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Violet Silk Muted
Color detail

Violet Silk Muted

Purple · Hue 250
Hex
#A49FBC
RGB
rgb(164, 159, 188)
HSL
hsl(250, 18%, 68%)
CMYK
cmyk(13%, 15%, 0%, 26%)
Metrics
S 18% · L 68%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
2.5:1Fail
on black
8.3:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Violet Silk Muted (#A49FBC) belongs to the purple family — hue 250°, 18% 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-violet-silk-muted: #A49FBC;
  --colorarchive-violet-silk-muted-hsl: hsl(250, 18%, 68%);
  --colorarchive-violet-silk-muted-rgb: rgb(164, 159, 188);
}

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 #A49FBC.

  • 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 #A49FBC.

  • ScandinaviaAsh Grey
    #A8AAA5 · Birch and ash bark
    →
  • Greece (Aegean)Olive Silver
    #9CA38F · Olea europaea leaf undersides
    →
  • 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
Violet Bloom Muted
#BAB7CD · hsl(250, 18%, 76%)
Darker companion
Violet Tone Muted
#8D87AB · hsl(250, 18%, 60%)
Complementary counterpoint
Honey Silk Muted
#B7BC9F · hsl(70, 18%, 68%)
Analogous lead
Plum Silk Muted
#AD9FBC · hsl(270, 18%, 68%)
Analogous echo
Indigo Silk Muted
#9FA4BC · hsl(230, 18%, 68%)
Triadic +120°
Ruby Silk Muted
#BCA49F · hsl(10, 18%, 68%)
Triadic +240°
Mint Silk Muted
#9FBCA4 · hsl(130, 18%, 68%)
Split-comp +150°
Apricot Silk Muted
#BCB29F · hsl(40, 18%, 68%)
Split-comp +210°
Moss Silk Muted
#A9BC9F · hsl(100, 18%, 68%)
Export preview
Base: Violet Silk Muted #A49FBC
Lighter companion: Violet Bloom Muted #BAB7CD
Darker companion: Violet Tone Muted #8D87AB
Complementary counterpoint: Honey Silk Muted #B7BC9F
Analogous lead: Plum Silk Muted #AD9FBC
Analogous echo: Indigo Silk Muted #9FA4BC
Triadic +120°: Ruby Silk Muted #BCA49F
Triadic +240°: Mint Silk Muted #9FBCA4
Split-comp +150°: Apricot Silk Muted #BCB29F
Split-comp +210°: Moss Silk Muted #A9BC9F

Compare

See how Violet Silk Muted compares side by side with related colors.

vsViolet Bloom MutedvsViolet Tone MutedvsHoney Silk MutedvsPlum Silk MutedvsIndigo Silk MutedvsRuby Silk Muted

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Violet Silk Faint
#A8A5B6 · hsl(250, 10%, 68%)
Nearby match
Violet Silk Dust
#9F98C3 · hsl(250, 26%, 68%)
Nearby match
Amethyst Silk Muted
#A19FBC · hsl(245, 18%, 68%)
Nearby match
Violet Tone Muted
#8D87AB · hsl(250, 18%, 60%)
Nearby match
Violet Bloom Muted
#BAB7CD · hsl(250, 18%, 76%)
Nearby match
Violet Silk Soft
#9B92C9 · hsl(250, 34%, 68%)

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
AAA7.1:1
Indigo Ink Vivid
#09123E
AAA7.1:1
Indigo Ink Bright
#061042
AAA7.2:1
Indigo Ink Pure
#030E45
AAA7:1
Plum Ink Vivid
#24093E
AAA7:1
Plum Ink Bright
#240642
AAA7:1
Plum Ink Pure
#240345

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A2A3B4
Protanopia
#A2A2B6
Tritanopia
#A4B0AF
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