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#c97cfd

a light, electric violet · cool · closest name: Orchid

RGB
201, 124, 253
HSL
276°, 97%, 74%
CMYK
21, 51, 0, 1
Luminance
0.3392

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c97cfd is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c97cfd
Hue
276°
violet
Saturation
97%
electric
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3392
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
63/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
7.78:1
Closest name
Orchid
ΔE2000 8.4
Where it sits
Hue276° of 360°
Saturation97%
Lightness74%
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.

Every format

HEX#c97cfd
RGBrgb(201, 124, 253)
HSLhsl(276, 97%, 74%)
CMYKcmyk(21%, 51%, 0%, 1%)
LABlab(64.9 52.3 -52.9)
LCHlch(64.9 74.3 314.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.719 0.193 310.0)
Decimal13204733
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.486 0.992)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c97cfd;
background-color: #c97cfd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c97cfd] bg-[#c97cfd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c97cfd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.486, blue: 0.992)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c97cfd")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC97CFD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(253, 124, 201)

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 #c97cfd · 7.78:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.70:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.78:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c97cfd as text scores 2.70:1 on white and 7.78:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c97cfd on white: 2.70:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c97cfd on black: 7.78:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #599AFF
deuteranopia · #719FFA
tritanopia · #C292B1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c97cfd 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.

#F9F1FD
#F2E4FC
#E3C1FB
#c97cfd
#BB59FC
#A422FC
#9104F1
#7903C9
#6102A1
#480774
#2D0448
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F9F1FDDarkest = 950 · #2D0448
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F1FD;
  --brand-100: #F2E4FC;
  --brand-200: #E3C1FB;
  --brand-300: #c97cfd;
  --brand-400: #BB59FC;
  --brand-500: #A422FC;
  --brand-600: #9104F1;
  --brand-700: #7903C9;
  --brand-800: #6102A1;
  --brand-900: #480774;
  --brand-950: #2D0448;
  --brand: #c97cfd;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c97cfd

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#F8F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#DBC0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#7B4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#85CC00
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4C027E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5E6FF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E1424
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 #c97cfd

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#B0FD7C
Analogous left#887CFD
Analogous right#FD7CF1
Split-complement 1#F1FD7C
Split-complement 2#7CFD88
Triadic 1#FDC97C
Triadic 2#7CFDC9
Tetradic#FD887C

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green48.6%
Blue99.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan20.6%
Magenta51.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#c97cfd text on a black background

contrast 7.78:1

Card sample

#c97cfd text on a white background

contrast 2.70:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c97cfd;
Background color
Panel with #c97cfd background
background-color: #c97cfd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c97cfd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 124, 253, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 124, 253, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c97cfd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c97cfd, #FD7CDB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c97cfd

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.

#c97cfd 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

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

#c97cfd, answered

What color is #c97cfd?

#c97cfd is a light electric violet, closest to Orchid (ΔE2000 8.4). It sits at 276° on the hue wheel with 97% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #c97cfd?

rgb(201, 124, 253) — 201 red, 124 green and 253 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 48.6% / 99.2% by channel.

Is #c97cfd a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3392 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 7.78:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c97cfd?

Black. It scores 7.78:1 against #c97cfd, versus 2.70:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c97cfd?

#B0FD7C sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F1FD7C and #7CFD88, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c97cfd?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DBC0ED for borders, #7B4B9B for secondary text, #85CC00 as an accent and #4C027E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #887CFD and #FD7CF1 stays calm, while #B0FD7C is the loudest partner.

What is #c97cfd in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(21%, 51%, 0%, 1%). 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 #c97cfd 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 #F87CFD; nudged cooler, #997BFE.

Work with #c97cfd in the Color Lab