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#A38BBB Color

#A38BBB is rgb(163, 139, 187) in RGB, hsl(270, 26%, 64%) in HSL, and about cmyk(13%, 26%, 0%, 27%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Heather (#9E7BB5), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 8.43. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#A38BBB
HEX#A38BBB
RGBrgb(163, 139, 187)
HSLhsl(270, 26%, 64%)
HSVhsv(270, 26%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 26%, 0%, 27%)
OKLCHoklch(67.5% 0.074 307.2)
LABlab(61.37% 16.34 -21.73)
LCHlch(61.37% 27.19 306.93)

What #A38BBB 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 #A38BBB, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Heather#9E7BB5ΔE 8.43Lavender Purple#967BB6ΔE 8.51Glossy Grape#AB92B3ΔE 8.64Light Pastel Purple#B19CD9ΔE 9.32African Violet#B284BEΔE 9.62Purple Mountain Majesty#9678B6ΔE 10.44

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

#A38BBB Channel Values

How #A38BBB breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 163 · G 139 · B 1878-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 270° · S 26% · L 64%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 270° · S 26% · V 73%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 13% · M 26% · Y 0% · K 27%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance3.01:1 vs white · 6.97:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #A38BBB 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 text3.01:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text6.97:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #A38BBB in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #A38BBB

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #A38BBB; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#A38BBB
Complementary
#A3BB8B
Analogous
#8B8BBB
Analogous
#BB8BBB
Triadic
#BBA38B
Triadic
#8BBBA3
Split comp.
#BBBB8B
Split comp.
#8BBB8B

Tints & Shades of #A38BBB

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

#B09BC5
#BDABCE
#C9BCD7
#D4C8DF
#E0D8E8
#EDE9F2

Shades

#8C6EAA
#785997
#61487A
#4C3960
#362843
#21192A

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #A38BBB.

How #A38BBB 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#A38BBB
Protanopia#8F8FBB
Protanomaly#988EBB
Deuteranopia#9393BA
Deuteranomaly#9A90BB
Tritanopia#9D9292
Tritanomaly#9F8FA4
Achromatopsia#959595

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #A38BBB in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-a38bbb: #A38BBB;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #A38BBB;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-a38bbb': '#A38BBB' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.639, green: 0.545, blue: 0.733)
Android XML<color name="color_a38bbb">#A38BBB</color>
SVG fillfill="#A38BBB"

More Purple Colors

#A38BBB sits in the purple family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

150024fdf8ff170b22fdf4ff1b0d35faf5ff1d0731fae8ff1e0033f6cfff20002ef3e8ff3000524020605414906600cc7008e78806ce9900cca11fffb19cd9c27affcebeefe0b2eb

#A38BBB Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #A38BBB?

#A38BBB is a light purple — rgb(163, 139, 187) in RGB and hsl(270, 26%, 64%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Heather (#9E7BB5), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 8.43.

What is the RGB value of #A38BBB?

#A38BBB is rgb(163, 139, 187) — red 163, green 139, and blue 187 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #A38BBB?

#A38BBB converts to approximately cmyk(13%, 26%, 0%, 27%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #A38BBB be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #A38BBB scores 3.01:1 against white and 6.97:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #A38BBB as a CSS color keyword?

No. #A38BBB 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 plum (#DDA0DD) at a CIE76 distance of 18.65, which is visibly different.

Open #A38BBB in a Tool

Hex to RGBHex to HSLHex to CMYKHex to OKLCHHex to PantoneBuild a paletteMake a gradient

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