Exploring the Color #8E81A8

#8E81A8 sits at 260° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 18% saturation and 58% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, light tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 142, 129, 168 produces a 5.86:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #8E81A8 is a clear variant of CSS gray — about 42 units away from #808080. Designers reach for violet hues at this saturation when the brief calls for restraint and atmosphere, 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