#281E38 Color

#281E38 is rgb(40, 30, 56) in RGB, hsl(263, 30%, 17%) in HSL, and about cmyk(29%, 46%, 0%, 78%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Dark Purple (#301934), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 6.17. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#281E38

HEX#281E38

RGBrgb(40, 30, 56)

HSLhsl(263, 30%, 17%)

HSVhsv(263, 46%, 22%)

CMYKcmyk(29%, 46%, 0%, 78%)

OKLCHoklch(26% 0.049 300.8)

LABlab(13.49% 10.07 -15.27)

LCHlch(13.49% 18.29 303.42)

What #281E38 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #281E38, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Dark Purple#301934ΔE 6.17 Deep Navy#0B1F3AΔE 11.08 Space Cadet#1D2951ΔE 12.68 Maastricht Blue#001C3DΔE 13.34 Oxford Blue#002147ΔE 14.86 Raisin Black#242124ΔE 15.97

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every purple in the library.

#281E38 Channel Values

How #281E38 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 40 · G 30 · B 56	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 263° · S 30% · L 17%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 263° · S 46% · V 22%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 29% · M 46% · Y 0% · K 78%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	15.75:1 vs white · 1.33:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #281E38 background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text15.75:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text1.33:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #281E38 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #281E38

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #281E38; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #281E38

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #281E38.

How #281E38 Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#281E38

Protanopia#202038

Protanomaly#231F38

Deuteranopia#222238

Deuteranomaly#242038

Tritanopia#242222

Tritanomaly#26212C

Achromatopsia#232323

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #281E38 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-281e38: #281E38;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #281E38;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-281e38': '#281E38' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.157, green: 0.118, blue: 0.220)

Android XML<color name="color_281e38">#281E38</color>

SVG fillfill="#281E38"

More Purple Colors

#281E38 sits in the purple family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

150024 fdf8ff 170b22 fdf4ff 1b0d35 faf5ff 1d0731 fae8ff 1e0033 f6cfff 20002e f3e8ff 300052 402060 541490 6600cc 7008e7 8806ce 9900cc a11fff b19cd9 c27aff cebeef e0b2eb

#281E38 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #281E38?

#281E38 is a darkest purple — rgb(40, 30, 56) in RGB and hsl(263, 30%, 17%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Dark Purple (#301934), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 6.17.

What is the RGB value of #281E38?

#281E38 is rgb(40, 30, 56) — red 40, green 30, and blue 56 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #281E38?

#281E38 converts to approximately cmyk(29%, 46%, 0%, 78%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #281E38 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #281E38 scores 15.75:1 against white and 1.33:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #281E38 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #281E38 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is black (#000000) at a CIE76 distance of 22.73, which is visibly different.

Open #281E38 in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every purple in the color library, the guide to shades of purple, or the full color library.