What color is #B38BBD?

#B38BBD is a light, desaturated magenta, closest to the named color Violaceous. It belongs to the purple family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B38BBD?

The RGB value is 179, 139, 189: 179 red, 139 green and 189 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B38BBD?

The complementary color is #95BD8B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B38BBD?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 7.34:1 and white text 2.86:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B38BBD color

#B38BBD rgb(179, 139, 189)

Shades of purple

The hex color #B38BBD is a light, desaturated magenta.

In the RGB color model it is made of 70.2% red, 54.5% green and 74.1% blue (179, 139, 189).

Its hue angle is 288°, with 27% saturation and 64% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 5% cyan, 26% magenta, 0% yellow and 26% black.

The closest named color is Violaceous (#BF8FC4), a difference of 2.6 ΔE, a small difference.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 7.34:1).

#B38BBD color codes

HEX	`#B38BBD`
RGB	`rgb(179, 139, 189)`
RGB percent	`rgb(70.2%, 54.5%, 74.1%)`
HSL	`hsl(288, 27%, 64%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(288, 26%, 74%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(5%, 26%, 0%, 26%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(63.11, 24.1, -20.24)`
CIE LCH	`lch(63.11, 31.47, 319.98)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(37.007, 31.724, 52.308)`
Decimal	`11766717`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B38BBD, 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 #B38BBD	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	7.34:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.86:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B38BBD as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2.86:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	7.34:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

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 #B38BBD looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b38bbd; }
.text { color: #b38bbd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b38bbd; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(179 139 189 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b38bbd, #bd8bae); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Wisteria.

Questions

What color is #B38BBD?: #B38BBD is a light, desaturated magenta, closest to the named color Violaceous. It belongs to the purple family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B38BBD?: The RGB value is 179, 139, 189: 179 red, 139 green and 189 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B38BBD?: The complementary color is #95BD8B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B38BBD?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 7.34:1 and white text 2.86:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.