Color brief · Purple
#9C8AA2 (#9C8AA2) — practical notes
#9C8AA2 (#9c8aa2) sits in the purple family at about 285° hue, 11% saturation, and 59% lightness. Contrast is 3.2:1 on white and 6.57:1 on black, so near-black labels read more clearly on the swatch itself. Nearest Tailwind token: zinc-400 (approximation unless the hex is an official scale stop).
- supporting UI accents
- large titles on light backgrounds (WCAG AA Large)
- text or icons on charcoal / dark mode
Do not use #9c8aa2 as small body text on white — 3.2:1 misses WCAG AA (4.5:1). Pair it with a darker shade from the scale below, or check pairs in the contrast checker.
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#9C8AA2
100% opacity · sRGB
YOUR NEXT GREAT ACCENT
#9C8AA2
Explore the codes, find a readable pairing, and see how this color feels in a real design.
HEX
#9C8AA2RGB
rgb(156, 138, 162)HSL
hsl(285, 11%, 59%)PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
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Selected text: #9C8AA2CONTRAST RATIO3.20:1
- AA · normal text
- Fail
- AA · large text
- Pass
- AAA · normal text
- Fail
Normal text: AA 4.5:1, AAA 7:1. Large text: AA 3:1 (24px regular or about 19px bold).
Against white3.20:1
Against black6.57:1
Results use the exact pair, at full opacity. WCAG contrast guidance ↗
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Color codes
HEX
#9c8aa2
RGB
rgb(156, 138, 162)
HSL
hsl(285, 11%, 59%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.6574 0.0406 317.59)
CMYK
cmyk(4%, 15%, 0%, 36%)
CSS variable
--color-9c8aa2: #9c8aa2;
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 {
--color9c8aa2-1: #9c8aa2;
}Design systems
Nearest official tokens
An arbitrary HEX is not an official Tailwind, Material, or Bootstrap color. Distance is CIEDE2000.
Nearest Tailwind color
zinc-400
Very different · ΔE 11.63 · #A1A1AA
Nearest CSS named color
RosyBrown
Very different · ΔE 12.88 · #BC8F8F
Nearest Material color
deep-purple-200
Very different · ΔE 12.65 · #B39DDB
Nearest Bootstrap color
secondary
Very different · ΔE 18.57 · #6C757D
Using this color
Where #9c8aa2 works
#9C8AA2 (#9c8aa2) sits in the purple family at about 285° hue, 11% saturation, and 59% lightness. Contrast is 3.2:1 on white and 6.57:1 on black, so near-black labels read more clearly on the swatch itself. Nearest Tailwind token: zinc-400 (approximation unless the hex is an official scale stop).
Sensible jobs for this swatch
- supporting UI accents
- large titles on light backgrounds (WCAG AA Large)
- text or icons on charcoal / dark mode
Do not use #9c8aa2 as small body text on white — 3.2:1 misses WCAG AA (4.5:1). Pair it with a darker shade from the scale below, or check pairs in the contrast checker.
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