Skip to content
violet · cool

#bba3ce

a light, soft violet · cool · closest name: Plum

Token name suggestion: Drift Plum

RGB
187, 163, 206
HSL
274°, 31%, 72%
CMYK
9, 21, 0, 19
Luminance
0.4122

#bba3ce is a light soft violet, 274° on the wheel and 63/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.24:1). As text it scores 2.27:1 on white — use #8C64AC instead. Nearest name is Plum, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(274 31% 72%)rgb(187 163 206)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bba3ce is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bba3ce
Hue
274°
violet
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4122
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
63/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.24:1
Closest name
Plum
ΔE2000 8.1
Chroma
25.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.751
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 22.2
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue274° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bba3ce.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool63% 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
Red26%
Green64%
Blue11%

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

Every format

HEX#bba3ce
HEX (8-digit)#bba3ceff
RGBrgb(187, 163, 206)
RGBArgba(187, 163, 206, 1)
HSLhsl(274, 31%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(273, 21%, 81%)
HWBhwb(274 64% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(9%, 21%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(70.3 16.8 -18.7)
LCHlch(70.3 25.1 312.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.751 0.066 310.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(44.73, 41.22, 63.98)
Decimal12297166
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.639 0.808)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bba3ce;
background-color: #bba3ce;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bba3ce;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bba3ce] bg-[#bba3ce]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bba3ce;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.639, blue: 0.808)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.733, green: 0.639, blue: 0.808, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BBA3CE</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBBA3CE)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBA3CE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(206, 163, 187)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(187, 163, 206)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(187, 163, 206)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 187, 163, 206)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7333f, 0.6392f, 0.8078f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{187,163,206}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bba3ce 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bba3ce 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#422C53, #E1D7EA);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bba3ce 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: #F8F6F9;
  --brand-100: #F0ECF3;
  --brand-200: #DFD5E7;
  --brand-300: #C9B6D8;
  --brand-400: #bba3ce;
  --brand-500: #936DB1;
  --brand-600: #7F55A0;
  --brand-700: #6A4785;
  --brand-800: #55396A;
  --brand-900: #3F2C4E;
  --brand-950: #281C31;
  --brand: #bba3ce;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F5FA;
  --brand-border: #D8CAE3;
  --brand-hover: #AA8CC2;
  --brand-pressed: #9975B5;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1D1424;
    --brand-ink: #E1D7EA;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F6F9',
        100: '#F0ECF3',
        200: '#DFD5E7',
        300: '#C9B6D8',
        400: '#bba3ce',
        500: '#936DB1',
        600: '#7F55A0',
        700: '#6A4785',
        800: '#55396A',
        900: '#3F2C4E',
        950: '#281C31',
        DEFAULT: '#bba3ce',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F6F9,
  '100': #F0ECF3,
  '200': #DFD5E7,
  '300': #C9B6D8,
  '400': #bba3ce,
  '500': #936DB1,
  '600': #7F55A0,
  '700': #6A4785,
  '800': #55396A,
  '900': #3F2C4E,
  '950': #281C31,
);
$brand-base: #bba3ce;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0ECF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFD5E7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C9B6D8", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#bba3ce", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#936DB1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#7F55A0", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6A4785", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#55396A", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#3F2C4E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#281C31", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bba3ce · 9.24:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.27:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.24:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bba3ce as text scores 2.27:1 on white and 9.24:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #422C53 at 5.38:1.

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
#8C64AC · 4.63:1
AA on white−19% L
#8C64AC
The quick fox
#6D498A · 7.07:1
AAA on white−31% L
#6D498A
The quick fox
#bba3ce · 9.24:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bba3ce
The quick fox
#bba3ce · 9.24:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bba3ce

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #A789C0 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
#bba3ce on white: 2.27:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bba3ce on black: 9.24:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bba3ce as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bba3ce.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.27:1AaAa
Slate 502.17:1AaAa
Slate 1002.07:1AaAa
Slate 2001.84:1AaAa
Slate 3001.53:1AaAa
Slate 4001.13:1AaAa
Slate 5002.09:1AaAa
Slate 6003.34:1AaAa
Slate 7004.56:1AaAa
Slate 8006.44:1AaAa
Slate 9007.86:1AaAa
Black9.24:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9CABD0
deuteranopia · #A1ACCD
tritanopia · #B9A8B2

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. #bba3ce 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.

#F8F6F9
#F0ECF3
#DFD5E7
#C9B6D8
#bba3ce
#936DB1
#7F55A0
#6A4785
#55396A
#3F2C4E
#281C31
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F8F6F9Darkest = 950 · #281C31Text step on white = 600
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 0.017 310.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.026 310.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.040 310.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.052 310.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.061 310.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.066 310.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.066 310.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.062 310.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.056 310.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.046 310.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.036 310.0);
}

Colors that work with #bba3ce

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#F8F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#D8CAE3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#775096
Captions on the surface
Accent#748943
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#422C53
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3EEF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#AA8CC2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#9975B5
Two steps down
Disabled#F1EEF4
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C6AADB
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 #bba3ce

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #422C53
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #A789C0

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.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. 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
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • 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#B6CEA3
Analogous left#A6A3CE
Analogous right#CEA3CC
Split-complement 1#CCCEA3
Split-complement 2#A3CEA6
Triadic 1#CEBBA3
Triadic 2#A3CEBB
Tetradic#CEA6A3
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°274°

#bba3ce sits at 274°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green63.9%
Blue80.8%
R · 0–255
187
0xbb
G · 0–255
163
0xa3
B · 0–255
206
0xce

CMYK percentages

Cyan9.2%
Magenta20.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)19.2%

Total ink coverage is 49%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bba3ce text on a black background

contrast 9.24:1

Card sample

#bba3ce text on a white background

contrast 2.27:1

Card sample

#bba3ce on grey

2.07:1

#bba3ce on its own surface

2.10:1

#bba3ce on its dark surface

7.85:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bba3ce;
Background color
Panel with #bba3ce background
background-color: #bba3ce;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bba3ce;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 163, 206, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 163, 206, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bba3ce;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bba3ce, #CEA3C4);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bba3ce, #CEA3BA);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bba3ce;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bba3ce;
caret-color: #bba3ce;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bba3ce;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3EEF6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bba3ce;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bba3ce 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bba3ce 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(187, 163, 206, 0.5)
rgb(187 163 206 / 50%)
#bba3ce80
hsl(274 31% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bba3ce 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bba3ce1a#F8F6FA
20%#bba3ce33#F1EDF5
40%#bba3ce66#E4DAEB
60%#bba3ce99#D6C8E2
80%#bba3cecc#C9B5D8

Gradients from #bba3ce

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, #D9CBE3, #bba3ce 45%, #422C53);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bba3ce, #C38FB3);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bba3ce, #B6CEA3);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E7DFEE 0%, #bba3ce 45%, #422C53 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F5FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #C4C5E0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D9B7D4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #422C53 0%, transparent 65%), #bba3ce;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bba3ce

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.

#bba3ce 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.

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 9.24:1.

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.

#bba3ce, answered

What color is #bba3ce?

#bba3ce is a light soft violet, closest to Plum (ΔE2000 8.1). It sits at 274° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bba3ce?

rgb(187, 163, 206) — 187 red, 163 green and 206 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 63.9% / 80.8% by channel.

What is #bba3ce in HSL and HSV?

hsl(274, 31%, 72%) and hsv(273, 21%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bba3ce a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4122 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 9.24:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bba3ce?

Black. It scores 9.24:1 against #bba3ce, versus 2.27:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bba3ce accessible on a white background?

#bba3ce on white scores 2.27:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #8C64AC to reach 4.5:1, or #6D498A for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bba3ce?

#B6CEA3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CCCEA3 and #A3CEA6, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bba3ce?

For interface work: #F8F5FA as the surface, #D8CAE3 for borders, #775096 for secondary text, #748943 as an accent and #422C53 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A6A3CE and #CEA3CC stays calm, while #B6CEA3 is the loudest partner.

What is #bba3ce in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(9%, 21%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bba3ce warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 63 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CBA3CE; nudged cooler, #ABA2CF.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bba3ce?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 22.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bba3ce as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bba3ce in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bba3ce] or text-[#bba3ce], 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 #bba3ce with 50% opacity?

rgba(187, 163, 206, 0.5), or #bba3ce80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DDD1E7; over black, #5E5267.

Is #bba3ce a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 6.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bba3ce 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #bba3ce?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D9CBE3, #bba3ce 45%, #422C53). For more colour, a short hue run to #C38FB3 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bba3ce in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bba3ce at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.