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Orchid Core Muted
Color detail

Orchid Core Muted

Purple · Hue 260
Hex
#736490
RGB
rgb(115, 100, 144)
HSL
hsl(260, 18%, 48%)
CMYK
cmyk(20%, 31%, 0%, 44%)
Metrics
S 18% · L 48%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
5.3:1AA
on black
4:1AA Large
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Orchid Core Muted (#736490) belongs to the purple family — hue 260°, 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-orchid-core-muted: #736490;
  --colorarchive-orchid-core-muted-hsl: hsl(260, 18%, 48%);
  --colorarchive-orchid-core-muted-rgb: rgb(115, 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 #736490.

  • 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 #736490.

  • IrelandAtlantic Slate
    #5A6770 · Cliff face + winter sea
    →
  • France (Paris)Zinc Roof Grey
    #5E6566 · Oxidized zinc roof tiles, central Paris
    →
  • England (London)Plane Tree Green
    #5C7A5A · Platanus × hispanica, London street tree
    →

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
Orchid Radiant Muted
#83759F · hsl(260, 18%, 54%)
Darker companion
Orchid Velvet Muted
#65587E · hsl(260, 18%, 42%)
Complementary counterpoint
Olive Core Muted
#829064 · hsl(80, 18%, 48%)
Analogous lead
Mulberry Core Muted
#826490 · hsl(280, 18%, 48%)
Analogous echo
Iris Core Muted
#646490 · hsl(240, 18%, 48%)
Triadic +120°
Ember Core Muted
#907364 · hsl(20, 18%, 48%)
Triadic +240°
Seafoam Core Muted
#649073 · hsl(140, 18%, 48%)
Split-comp +150°
Amber Core Muted
#908964 · hsl(50, 18%, 48%)
Split-comp +210°
Leaf Core Muted
#6C9064 · hsl(110, 18%, 48%)
Export preview
Base: Orchid Core Muted #736490
Lighter companion: Orchid Radiant Muted #83759F
Darker companion: Orchid Velvet Muted #65587E
Complementary counterpoint: Olive Core Muted #829064
Analogous lead: Mulberry Core Muted #826490
Analogous echo: Iris Core Muted #646490
Triadic +120°: Ember Core Muted #907364
Triadic +240°: Seafoam Core Muted #649073
Split-comp +150°: Amber Core Muted #908964
Split-comp +210°: Leaf Core Muted #6C9064

Compare

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

vsOrchid Radiant MutedvsOrchid Velvet MutedvsOlive Core MutedvsMulberry Core MutedvsIris Core MutedvsEmber Core Muted

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Orchid Core Faint
#766E87 · hsl(260, 10%, 48%)
Nearby match
Orchid Core Dust
#705B9A · hsl(260, 26%, 48%)
Nearby match
Orchid Velvet Muted
#65587E · hsl(260, 18%, 42%)
Nearby match
Orchid Radiant Muted
#83759F · hsl(260, 18%, 54%)
Nearby match
Orchid Core Soft
#6D51A4 · hsl(260, 34%, 48%)
Nearby match
Orchid Velvet Faint
#686076 · hsl(260, 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
AA5.1:1
Olive Veil Faint
#FAFAF9
AA5.1:1
Olive Veil Muted
#FAFBF9
AA5.1:1
Olive Veil Dust
#FAFBF9
AA5.1:1
Olive Veil Soft
#FAFCF8
AA5.2:1
Olive Veil Clear
#FBFDF7
AA5.2:1
Olive Veil Vivid
#FBFEF6

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#6E6F85
Protanopia
#6D6D87
Tritanopia
#727F7E
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