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#cdb3d4

a light, soft violet · neutral · closest name: Thistle

RGB
205, 179, 212
HSL
287°, 28%, 77%
CMYK
3, 16, 0, 17
Luminance
0.4997

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdb3d4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdb3d4
Hue
287°
violet
Saturation
28%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
83%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4997
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
56/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.99:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 3.9
Where it sits
Hue287° of 360°
Saturation28%
Lightness77%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool56% 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#cdb3d4
RGBrgb(205, 179, 212)
HSLhsl(287, 28%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(3%, 16%, 0%, 17%)
LABlab(76.0 15.2 -13.2)
LCHlch(76.0 20.1 319.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.799 0.054 319.0)
Decimal13480916
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.702 0.831)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cdb3d4;
background-color: #cdb3d4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdb3d4] bg-[#cdb3d4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdb3d4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.702, blue: 0.831)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cdb3d4")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDB3D4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(212, 179, 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 #cdb3d4 · 10.99:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.91:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.99:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdb3d4 as text scores 1.91:1 on white and 10.99:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cdb3d4 on white: 1.91:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdb3d4 on black: 10.99:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B0BAD5
deuteranopia · #B5BCD3
tritanopia · #CEB6BE

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cdb3d4 is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F6F9
#F2ECF3
#E3D6E6
#cdb3d4
#B894C2
#A170AE
#8E589C
#764A82
#5F3B68
#462E4D
#2C1D30
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F9Darkest = 950 · #2C1D30
:root {
  --brand-50: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-100: #F2ECF3;
  --brand-200: #E3D6E6;
  --brand-300: #cdb3d4;
  --brand-400: #B894C2;
  --brand-500: #A170AE;
  --brand-600: #8E589C;
  --brand-700: #764A82;
  --brand-800: #5F3B68;
  --brand-900: #462E4D;
  --brand-950: #2C1D30;
  --brand: #cdb3d4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cdb3d4

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#F9F5F9
Tinted page background
Border#DDCBE2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#855393
Captions on the surface
Accent#638646
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4A2E51
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F4EFF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#211424
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 #cdb3d4

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#BAD4B3
Analogous left#BDB3D4
Analogous right#D4B3CB
Split-complement 1#CBD4B3
Split-complement 2#B3D4BD
Triadic 1#D4CDB3
Triadic 2#B3D4CD
Tetradic#D4BDB3

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green70.2%
Blue83.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan3.3%
Magenta15.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)16.9%

Color previews

#cdb3d4 text on a black background

contrast 10.99:1

Card sample

#cdb3d4 text on a white background

contrast 1.91:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdb3d4;
Background color
Panel with #cdb3d4 background
background-color: #cdb3d4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdb3d4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 179, 212, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 179, 212, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdb3d4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdb3d4, #D4B3C5);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdb3d4

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.

#cdb3d4 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

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

#cdb3d4, answered

What color is #cdb3d4?

#cdb3d4 is a light soft violet, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 3.9). It sits at 287° on the hue wheel with 28% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #cdb3d4?

rgb(205, 179, 212) — 205 red, 179 green and 212 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 70.2% / 83.1% by channel.

Is #cdb3d4 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4997 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 10.99:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdb3d4?

Black. It scores 10.99:1 against #cdb3d4, versus 1.91:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cdb3d4?

#BAD4B3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CBD4B3 and #B3D4BD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdb3d4?

For interface work: #F9F5F9 as the surface, #DDCBE2 for borders, #855393 for secondary text, #638646 as an accent and #4A2E51 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BDB3D4 and #D4B3CB stays calm, while #BAD4B3 is the loudest partner.

What is #cdb3d4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(3%, 16%, 0%, 17%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdb3d4 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 56 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D4B3CF; nudged cooler, #C1B2D5.

Work with #cdb3d4 in the Color Lab