Color brief · Purple
#38313A (#38313A) — practical notes
#38313A (#38313a) sits in the purple family at about 287° hue, 8% saturation, and 21% lightness. Contrast is 12.59:1 on white and 1.67:1 on black, so white labels read more clearly on the swatch itself. Nearest Tailwind token: zinc-700 (approximation unless the hex is an official scale stop).
- supporting UI accents
- text or icons on a white canvas
On a black or near-black UI, #38313a is 1.67:1. Prefer it as a fill, border, or large heading rather than 16px copy.
Low saturation makes this easy to overuse as a neutral. Keep one chromatic accent elsewhere so the interface does not go muddy.
Specs & accessibility references: W3C WCAG 2.1 contrast minimum · MDN CSS color values · CSS Color Module Level 4 · WebAIM contrast guide.
COLOR EXPLORER
THE ORIGINAL SWATCH#38313A
100% opacity · sRGB
YOUR NEXT GREAT ACCENT
#38313A
Explore the codes, find a readable pairing, and see how this color feels in a real design.
HEX
#38313ARGB
rgb(56, 49, 58)HSL
hsl(287, 8%, 21%)PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
A color is only half the story.
Try it with another color before you commit.
MAKE ROOM FOR SOMETHING GOOD
A little color. A whole lot of possibility.
Selected text: #38313ACONTRAST RATIO12.59:1
- AA · normal text
- Pass
- AA · large text
- Pass
- AAA · normal text
- Pass
Normal text: AA 4.5:1, AAA 7:1. Large text: AA 3:1 (24px regular or about 19px bold).
Against white12.59:1
Against black1.67:1
Results use the exact pair, at full opacity. WCAG contrast guidance ↗
A color worth keeping? Save it above or share it.
COPY. PASTE. CREATE.
Color codes
HEX
#38313a
RGB
rgb(56, 49, 58)
HSL
hsl(287, 8%, 21%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.3241 0.0184 318.76)
CMYK
cmyk(3%, 16%, 0%, 77%)
CSS variable
--color-38313a: #38313a;
CMYK is an approximate reference; print output depends on the color profile. HSV and CMYK are not CSS color functions.
OKLCH
Perceptual 50–950 scale
Generated in OKLCH from this hex. Not an official Tailwind scale unless the hex itself is a Tailwind token.
Palette
Tints & shades
Full scale from light tints through the base color into deep shades
Palette
Tints
Mixed toward white — soft backgrounds and highlights
Palette
Shades
Mixed toward black — depth, text, and emphasis
Palette
Tones
Mixed toward neutral grey — muted UI surfaces
Harmony
Complementary
Opposite on the color wheel for contrast
Harmony
Analogous
Neighbors that sit comfortably together
Harmony
Triadic
Evenly spaced triad for vibrant sets
Harmony
Split complementary
Base plus two accents beside the complement
Harmony
Monochromatic
Same hue, varied lightness and saturation
Export
Developer code
css
:root {
--color38313a-1: #38313a;
}Design systems
Nearest official tokens
An arbitrary HEX is not an official Tailwind, Material, or Bootstrap color. Distance is CIEDE2000.
Nearest Tailwind color
zinc-700
Very different · ΔE 5.93 · #3F3F46
Nearest CSS named color
Black
Very different · ΔE 15.4 · #000000
Nearest Material color
grey-800
Very different · ΔE 8.87 · #424242
Nearest Bootstrap color
dark
Very different · ΔE 9.27 · #212529
Using this color
Where #38313a works
#38313A (#38313a) sits in the purple family at about 287° hue, 8% saturation, and 21% lightness. Contrast is 12.59:1 on white and 1.67:1 on black, so white labels read more clearly on the swatch itself. Nearest Tailwind token: zinc-700 (approximation unless the hex is an official scale stop).
Sensible jobs for this swatch
- supporting UI accents
- text or icons on a white canvas
On a black or near-black UI, #38313a is 1.67:1. Prefer it as a fill, border, or large heading rather than 16px copy.
Low saturation makes this easy to overuse as a neutral. Keep one chromatic accent elsewhere so the interface does not go muddy.
Family context: Imagination, luxury, and wisdom. Frequently used for premium, creative, and tech brands. Common uses still include buttons, charts, and accents in the Purple range — always verify the pair for this exact hex in the contrast checker.
Related
Similar & related colors
Nearby colors from the library by perceptual distance