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#ad4dcd

a balanced, vivid violet · cool · closest name: Medium Orchid

RGB
173, 77, 205
HSL
285°, 56%, 55%
CMYK
16, 62, 0, 20
Luminance
0.1860

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ad4dcd is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ad4dcd
Hue
285°
violet
Saturation
56%
vivid
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
51%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1860
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
58/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
4.72:1
Closest name
Medium Orchid
ΔE2000 3.5
Where it sits
Hue285° of 360°
Saturation56%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool58% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#ad4dcd
RGBrgb(173, 77, 205)
HSLhsl(285, 56%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(16%, 62%, 0%, 20%)
LABlab(50.2 58.4 -49.5)
LCHlch(50.2 76.6 319.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.596 0.202 316.7)
Decimal11357645
Display P3color(display-p3 0.678 0.302 0.804)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ad4dcd;
background-color: #ad4dcd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ad4dcd] bg-[#ad4dcd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ad4dcd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.678, green: 0.302, blue: 0.804)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ad4dcd")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAD4DCD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(205, 77, 173)

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 #ad4dcd · 4.72:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.45:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.72:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #ad4dcd as text scores 4.45:1 on white and 4.72:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ad4dcd on white: 4.45:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ad4dcd on black: 4.72:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #2372D1
deuteranopia · #4F7ACA
tritanopia · #AB6486

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ad4dcd 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.

#F9F4FB
#F3E9F6
#E6CDEE
#D7A7E6
#C27CDA
#ad4dcd
#9D36BF
#832D9F
#68247F
#4D1E5D
#30133A
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F9F4FBDarkest = 950 · #30133A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F4FB;
  --brand-100: #F3E9F6;
  --brand-200: #E6CDEE;
  --brand-300: #D7A7E6;
  --brand-400: #C27CDA;
  --brand-500: #ad4dcd;
  --brand-600: #9D36BF;
  --brand-700: #832D9F;
  --brand-800: #68247F;
  --brand-900: #4D1E5D;
  --brand-950: #30133A;
  --brand: #ad4dcd;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ad4dcd

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#E1C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#874B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#66A428
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#521C64
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F6EBF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#201424
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 #ad4dcd

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#6DCD4D
Analogous left#6D4DCD
Analogous right#CD4DAD
Split-complement 1#ADCD4D
Split-complement 2#4DCD6D
Triadic 1#CDAD4D
Triadic 2#4DCDAD
Tetradic#CD6D4D

RGB percentages

Red67.8%
Green30.2%
Blue80.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan15.6%
Magenta62.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)19.6%

Color previews

#ad4dcd text on a black background

contrast 4.72:1

Card sample

#ad4dcd text on a white background

contrast 4.45:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ad4dcd;
Background color
Panel with #ad4dcd background
background-color: #ad4dcd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ad4dcd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(173, 77, 205, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(173, 77, 205, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ad4dcd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ad4dcd, #CD4D98);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ad4dcd

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.

#ad4dcd 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
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

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

#ad4dcd, answered

What color is #ad4dcd?

#ad4dcd is a balanced vivid violet, closest to Medium Orchid (ΔE2000 3.5). It sits at 285° on the hue wheel with 56% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #ad4dcd?

rgb(173, 77, 205) — 173 red, 77 green and 205 blue out of 255, or 67.8% / 30.2% / 80.4% by channel.

Is #ad4dcd a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.1860 and perceived brightness is 51%, so black text on it reaches 4.72:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ad4dcd?

Black. It scores 4.72:1 against #ad4dcd, versus 4.45:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ad4dcd?

#6DCD4D sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #ADCD4D and #4DCD6D, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ad4dcd?

For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #E1C0ED for borders, #874B9B for secondary text, #66A428 as an accent and #521C64 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #6D4DCD and #CD4DAD stays calm, while #6DCD4D is the loudest partner.

What is #ad4dcd in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(16%, 62%, 0%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ad4dcd warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 58 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD4DBE; nudged cooler, #7E4BCF.

Work with #ad4dcd in the Color Lab