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#bc16df

a balanced, electric violet · neutral · closest name: Dark Orchid

RGB
188, 22, 223
HSL
290°, 82%, 48%
CMYK
16, 90, 0, 13
Luminance
0.1659

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bc16df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bc16df
Hue
290°
violet
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
50%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1659
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
56/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
4.86:1
Closest name
Dark Orchid
ΔE2000 5.9
Where it sits
Hue290° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness48%
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#bc16df
RGBrgb(188, 22, 223)
HSLhsl(290, 82%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(16%, 90%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(47.8 81.4 -63.7)
LCHlch(47.8 103.3 321.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.587 0.274 319.0)
Decimal12326623
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.086 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bc16df;
background-color: #bc16df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bc16df] bg-[#bc16df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bc16df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.086, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bc16df")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBC16DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 22, 188)

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 #bc16df · 4.86:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.86:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 4.32:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #bc16df as text scores 4.86:1 on white and 4.32:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bc16df on white: 4.86:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bc16df on black: 4.32:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #0068E4
deuteranopia · #2A76DB
tritanopia · #BB4E84

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bc16df is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#FBF2FC
#F6E6F9
#EDC6F6
#E599F5
#D866F0
#CB33EB
#bc16df
#9D12BA
#7D0F95
#5B0F6B
#390943
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #FBF2FCDarkest = 950 · #390943
:root {
  --brand-50: #FBF2FC;
  --brand-100: #F6E6F9;
  --brand-200: #EDC6F6;
  --brand-300: #E599F5;
  --brand-400: #D866F0;
  --brand-500: #CB33EB;
  --brand-600: #bc16df;
  --brand-700: #9D12BA;
  --brand-800: #7D0F95;
  --brand-900: #5B0F6B;
  --brand-950: #390943;
  --brand: #bc16df;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #bc16df

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#F9F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#E5C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8D4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#58BE0E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#620B74
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F9E8FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#221424
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 #bc16df

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
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • 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#39DF16
Analogous left#5816DF
Analogous right#DF169D
Split-complement 1#9DDF16
Split-complement 2#16DF58
Triadic 1#DFBC16
Triadic 2#16DFBC
Tetradic#DF5816

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green8.6%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan15.7%
Magenta90.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#bc16df text on a black background

contrast 4.32:1

Card sample

#bc16df text on a white background

contrast 4.86:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bc16df;
Background color
Panel with #bc16df background
background-color: #bc16df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bc16df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 22, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 22, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bc16df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bc16df, #DF167C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bc16df

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.

#bc16df 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#bc16df, answered

What color is #bc16df?

#bc16df is a balanced electric violet, closest to Dark Orchid (ΔE2000 5.9). It sits at 290° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #bc16df?

rgb(188, 22, 223) — 188 red, 22 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 8.6% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #bc16df a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1659 and perceived brightness is 50%, so white text on it reaches 4.86:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bc16df?

White. It scores 4.86:1 against #bc16df, versus 4.32:1 for black — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bc16df?

#39DF16 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9DDF16 and #16DF58, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bc16df?

For interface work: #F9F4FA as the surface, #E5C0ED for borders, #8D4B9B for secondary text, #58BE0E as an accent and #620B74 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5816DF and #DF169D stays calm, while #39DF16 is the loudest partner.

What is #bc16df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(16%, 90%, 0%, 13%). 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 #bc16df 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 #DF16B8; nudged cooler, #7214E1.

Work with #bc16df in the Color Lab