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#cd8cab

a light, soft magenta / pink · warm · closest name: Pale Violet Red

RGB
205, 140, 171
HSL
331°, 39%, 68%
CMYK
0, 32, 17, 20
Luminance
0.3468

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cd8cab is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cd8cab
Hue
331°
magenta / pink
Saturation
39%
soft
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3468
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
33/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
7.94:1
Closest name
Pale Violet Red
ΔE2000 8.4
Where it sits
Hue331° of 360°
Saturation39%
Lightness68%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool33% 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#cd8cab
RGBrgb(205, 140, 171)
HSLhsl(331, 39%, 68%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 32%, 17%, 20%)
LABlab(65.5 29.3 -6.2)
LCHlch(65.5 29.9 348.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.714 0.088 349.4)
Decimal13470891
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.549 0.671)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cd8cab;
background-color: #cd8cab;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cd8cab] bg-[#cd8cab]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cd8cab;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.549, blue: 0.671)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cd8cab")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCD8CAB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(171, 140, 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 #cd8cab · 7.94:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.65:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.94:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cd8cab as text scores 2.65:1 on white and 7.94:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cd8cab on white: 2.65:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cd8cab on black: 7.94:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9299AC
deuteranopia · #A1A3A9
tritanopia · #D68B97

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cd8cab 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.

#FAF5F7
#F4EBEF
#E9D2DD
#DDB1C6
#cd8cab
#BB638D
#AB4A78
#8E3E64
#723150
#53273C
#341826
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #FAF5F7Darkest = 950 · #341826
:root {
  --brand-50: #FAF5F7;
  --brand-100: #F4EBEF;
  --brand-200: #E9D2DD;
  --brand-300: #DDB1C6;
  --brand-400: #cd8cab;
  --brand-500: #BB638D;
  --brand-600: #AB4A78;
  --brand-700: #8E3E64;
  --brand-800: #723150;
  --brand-900: #53273C;
  --brand-950: #341826;
  --brand: #cd8cab;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cd8cab

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#FAF4F7
Tinted page background
Border#E6C6D5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#9B4B71
Captions on the surface
Accent#3A9252
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#59273F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F7EDF2
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#24141C
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 #cd8cab

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary 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

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#8CCDAE
Analogous left#CD8CCB
Analogous right#CD8D8C
Split-complement 1#8CCD8D
Split-complement 2#8CCBCD
Triadic 1#ABCD8C
Triadic 2#8CABCD
Tetradic#CBCD8C

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green54.9%
Blue67.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta31.7%
Yellow16.6%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#cd8cab text on a black background

contrast 7.94:1

Card sample

#cd8cab text on a white background

contrast 2.65:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cd8cab;
Background color
Panel with #cd8cab background
background-color: #cd8cab;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cd8cab;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 140, 171, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 140, 171, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cd8cab;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cd8cab, #CD988C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cd8cab

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.

#cd8cab 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#cd8cab, answered

What color is #cd8cab?

#cd8cab is a light soft magenta / pink, closest to Pale Violet Red (ΔE2000 8.4). It sits at 331° on the hue wheel with 39% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #cd8cab?

rgb(205, 140, 171) — 205 red, 140 green and 171 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 54.9% / 67.1% by channel.

Is #cd8cab a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3468 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 7.94:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cd8cab?

Black. It scores 7.94:1 against #cd8cab, versus 2.65:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cd8cab?

#8CCDAE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #8CCD8D and #8CCBCD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cd8cab?

For interface work: #FAF4F7 as the surface, #E6C6D5 for borders, #9B4B71 for secondary text, #3A9252 as an accent and #59273F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CD8CCB and #CD8D8C stays calm, while #8CCDAE is the loudest partner.

What is #cd8cab in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 32%, 17%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cd8cab warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 33 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD8C93; nudged cooler, #CF8AC4.

Work with #cd8cab in the Color Lab