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magenta / pink · neutral

#b601cd

a dark, electric magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Dark Orchid

Token name suggestion: Shadow Blossom

RGB
182, 1, 205
HSL
293°, 99%, 40%
CMYK
11, 100, 0, 20
Luminance
0.1437

#b601cd is a dark electric magenta / pink, 293° on the wheel and 54/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (5.42:1). As text it scores 5.42:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Dark Orchid, nearest Tailwind family is purple.

hsl(293 99% 40%)rgb(182 1 205)Base step 700AA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b601cd is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b601cd
Hue
293°
magenta / pink
Saturation
99%
electric
Lightness
40%
dark
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
48%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1437
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
54/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
5.42:1
Closest name
Dark Orchid
ΔE2000 4.9
Chroma
98.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.560
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
purple
500 · ΔE 11.8
Web-safe
#CC00CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue293° of 360°
Saturation99%
Lightness40%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b601cd.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool54% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red69%
Green0%
Blue31%

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

Every format

HEX#b601cd
HEX (8-digit)#b601cdff
RGBrgb(182, 1, 205)
RGBArgba(182, 1, 205, 1)
HSLhsl(293, 99%, 40%)
HSV / HSBhsv(293, 100%, 80%)
HWBhwb(293 0% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(11%, 100%, 0%, 20%)
LABlab(44.8 79.7 -58.2)
LCHlch(44.8 98.7 323.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.560 0.266 322.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(30.32, 14.38, 58.92)
Decimal11928013
Display P3color(display-p3 0.714 0.004 0.804)
Web-safe#CC00CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b601cd;
background-color: #b601cd;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b601cd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b601cd] bg-[#b601cd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b601cd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.714, green: 0.004, blue: 0.804)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.714, green: 0.004, blue: 0.804, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B601CD</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB601CD)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB601CD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(205, 1, 182)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(182, 1, 205)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(182, 1, 205)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 182, 1, 205)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7137f, 0.0039f, 0.8039f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{182,1,205}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b601cd 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b601cd 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#71017F, #EBD3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b601cd 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: #FCF1FE;
  --brand-100: #F9E3FC;
  --brand-200: #F5C0FB;
  --brand-300: #F28FFE;
  --brand-400: #EB58FE;
  --brand-500: #E520FE;
  --brand-600: #D801F4;
  --brand-700: #b601cd;
  --brand-800: #9001A2;
  --brand-900: #680575;
  --brand-950: #410349;
  --brand: #b601cd;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #FAF4FA;
  --brand-border: #E8C0ED;
  --brand-hover: #9601A9;
  --brand-pressed: #770186;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #231424;
    --brand-ink: #EBD3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#FCF1FE',
        100: '#F9E3FC',
        200: '#F5C0FB',
        300: '#F28FFE',
        400: '#EB58FE',
        500: '#E520FE',
        600: '#D801F4',
        700: '#b601cd',
        800: '#9001A2',
        900: '#680575',
        950: '#410349',
        DEFAULT: '#b601cd',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #FCF1FE,
  '100': #F9E3FC,
  '200': #F5C0FB,
  '300': #F28FFE,
  '400': #EB58FE,
  '500': #E520FE,
  '600': #D801F4,
  '700': #b601cd,
  '800': #9001A2,
  '900': #680575,
  '950': #410349,
);
$brand-base: #b601cd;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#FCF1FE", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F9E3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#F5C0FB", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#F28FFE", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#EB58FE", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#E520FE", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#D801F4", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#b601cd", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#9001A2", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#680575", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#410349", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#ffffff", "$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#ffffff on #b601cd · 5.42:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 5.42:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.87:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #b601cd as text scores 5.42:1 on white and 3.87:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #FCE6FF at 4.62:1.

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
#b601cd · 5.42:1
AA on whitealready passes
#b601cd
The quick fox
#9601A9 · 7.31:1
AAA on white−7% L
#9601A9
The quick fox
#C801E1 · 4.55:1
AA on black+4% L
#C801E1
The quick fox
#EA4FFE · 7.05:1
AAA on black+25% L
#EA4FFE

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B601CD 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
#b601cd on white: 5.42:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b601cd on black: 3.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b601cd as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b601cd.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White5.42:1AaAa
Slate 505.18:1AaAa
Slate 1004.95:1AaAa
Slate 2004.40:1AaAa
Slate 3003.65:1AaAa
Slate 4002.11:1AaAa
Slate 5001.14:1AaAa
Slate 6001.40:1AaAa
Slate 7001.91:1AaAa
Slate 8002.70:1AaAa
Slate 9003.29:1AaAa
Black3.87:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #005FD1
deuteranopia · #336FC9
tritanopia · #B84278

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. #b601cd is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FCF1FE
#F9E3FC
#F5C0FB
#F28FFE
#EB58FE
#E520FE
#D801F4
#b601cd
#9001A2
#680575
#410349
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #FCF1FEDarkest = 950 · #410349Text step on white = 700
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 0.066 322.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.106 322.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.159 322.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.207 322.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.244 322.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.266 322.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.266 322.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.250 322.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.223 322.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.186 322.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.146 322.0);
}

Colors that work with #b601cd

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#FAF4FA
Tinted page background
Border#E8C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#924B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#4ACC00
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#71017F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#FCE6FF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#231424
Dark-mode background
Hover#9601A9
One step down in lightness
Pressed#770186
Two steps down
Disabled#AF8AB4
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C900E2
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 #b601cd

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

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

expressiveyouthfulwarmconfident

Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

Strong gendered associations in some markets — test it with the audience you actually have.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight60/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • 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#18CD01
Analogous left#5001CD
Analogous right#CD017E
Split-complement 1#7ECD01
Split-complement 2#01CD50
Triadic 1#CDB601
Triadic 2#01CDB6
Tetradic#CD5001
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°293°

#b601cd sits at 293°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red71.4%
Green0.4%
Blue80.4%
R · 0–255
182
0xb6
G · 0–255
1
0x01
B · 0–255
205
0xcd

CMYK percentages

Cyan11.2%
Magenta99.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)19.6%

Total ink coverage is 130%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b601cd text on a black background

contrast 3.87:1

Card sample

#b601cd text on a white background

contrast 5.42:1

Card sample

#b601cd on grey

4.95:1

#b601cd on its own surface

5.00:1

#b601cd on its dark surface

3.24:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b601cd;
Background color
Panel with #b601cd background
background-color: #b601cd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b601cd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(182, 1, 205, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(182, 1, 205, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b601cd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b601cd, #CD015C);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b601cd, #CD0129);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b601cd;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b601cd;
caret-color: #b601cd;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b601cd;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #FCE6FF;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b601cd;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b601cd 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b601cd 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(182, 1, 205, 0.5)
rgb(182 1 205 / 50%)
#b601cd80
hsl(293 99% 40% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b601cd 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b601cd1a#F8E6FA
20%#b601cd33#F0CCF5
40%#b601cd66#E299EB
60%#b601cd99#D367E1
80%#b601cdcc#C534D7

Gradients from #b601cd

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, #E30DFE, #b601cd 45%, #71017F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b601cd, #AF0140);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b601cd, #18CD01);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E62CFE 0%, #b601cd 45%, #71017F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #FAF4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #4F03FE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #EB017D 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #71017F 0%, transparent 65%), #b601cd;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b601cd

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.

#b601cd 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

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

Too dim on dark surfaces at 3.87:1 — lift it to #C801E1 for body text, or reserve it for fills.

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.

#b601cd, answered

What color is #b601cd?

#b601cd is a dark electric magenta / pink, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 4.9). It sits at 293° on the hue wheel with 99% saturation and 40% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #b601cd?

rgb(182, 1, 205) — 182 red, 1 green and 205 blue out of 255, or 71.4% / 0.4% / 80.4% by channel.

What is #b601cd in HSL and HSV?

hsl(293, 99%, 40%) and hsv(293, 100%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b601cd a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1437 and perceived brightness is 48%, so white text on it reaches 5.42:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b601cd?

White. It scores 5.42:1 against #b601cd, versus 3.87:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #b601cd accessible on a white background?

#b601cd on white scores 5.42:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #b601cd?

#18CD01 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #7ECD01 and #01CD50, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b601cd?

For interface work: #FAF4FA as the surface, #E8C0ED for borders, #924B9B for secondary text, #4ACC00 as an accent and #71017F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5001CD and #CD017E stays calm, while #18CD01 is the loudest partner.

What is #b601cd in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(11%, 100%, 0%, 20%). 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 #b601cd warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 54 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CD0199; nudged cooler, #6B00CE.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b601cd?

The purple family — its 500 step is #a855f7, ΔE2000 11.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b601cd as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b601cd in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b601cd] or text-[#b601cd], 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 #b601cd with 50% opacity?

rgba(182, 1, 205, 0.5), or #b601cd80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DB80E6; over black, #5B0167.

Is #b601cd a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC00CC, ΔE2000 4.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b601cd mean?

As a magenta / pink, it reads expressive, youthful, warm. Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #b601cd?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E30DFE, #b601cd 45%, #71017F). For more colour, a short hue run to #AF0140 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b601cd in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b601cd at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.