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Mulberry Silk Faint
Color detail

Mulberry Silk Faint

Purple · Hue 280
Hex
#B0A5B6
RGB
rgb(176, 165, 182)
HSL
hsl(280, 10%, 68%)
CMYK
cmyk(3%, 9%, 0%, 29%)
Metrics
S 10% · L 68%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
2.4:1Fail
on black
8.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Mulberry Silk Faint (#B0A5B6) belongs to the purple family — hue 280°, 10% saturation, 68% 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-silk-faint: #B0A5B6;
  --colorarchive-mulberry-silk-faint-hsl: hsl(280, 10%, 68%);
  --colorarchive-mulberry-silk-faint-rgb: rgb(176, 165, 182);
}

AI Color Names

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

Design Context

MysticalCreativeGentle
Common in

Skincare · Meditation · Indie Music

Pairs well with

Soft gold for elegance, mint for freshness, warm white for purity

Design tip

Use for creative and wellness brands. Light purple backgrounds create a dreamy, contemplative atmosphere.

Cultural context ▶

Lavender and lilac represent spirituality, creativity, and gentleness. Associated with aromatherapy and mindfulness.

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 #B0A5B6.

  • Redditsecondary
    Periwinkle · #7193FF
    →
  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • PlayStationaccent
    Square Purple · #A363D9
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #B0A5B6.

  • ScandinaviaAsh Grey
    #A8AAA5 · Birch and ash bark
    →
  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →
  • China (Traditional)Celadon (青瓷)
    #9CB48F · Song Dynasty Longquan kilns
    →

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 Bloom Faint
#C4BCC8 · hsl(280, 10%, 76%)
Darker companion
Mulberry Tone Faint
#9C8FA3 · hsl(280, 10%, 60%)
Complementary counterpoint
Moss Silk Faint
#ABB6A5 · hsl(100, 10%, 68%)
Analogous lead
Mauve Silk Faint
#B6A5B4 · hsl(305, 10%, 68%)
Analogous echo
Orchid Silk Faint
#ABA5B6 · hsl(260, 10%, 68%)
Triadic +120°
Apricot Silk Faint
#B6B0A5 · hsl(40, 10%, 68%)
Triadic +240°
Teal Silk Faint
#A5B6B0 · hsl(160, 10%, 68%)
Split-comp +150°
Honey Silk Faint
#B3B6A5 · hsl(70, 10%, 68%)
Split-comp +210°
Mint Silk Faint
#A5B6A8 · hsl(130, 10%, 68%)
Export preview
Base: Mulberry Silk Faint #B0A5B6
Lighter companion: Mulberry Bloom Faint #C4BCC8
Darker companion: Mulberry Tone Faint #9C8FA3
Complementary counterpoint: Moss Silk Faint #ABB6A5
Analogous lead: Mauve Silk Faint #B6A5B4
Analogous echo: Orchid Silk Faint #ABA5B6
Triadic +120°: Apricot Silk Faint #B6B0A5
Triadic +240°: Teal Silk Faint #A5B6B0
Split-comp +150°: Honey Silk Faint #B3B6A5
Split-comp +210°: Mint Silk Faint #A5B6A8

Compare

See how Mulberry Silk Faint compares side by side with related colors.

vsMulberry Bloom FaintvsMulberry Tone FaintvsMoss Silk FaintvsMauve Silk FaintvsOrchid Silk FaintvsApricot Silk Faint

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Mulberry Silk Muted
#B29FBC · hsl(280, 18%, 68%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Tone Faint
#9C8FA3 · hsl(280, 10%, 60%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Bloom Faint
#C4BCC8 · hsl(280, 10%, 76%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Silk Dust
#B498C3 · hsl(280, 26%, 68%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Tone Muted
#9F87AB · hsl(280, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Bloom Muted
#C5B7CD · hsl(280, 18%, 76%)

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
AAA7:1
Scarlet Ink Clear
#371410
AAA7:1
Scarlet Ink Vivid
#3E0E09
AAA7:1
Crimson Ink Dust
#2D1A1A
AAA7:1
Crimson Ink Soft
#301818
AAA7.2:1
Crimson Ink Clear
#371010
AAA7.1:1
Crimson Ink Vivid
#3E0909

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#ACADB1
Protanopia
#ABABB2
Tritanopia
#AFAFAE
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