Exploring the Color #8B5EB1

#8B5EB1 sits at 273° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 35% saturation and 53% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, balanced tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 139, 94, 177 produces a 4.85:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #8B5EB1 is a clear variant of CSS slate blue — about 43 units away from #6A5ACD. Designers reach for violet hues at this saturation when the brief calls for a conversational, mid-energy register, and at this lightness when they want a present, comfortable mid-canvas voice. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades