#B38BCB Color

#B38BCB is rgb(179, 139, 203) in RGB, hsl(278, 38%, 67%) in HSL, and about cmyk(12%, 32%, 0%, 20%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is African Violet (#B284BE), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 4.7. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#B38BCB

HEX#B38BCB

RGBrgb(179, 139, 203)

HSLhsl(278, 38%, 67%)

HSVhsv(278, 32%, 80%)

CMYKcmyk(12%, 32%, 0%, 20%)

OKLCHoklch(69.7% 0.101 312.3)

LABlab(63.47% 24.48 -27.32)

LCHlch(63.47% 36.68 311.86)

What #B38BCB 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 #B38BCB, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

African Violet#B284BEΔE 4.7 Heather#9E7BB5ΔE 7.37 Wisteria#C9A0DCΔE 8.25 Light Pastel Purple#B19CD9ΔE 8.64 Lavender Purple#967BB6ΔE 8.98 Purple Mountain Majesty#9678B6ΔE 8.98

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

#B38BCB Channel Values

How #B38BCB 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 179 · G 139 · B 203	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 278° · S 38% · L 67%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 278° · S 32% · V 80%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 12% · M 32% · Y 0% · K 20%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	2.81:1 vs white · 7.47:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #B38BCB 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 text2.81:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text7.47:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #B38BCB in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #B38BCB

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #B38BCB; 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 #B38BCB

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 #B38BCB.

How #B38BCB 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#B38BCB

Protanopia#9393CB

Protanomaly#A190CB

Deuteranopia#9A9ACA

Deuteranomaly#A494CB

Tritanopia#AB9595

Tritanomaly#AE91AD

Achromatopsia#9A9A9A

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #B38BCB in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-b38bcb: #B38BCB;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #B38BCB;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-b38bcb': '#B38BCB' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.702, green: 0.545, blue: 0.796)

Android XML<color name="color_b38bcb">#B38BCB</color>

SVG fillfill="#B38BCB"

More Purple Colors

#B38BCB 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

#B38BCB Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #B38BCB?

#B38BCB is a light purple — rgb(179, 139, 203) in RGB and hsl(278, 38%, 67%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is African Violet (#B284BE), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 4.7.

What is the RGB value of #B38BCB?

#B38BCB is rgb(179, 139, 203) — red 179, green 139, and blue 203 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #B38BCB?

#B38BCB converts to approximately cmyk(12%, 32%, 0%, 20%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #B38BCB be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #B38BCB scores 2.81:1 against white and 7.47:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #B38BCB as a CSS color keyword?

No. #B38BCB 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 12.87, which is visibly different.

Open #B38BCB 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.