7af5 on black: 7.70:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cd7af5 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cd7af5.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.73:1AaAa
Slate 502.61:1AaAa
Slate 1002.49:1AaAa
Slate 2002.21:1AaAa
Slate 3001.84:1AaAa
Slate 4001.06:1AaAa
Slate 5001.74:1AaAa
Slate 6002.78:1AaAa
Slate 7003.80:1AaAa
Slate 8005.36:1AaAa
Slate 9006.54:1AaAa
Black7.70:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #5E98F9
deuteranopia · #779FF2
tritanopia · #CA8DAC

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. #cd7af5 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.

#F9F2FD
#F3E5FA
#E7C5F7
#D897F7
#cd7af5
#B12EEF
#9F11E4
#850EBE
#6A0B98
#4E0D6E
#310845
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F2FDDarkest = 950 · #310845Text step on white = 500
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 0.047 313.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.076 313.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.113 313.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.147 313.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.174 313.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.189 313.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.189 313.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.178 313.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.159 313.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.132 313.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.104 313.7);
}

Colors that work with #cd7af5

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#F8F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#DEC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#814B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#73C20A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#530977
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6E7FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1F1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#C159F3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B438F0
Two steps down
Disabled#F1ECF3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D687FD
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 #cd7af5

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

Works well for
  • 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
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #530977
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C86CF4

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
  • Weight28/100
  • 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#A2F57A
Analogous left#907AF5
Analogous right#F57AE0
Split-complement 1#E0F57A
Split-complement 2#7AF590
Triadic 1#F5CD7A
Triadic 2#7AF5CD
Tetradic#F5907A
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°281°

#cd7af5 sits at 281°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green47.8%
Blue96.1%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
122
0x7a
B · 0–255
245
0xf5

CMYK percentages

Cyan16.3%
Magenta50.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)3.9%

Total ink coverage is 70%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cd7af5 text on a black background

contrast 7.70:1

Card sample

#cd7af5 text on a white background

contrast 2.73:1

Card sample

#cd7af5 on grey

2.49:1

#cd7af5 on its own surface

2.51:1

#cd7af5 on its dark surface

6.50:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd7af5;
Background color
Panel with #cd7af5 background
background-color: #cd7af5;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd7af5;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 122, 245, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 122, 245, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd7af5;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd7af5, #F57ACB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd7af5, #F57AAC);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cd7af5;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cd7af5;
caret-color: #cd7af5;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cd7af5;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F6E7FD;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cd7af5;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cd7af5 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cd7af5 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, 122, 245, 0.5)
rgb(205 122 245 / 50%)
#cd7af580
hsl(281 86% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cd7af5 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cd7af51a#FAF2FE
20%#cd7af533#F5E4FD
40%#cd7af566#EBCAFB
60%#cd7af599#E1AFF9
80%#cd7af5cc#D795F7

Gradients from #cd7af5

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, #E2B3F9, #cd7af5 45%, #530977);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cd7af5, #F35EB3);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cd7af5, #A2F57A);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EDD0FB 0%, #cd7af5 45%, #530977 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #B1AAF9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F797DE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #530977 0%, transparent 65%), #cd7af5;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd7af5

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.

#cd7af5 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 7.70:1.

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.

#cd7af5, answered

What color is #cd7af5?

#cd7af5 is a light electric violet, closest to Orchid (ΔE2000 6.7). It sits at 281° on the hue wheel with 86% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cd7af5?

rgb(205, 122, 245) — 205 red, 122 green and 245 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 47.8% / 96.1% by channel.

What is #cd7af5 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(281, 86%, 72%) and hsv(280, 50%, 96%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cd7af5 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3349 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 7.70:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd7af5?

Black. It scores 7.70:1 against #cd7af5, versus 2.73:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cd7af5 accessible on a white background?

#cd7af5 on white scores 2.73:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #B233F0 to reach 4.5:1, or #8B0FC7 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cd7af5?

#A2F57A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E0F57A and #7AF590, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd7af5?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DEC0ED for borders, #814B9B for secondary text, #73C20A as an accent and #530977 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #907AF5 and #F57AE0 stays calm, while #A2F57A is the loudest partner.

What is #cd7af5 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(16%, 50%, 0%, 4%). 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 #cd7af5 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 61 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #F57AF0; nudged cooler, #A079F6.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cd7af5?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 8.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cd7af5 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cd7af5 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cd7af5] or text-[#cd7af5], 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 #cd7af5 with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 122, 245, 0.5), or #cd7af580 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6BDFA; over black, #673D7B.

Is #cd7af5 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC66FF, ΔE2000 4.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cd7af5 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 #cd7af5?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E2B3F9, #cd7af5 45%, #530977). For more colour, a short hue run to #F35EB3 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cd7af5 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cd7af5 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.