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violet · cool

#dfb3fb

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Plum

RGB
223, 179, 251
HSL
277°, 90%, 84%
CMYK
11, 29, 0, 2
Luminance
0.5489

#dfb3fb is a light electric violet, 277° on the wheel and 63/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.98:1). As text it scores 1.75:1 on white — use #AA35F4 instead. Nearest name is Plum, nearest Tailwind family is fuchsia.

hsl(277 90% 84%)rgb(223 179 251)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfb3fb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfb3fb
Hue
277°
violet
Saturation
90%
electric
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5489
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
63/100 cool
Color family
Violet
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.98:1
Closest name
Plum
ΔE2000 6.6
Chroma
41.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.830
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
fuchsia
500 · ΔE 22.1
Web-safe
#CCCCFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue277° of 360°
Saturation90%
Lightness84%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dfb3fb.

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
Red29%
Green59%
Blue13%

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

Every format

HEX#dfb3fb
HEX (8-digit)#dfb3fbff
RGBrgb(223, 179, 251)
RGBArgba(223, 179, 251, 1)
HSLhsl(277, 90%, 84%)
HSV / HSBhsv(277, 29%, 98%)
HWBhwb(277 70% 2%)
CMYKcmyk(11%, 29%, 0%, 2%)
LABlab(79.0 28.8 -29.6)
LCHlch(79.0 41.3 314.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.830 0.109 311.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(63.96, 54.89, 98.47)
Decimal14660603
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.702 0.984)
Web-safe#CCCCFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dfb3fb;
background-color: #dfb3fb;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dfb3fb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfb3fb] bg-[#dfb3fb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfb3fb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.702, blue: 0.984)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.875, green: 0.702, blue: 0.984, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DFB3FB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDFB3FB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFB3FB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(251, 179, 223)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(223, 179, 251)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(223, 179, 251)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 223, 179, 251)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8745f, 0.7020f, 0.9843f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{223,179,251}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dfb3fb 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dfb3fb 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4D0679, #E3D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dfb3fb 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: #F9F2FD;
  --brand-100: #F2E5FB;
  --brand-200: #dfb3fb;
  --brand-300: #D294F9;
  --brand-400: #BC5FF7;
  --brand-500: #A52AF4;
  --brand-600: #930CE9;
  --brand-700: #7B0AC2;
  --brand-800: #62089B;
  --brand-900: #490B70;
  --brand-950: #2D0746;
  --brand: #dfb3fb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F4FA;
  --brand-border: #DBC0ED;
  --brand-hover: #D191F9;
  --brand-pressed: #C26FF7;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1E1424;
    --brand-ink: #E3D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F2FD',
        100: '#F2E5FB',
        200: '#dfb3fb',
        300: '#D294F9',
        400: '#BC5FF7',
        500: '#A52AF4',
        600: '#930CE9',
        700: '#7B0AC2',
        800: '#62089B',
        900: '#490B70',
        950: '#2D0746',
        DEFAULT: '#dfb3fb',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F2FD,
  '100': #F2E5FB,
  '200': #dfb3fb,
  '300': #D294F9,
  '400': #BC5FF7,
  '500': #A52AF4,
  '600': #930CE9,
  '700': #7B0AC2,
  '800': #62089B,
  '900': #490B70,
  '950': #2D0746,
);
$brand-base: #dfb3fb;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F2FD", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2E5FB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#dfb3fb", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D294F9", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#BC5FF7", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A52AF4", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#930CE9", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7B0AC2", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#62089B", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#490B70", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D0746", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dfb3fb · 11.98:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.75:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.98:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfb3fb as text scores 1.75:1 on white and 11.98:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4D0679 at 7.40:1.

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
#AA35F4 · 4.64:1
AA on white−26% L
#AA35F4
The quick fox
#850BD2 · 7.06:1
AAA on white−41% L
#850BD2
The quick fox
#dfb3fb · 11.98:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dfb3fb
The quick fox
#dfb3fb · 11.98:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dfb3fb

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #C26FF7 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
#dfb3fb on white: 1.75:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfb3fb on black: 11.98:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dfb3fb as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dfb3fb.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.75:1AaAa
Slate 501.68:1AaAa
Slate 1001.60:1AaAa
Slate 2001.42:1AaAa
Slate 3001.18:1AaAa
Slate 4001.46:1AaAa
Slate 5002.71:1AaAa
Slate 6004.32:1AaAa
Slate 7005.91:1AaAa
Slate 8008.34:1AaAa
Slate 90010.18:1AaAa
Black11.98:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A8C1FE
deuteranopia · #B1C5F9
tritanopia · #DDBCCD

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. #dfb3fb is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9F2FD
#F2E5FB
#dfb3fb
#D294F9
#BC5FF7
#A52AF4
#930CE9
#7B0AC2
#62089B
#490B70
#2D0746
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F9F2FDDarkest = 950 · #2D0746Text step on white = 500
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 0.027 311.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.044 311.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.065 311.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.085 311.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.100 311.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.109 311.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.109 311.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.102 311.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.091 311.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.076 311.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.060 311.8);
}

Colors that work with #dfb3fb

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#7C4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#80C705
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4D0679
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5E7FE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1E1424
Dark-mode background
Hover#D191F9
One step down in lightness
Pressed#C26FF7
Two steps down
Disabled#F5F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E8C3FF
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 #dfb3fb

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #4D0679
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #C26FF7

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight16/100
  • 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#CFFBB3
Analogous left#BBB3FB
Analogous right#FBB3F3
Split-complement 1#F3FBB3
Split-complement 2#B3FBBB
Triadic 1#FBDFB3
Triadic 2#B3FBDF
Tetradic#FBBBB3
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°277°

#dfb3fb sits at 277°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green70.2%
Blue98.4%
R · 0–255
223
0xdf
G · 0–255
179
0xb3
B · 0–255
251
0xfb

CMYK percentages

Cyan11.2%
Magenta28.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)1.6%

Total ink coverage is 42%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dfb3fb text on a black background

contrast 11.98:1

Card sample

#dfb3fb text on a white background

contrast 1.75:1

Card sample

#dfb3fb on grey

1.60:1

#dfb3fb on its own surface

1.61:1

#dfb3fb on its dark surface

10.15:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfb3fb;
Background color
Panel with #dfb3fb background
background-color: #dfb3fb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfb3fb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 179, 251, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 179, 251, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfb3fb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfb3fb, #FBB3E7);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dfb3fb, #FBB3D5);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dfb3fb;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dfb3fb;
caret-color: #dfb3fb;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dfb3fb;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5E7FE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dfb3fb;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dfb3fb 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dfb3fb 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(223, 179, 251, 0.5)
rgb(223 179 251 / 50%)
#dfb3fb80
hsl(277 90% 84% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dfb3fb 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dfb3fb1a#FCF7FF
20%#dfb3fb33#F9F0FE
40%#dfb3fb66#F2E1FD
60%#dfb3fb99#ECD1FD
80%#dfb3fbcc#E5C2FC

Gradients from #dfb3fb

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, #F7ECFE, #dfb3fb 45%, #4D0679);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dfb3fb, #F996D5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dfb3fb, #CFFBB3);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F9F0FE 0%, #dfb3fb 45%, #4D0679 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E4E3FE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #FDD0F4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4D0679 0%, transparent 65%), #dfb3fb;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfb3fb

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.

#dfb3fb 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.

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 11.98:1.

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.

#dfb3fb, answered

What color is #dfb3fb?

#dfb3fb is a light electric violet, closest to Plum (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 277° on the hue wheel with 90% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #dfb3fb?

rgb(223, 179, 251) — 223 red, 179 green and 251 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 70.2% / 98.4% by channel.

What is #dfb3fb in HSL and HSV?

hsl(277, 90%, 84%) and hsv(277, 29%, 98%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dfb3fb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5489 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 11.98:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfb3fb?

Black. It scores 11.98:1 against #dfb3fb, versus 1.75:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dfb3fb accessible on a white background?

#dfb3fb on white scores 1.75:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #AA35F4 to reach 4.5:1, or #850BD2 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dfb3fb?

#CFFBB3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F3FBB3 and #B3FBBB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfb3fb?

For interface work: #F8F4FA as the surface, #DBC0ED for borders, #7C4B9B for secondary text, #80C705 as an accent and #4D0679 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BBB3FB and #FBB3F3 stays calm, while #CFFBB3 is the loudest partner.

What is #dfb3fb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(11%, 29%, 0%, 2%). 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 #dfb3fb 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 #F9B3FB; nudged cooler, #C4B2FC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dfb3fb?

The fuchsia family — its 500 step is #d946ef, ΔE2000 22.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dfb3fb as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dfb3fb in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dfb3fb] or text-[#dfb3fb], 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 #dfb3fb with 50% opacity?

rgba(223, 179, 251, 0.5), or #dfb3fb80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EFD9FD; over black, #705A7E.

Is #dfb3fb a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCFF, ΔE2000 10.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dfb3fb 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #dfb3fb?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F7ECFE, #dfb3fb 45%, #4D0679). For more colour, a short hue run to #F996D5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dfb3fb in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dfb3fb at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.