What color is #281B41?

#281B41 is a very dark, desaturated violet, closest to the named color Midnight Velvet. It belongs to the purple family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #281B41?

The RGB value is 40, 27, 65: 40 red, 27 green and 65 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #281B41?

The complementary color is #34411B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #281B41?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.32:1 and white text 15.87:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#281B41 color

#281B41 rgb(40, 27, 65)

Shades of purple

The hex color #281B41 is a very dark, desaturated violet.

In the RGB color model it is made of 15.7% red, 10.6% green and 25.5% blue (40, 27, 65).

Its hue angle is 261°, with 41% saturation and 18% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 38% cyan, 58% magenta, 0% yellow and 75% black.

The closest named color is Midnight Velvet (#2A2243), a difference of 2.8 ΔE, a small difference.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 15.87:1).

#281B41 color codes

HEX	`#281B41`
RGB	`rgb(40, 27, 65)`
RGB percent	`rgb(15.7%, 10.6%, 25.5%)`
HSL	`hsl(261, 41%, 18%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(261, 58%, 25%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(38%, 58%, 0%, 75%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(13.33, 16.52, -21.97)`
CIE LCH	`lch(13.33, 27.49, 306.94)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(2.221, 1.617, 5.195)`
Decimal	`2628417`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #281B41, based on their position on the color wheel.

Complementary

The color opposite on the color wheel (180°). Strongest contrast.

Analogous

Neighbors 30° either side. Calm, natural combinations.

Split complementary

The two colors next to the complement (150° and 210°).

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced, 120° apart.

Tetradic (square)

Four colors 90° apart.

Shades, tints and tones

Shades (darker, mixed with black)

Tints (lighter, mixed with white)

Tones (mixed with gray)

Contrast and accessibility

Text on #281B41	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.32:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	15.87:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

#281B41 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	15.87:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.32:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

WCAG 2 asks for 4.5:1 for normal text (AA), 7:1 for AAA, and 3:1 for large text. Check other pairs.

Color blindness simulation

How #281B41 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #281b41; }
.text { color: #281b41; }
.border { border: 2px solid #281b41; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(40 27 65 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #281b41, #3b1b41); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Dark Purple.

Questions

What color is #281B41?: #281B41 is a very dark, desaturated violet, closest to the named color Midnight Velvet. It belongs to the purple family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #281B41?: The RGB value is 40, 27, 65: 40 red, 27 green and 65 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #281B41?: The complementary color is #34411B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #281B41?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.32:1 and white text 15.87:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.