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Mulberry Tone Faint
Color detail

Mulberry Tone Faint

Purple · Hue 280
Hex
#9C8FA3
RGB
rgb(156, 143, 163)
HSL
hsl(280, 10%, 60%)
CMYK
cmyk(4%, 12%, 0%, 36%)
Metrics
S 10% · L 60%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
3.1:1AA Large
on black
6.9:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Mulberry Tone Faint (#9C8FA3) belongs to the purple family — hue 280°, 10% saturation, 60% 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-tone-faint: #9C8FA3;
  --colorarchive-mulberry-tone-faint-hsl: hsl(280, 10%, 60%);
  --colorarchive-mulberry-tone-faint-rgb: rgb(156, 143, 163);
}

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 #9C8FA3.

  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • PlayStationaccent
    Square Purple · #A363D9
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #9C8FA3.

  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →
  • France (Paris)Seine Steel
    #7E8A93 · River reflectivity in winter
    →
  • IrelandConnemara Marble
    #8DA48A · Mottled green-grey native marble
    →

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 Silk Faint
#B0A5B6 · hsl(280, 10%, 68%)
Darker companion
Mulberry Radiant Faint
#8E7E95 · hsl(280, 10%, 54%)
Complementary counterpoint
Moss Tone Faint
#96A38F · hsl(100, 10%, 60%)
Analogous lead
Mauve Tone Faint
#A38FA2 · hsl(305, 10%, 60%)
Analogous echo
Orchid Tone Faint
#968FA3 · hsl(260, 10%, 60%)
Triadic +120°
Apricot Tone Faint
#A39C8F · hsl(40, 10%, 60%)
Triadic +240°
Teal Tone Faint
#8FA39C · hsl(160, 10%, 60%)
Split-comp +150°
Honey Tone Faint
#A0A38F · hsl(70, 10%, 60%)
Split-comp +210°
Mint Tone Faint
#8FA392 · hsl(130, 10%, 60%)
Export preview
Base: Mulberry Tone Faint #9C8FA3
Lighter companion: Mulberry Silk Faint #B0A5B6
Darker companion: Mulberry Radiant Faint #8E7E95
Complementary counterpoint: Moss Tone Faint #96A38F
Analogous lead: Mauve Tone Faint #A38FA2
Analogous echo: Orchid Tone Faint #968FA3
Triadic +120°: Apricot Tone Faint #A39C8F
Triadic +240°: Teal Tone Faint #8FA39C
Split-comp +150°: Honey Tone Faint #A0A38F
Split-comp +210°: Mint Tone Faint #8FA392

Compare

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

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

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Mulberry Tone Muted
#9F87AB · hsl(280, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Radiant Faint
#8E7E95 · hsl(280, 10%, 54%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Silk Faint
#B0A5B6 · hsl(280, 10%, 68%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Tone Dust
#A27EB4 · hsl(280, 26%, 60%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Radiant Muted
#91759F · hsl(280, 18%, 54%)
Nearby match
Mulberry Core Faint
#7E6E87 · hsl(280, 10%, 48%)

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
AA5:1
Moss Ink Faint
#232720
AA4.8:1
Moss Ink Muted
#222A1D
AA4.7:1
Moss Ink Dust
#212D1A
AA4.6:1
Moss Ink Soft
#203018
AA5:1
Lime Ink Faint
#242720
AA4.8:1
Lime Ink Muted
#242A1D

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#97989D
Protanopia
#97969E
Tritanopia
#9B9B9A
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