#9B8CA1 Color

#9B8CA1 is rgb(155, 140, 161) in RGB, hsl(283, 10%, 59%) in HSL, and about cmyk(4%, 13%, 0%, 37%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Heliotrope Gray (#AA98A9), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.44. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#9B8CA1

HEX#9B8CA1

RGBrgb(155, 140, 161)

HSLhsl(283, 10%, 59%)

HSVhsv(283, 13%, 63%)

CMYKcmyk(4%, 13%, 0%, 37%)

OKLCHoklch(66% 0.035 316.4)

LABlab(60.12% 8.79 -9.01)

LCHlch(60.12% 12.59 314.27)

What #9B8CA1 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 #9B8CA1, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Heliotrope Gray#AA98A9ΔE 5.44 Lilac Luster#AE98AAΔE 6.16 Pastel Purple#B39EB5ΔE 7.76 Glossy Grape#AB92B3ΔE 7.98 Manatee#979AAAΔE 8.3 Cool Gray#8C92ACΔE 8.77

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

#9B8CA1 Channel Values

How #9B8CA1 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 155 · G 140 · B 161	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 283° · S 10% · L 59%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 283° · S 13% · V 63%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 4% · M 13% · Y 0% · K 37%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	3.15:1 vs white · 6.66:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #9B8CA1 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.

Fails AAWhite text3.15:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text6.66:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #9B8CA1 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #9B8CA1

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #9B8CA1; 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 #9B8CA1

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 #9B8CA1.

How #9B8CA1 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#9B8CA1

Protanopia#8F8FA1

Protanomaly#948EA1

Deuteranopia#9191A1

Deuteranomaly#958FA1

Tritanopia#988F8F

Tritanomaly#998E96

Achromatopsia#919191

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #9B8CA1 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-9b8ca1: #9B8CA1;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #9B8CA1;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-9b8ca1': '#9B8CA1' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.608, green: 0.549, blue: 0.631)

Android XML<color name="color_9b8ca1">#9B8CA1</color>

SVG fillfill="#9B8CA1"

More Purple Colors

#9B8CA1 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

#9B8CA1 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #9B8CA1?

#9B8CA1 is a mid-tone purple — rgb(155, 140, 161) in RGB and hsl(283, 10%, 59%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Heliotrope Gray (#AA98A9), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.44.

What is the RGB value of #9B8CA1?

#9B8CA1 is rgb(155, 140, 161) — red 155, green 140, and blue 161 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #9B8CA1?

#9B8CA1 converts to approximately cmyk(4%, 13%, 0%, 37%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #9B8CA1 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #9B8CA1 scores 3.15:1 against white and 6.66:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #9B8CA1 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #9B8CA1 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 lightslategray (#778899) at a CIE76 distance of 13.18, which is visibly different.

Open #9B8CA1 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.