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Mulberry Core Muted
Color detail

Mulberry Core Muted

Purple · Hue 280
Hex
#826490
RGB
rgb(130, 100, 144)
HSL
hsl(280, 18%, 48%)
CMYK
cmyk(10%, 31%, 0%, 44%)
Metrics
S 18% · L 48%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
5:1AA
on black
4.2:1AA Large
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Mulberry Core Muted (#826490) belongs to the purple family — hue 280°, 18% saturation, 48% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-mulberry-core-muted: #826490;
  --colorarchive-mulberry-core-muted-hsl: hsl(280, 18%, 48%);
  --colorarchive-mulberry-core-muted-rgb: rgb(130, 100, 144);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

RoyalInnovativeImaginative
Common in

Streaming Services · Crypto & Web3 · Creative Tools

Pairs well with

Electric green for futuristic energy, white for clarity, dark gray for sophistication

Design tip

A bold primary choice for brands wanting to stand out. Purple differentiates — few major brands use it, making it memorable.

Cultural context ▶

Purple historically represents royalty and rarity (Tyrian purple was more expensive than gold). Today it signals innovation and imagination.

Color Origins

Purple family

The color of empire, twilight, and tech-luxury.

Heritage

Tyrian purple, extracted from the murex snail in Phoenicia, took 12,000 snails to dye one toga and was the literal definition of expense — Roman law restricted who could wear it. Mauve, the world's first synthetic dye, was discovered by accident in 1856 by an 18-year-old chemistry student trying to make quinine — the discovery launched the chemical-dye industry that funded the modern pharmaceutical industry. Quinacridone violet is the modern fade-resistant standard.

Across cultures

In Catholic liturgy purple marks Lent and Advent — penance and preparation. In Japan murasaki (a deep violet) was the highest court color in the Heian period; The Tale of Genji's Lady Murasaki takes her name from it. In Thailand purple is the mourning color for widows. Across Western culture purple is associated with royalty (because of Tyrian's cost), creativity (because of its rarity), and from the 1960s onward with rock and psychedelia.

In the wild

Cadbury's purple has been trademarked since 2008 (and hard-fought in court). Yahoo, Twitch, Discord, and Linear all use saturated purples as primary brand colors — the choice signals creative-tech where blue would signal corporate-tech. Prince's purple was so associated with him that his estate has trademark issues with the broader color. Stripe's signature indigo (#635BFF) helped redefine fintech away from trust-blue. The Lakers, the Vikings, and most NBA teams' second jerseys use purple to claim a color lane that no other major team owns.

How it reads

Purple sits at the boundary of warm and cool — biologically, our eyes process it as a blend rather than a single hue, which is why it can feel slightly unstable or magical. It reads as premium, creative, slightly counterculture. Light purples (lavender, lilac) read as gentle and feminine in Western convention. Saturated purples read as luxurious, electronic, or theatrical. Deep purples read as nocturnal, regal, or somber. It is one of the colors most commonly avoided by traditional finance and most embraced by creative tools.

This particular tone

A grounded mid-tone — sober, considered, well-suited to body text accents, editorial layouts, or any context where restraint reads as quality.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where most identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #826490.

  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • Linearprimary
    Linear Indigo · #5E6AD2
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #826490.

  • France (Paris)Zinc Roof Grey
    #5E6566 · Oxidized zinc roof tiles, central Paris
    →
  • IrelandAtlantic Slate
    #5A6770 · Cliff face + winter sea
    →
  • IcelandLopapeysa Sheep Brown
    #7C5A3A · Natural-dye Icelandic wool
    →

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Mulberry Radiant Muted
#91759F · hsl(280, 18%, 54%)
Darker companion
Mulberry Velvet Muted
#72587E · hsl(280, 18%, 42%)
Complementary counterpoint
Moss Core Muted
#739064 · hsl(100, 18%, 48%)
Analogous lead
Mauve Core Muted
#90648D · hsl(305, 18%, 48%)
Analogous echo
Orchid Core Muted
#736490 · hsl(260, 18%, 48%)
Triadic +120°
Apricot Core Muted
#908264 · hsl(40, 18%, 48%)
Triadic +240°
Teal Core Muted
#649082 · hsl(160, 18%, 48%)
Split-comp +150°
Honey Core Muted
#899064 · hsl(70, 18%, 48%)
Split-comp +210°
Mint Core Muted
#64906C · hsl(130, 18%, 48%)
Export preview
Base: Mulberry Core Muted #826490
Lighter companion: Mulberry Radiant Muted #91759F
Darker companion: Mulberry Velvet Muted #72587E
Complementary counterpoint: Moss Core Muted #739064
Analogous lead: Mauve Core Muted #90648D
Analogous echo: Orchid Core Muted #736490
Triadic +120°: Apricot Core Muted #908264
Triadic +240°: Teal Core Muted #649082
Split-comp +150°: Honey Core Muted #899064
Split-comp +210°: Mint Core Muted #64906C

Compare

See how Mulberry Core Muted compares side by side with related colors.

vsMulberry Radiant MutedvsMulberry Velvet MutedvsMoss Core MutedvsMauve Core MutedvsOrchid Core MutedvsApricot Core Muted

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Mulberry Core Faint
#7E6E87 · hsl(280, 10%, 48%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Core Dust
#855B9A · hsl(280, 26%, 48%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Velvet Muted
#72587E · hsl(280, 18%, 42%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Radiant Muted
#91759F · hsl(280, 18%, 54%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Core Soft
#8851A4 · hsl(280, 34%, 48%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Velvet Faint
#6F6076 · hsl(280, 10%, 42%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AA4.8:1
Moss Veil Faint
#FAFAF9
AA4.8:1
Moss Veil Muted
#FAFBF9
AA4.8:1
Moss Veil Dust
#F9FBF9
AA4.9:1
Moss Veil Soft
#F9FCF8
AA4.9:1
Moss Veil Clear
#F9FDF7
AA4.9:1
Moss Veil Vivid
#F9FEF6

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#787A85
Protanopia
#767687
Tritanopia
#817F7E
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