Purple color · XKCD survey name

Pale Purple Color Code: #B790D4

Pale Purple (#B790D4) is a medium-light, soft violet shade: RGB 183, 144, 212, HSL 274°, 44%, 70%. Black text reads best on it (7.95:1 contrast).

Pale Purple color values

HEX #B790D4
RGB rgb(183, 144, 212)
HSL hsl(274, 44%, 70%)
HSV 274, 32%, 83%
HWB hwb(274 56% 17%)
CMYK 14%, 32%, 0%, 17%
Decimal 12030164
70%HSL lightness (medium-light)
44%HSL saturation (soft)
274°Hue angle (violet)
0.348Relative luminance

CMYK is a standard screen-to-print conversion. Printed results depend on inks, paper and color profiles.

What is Pale Purple?

“Pale Purple” is a crowd-sourced name from the XKCD Color Survey, in which participants typed names for colors they were shown. It is a popular everyday label rather than an official standard.

Its hue angle of 274° places it in the violet part of the color wheel, with 44% saturation (soft) and 70% lightness (medium-light). It sits between warm and cool.

Compared with the other purple colors in the Aqeeb Studio library, it is lighter than 78% of them and more saturated than 24% of them.

Its relative luminance is 0.348, which makes it a light color. That is above the 0.179 crossover point at which black and white text have equal contrast, so black text has the advantage.

Pale Purple counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 70% and its relative luminance is 0.348. Black text reads best on it (7.95:1 contrast).

Text contrast on Pale Purple

WCAG contrast of white and black text on Pale Purple
TextPreviewRatioAA normalAA largeAAA normalAAA large
White text Sample text 2.64:1 Poor Fail Fail Fail Fail
Black text Sample text 7.95:1 Excellent Pass Pass Pass Pass

Ratios use the WCAG 2 formula and are truncated, never rounded up. Test any pair with the contrast checker.

Colors that go with Pale Purple

Complementary color

Complementary colors sit directly opposite each other on the color wheel (180° apart). They give the strongest hue contrast, which suits calls to action and accents.

Analogous colors

Analogous colors are neighbors on the wheel, 30° either side of the base hue. They blend smoothly and are easy to combine in backgrounds, gradients and illustrations.

Triadic colors

A triadic scheme uses three hues spaced 120° apart. It is lively yet balanced, and works best when one color leads and the other two act as accents.

Split-complementary colors

Split-complementary keeps the base color and uses the two colors on either side of its complement (150° and 210°). The contrast is strong but gentler than a direct complement.

Tetradic colors

A tetradic (rectangle) scheme combines two complementary pairs at 0°, 60°, 180° and 240°. It offers variety but needs one dominant color to stay balanced.

Monochromatic variants

Monochromatic variants keep the same hue and saturation and only change lightness, which makes them dependable for UI scales and subtle layered designs.

#6D3993#6D3993
#9156BD#9156BD
#B389D1#B389D1
#D4BDE5#D4BDE5
#F5F0F9#F5F0F9

A “≈” before a name means the exact harmony color has no named match, so the link goes to the closest named color.

Tints and shades of Pale Purple

Lighter tints (mixed with white)

Darker shades (mixed with black)

Select any swatch to copy its HEX code. Build longer scales with the tints and shades tool.

Where to use Pale Purple

  • Card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (7.95:1 contrast with black)
  • Creative and entertainment branding
  • Premium-feeling accents and gradients
  • Illustrations and hero sections
  • Tags, badges and highlights

Use Pale Purple in CSS

:root {
  --color-pale-purple: #B790D4;
}

.element {
  color: var(--color-pale-purple);
  background-color: #B790D4;
  border: 2px solid #B790D4;
}

Questions about Pale Purple

What is the HEX code for Pale Purple?

Pale Purple is #B790D4.

What is the RGB value of Pale Purple?

The RGB value of Pale Purple is 183, 144, 212: 183 red, 144 green and 212 blue on a 0–255 scale, written rgb(183, 144, 212) in CSS.

What is the HSL value of Pale Purple?

The HSL value of Pale Purple is 274°, 44%, 70% (hue, saturation, lightness), written hsl(274, 44%, 70%) in CSS.

What is the CMYK value of Pale Purple?

A standard conversion gives about C 14%, M 32%, Y 0%, K 17%. Real print results depend on the inks, paper and color profile, so treat CMYK here as a reference value.

Is Pale Purple a light or dark color?

Pale Purple counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 70% and its relative luminance is 0.348. Black text reads best on it (7.95:1 contrast).

How does Pale Purple look with white text?

White text on Pale Purple has a contrast ratio of 2.64:1, rated Poor. It falls below the WCAG minimum for text.

How does Pale Purple look with black text?

Black text on Pale Purple has a contrast ratio of 7.95:1, rated Excellent. It meets WCAG AA for normal text.

What colors go well with Pale Purple?

Light Gray Green is its complementary color, and Wisteria sits beside it as an analogous color. Lighter and darker variants of the same hue also work well for monochromatic palettes.

Where can Pale Purple be used?

It suits card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (7.95:1 contrast with black); creative and entertainment branding; premium-feeling accents and gradients.

How do I use Pale Purple in CSS?

Use color: #B790D4; for text, background-color: #B790D4; for fills, or define a custom property such as --color-pale-purple: #B790D4; and reuse it with var(--color-pale-purple).

About this color page

Crowd-sourced name from the XKCD Color Survey (CC0). Values are calculated from the HEX code; color names are labels, not trademarks or standards unless stated. Screens render colors differently, so always check important colors on your own device. See the disclaimer.