Exploring the Color #9E8AC3

#9E8AC3 sits at 261° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 32% saturation and 65% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, light tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 158, 138, 195 produces a 6.88:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #9E8AC3 is a distant relative of CSS rosy brown — about 60 units away from #BC8F8F. 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