Plum Color Codes
Plum is a light, muted purple with the hex code #DDA0DD, RGB values of 221, 160, 221 and an HSL value of hsl(300, 47%, 75%).
| HEX | #DDA0DD |
|---|---|
| RGB | 221, 160, 221 |
| HSL | hsl(300, 47%, 75%) |
| HSV | 300°, 28%, 87% |
| CMYK | 0%, 28%, 0%, 13% |
| LAB | 73.37, 32.53, -21.99 |
| CIELCHuv | 73.37, 50.06, 307.72° |
- Nearest Pantone
- PMS 251 C ΔE 3.9 · approximate
- Nearest CSS name
-
plumΔE 0.0
Source CSS Color Module Level 4 keyword 'Plum'
Plum Color Hex Code
The Plum color hex code is #DDA0DD. Those six digits are three pairs, DD for red, A0 for green and DD for blue, which is the same triplet a browser reads from the CSS value below.
#DDA0DD
Plum Color RGB Code
The Plum RGB code is rgb(221, 160, 221). Red carries the most light at 221 of 255, which is what puts this color where it sits on the wheel.
rgb(221, 160, 221)
Plum Color HSV Code
The Plum HSV code is 300°, 28%, 87%. Read it as a hue of 300 degrees, 28% saturation and 87% value, which is the form most color pickers use because moving one number changes one thing.
300°, 28%, 87%
Plum Color CIELChuv Code
The Plum CIELCHuv code is 73.37, 50.06, 307.72°. Unlike hex or RGB this one is perceptual: lightness 73 means light to the eye rather than to the screen, and chroma 50 is how far it sits from grey.
73.37, 50.06, 307.72°
Tonal scale
What are Plum Color Palettes?
A shade mixes toward black, a tint toward white, a tone toward grey. Every step keeps the hue and is copy-ready.
Shades, toward black
Tints, toward white
Tones, toward grey
Palettes
What are Plum Color Palette Codes?
Each of these is a hue rotation from #DDA0DD. They are generated, not curated, so they are exact.
Complementary
Half a turn away is #A0DDA0, a light, muted green. This is the widest separation the wheel offers, and the reason complementary pairs are the default for anything that must stand out. Neither is especially saturated, so this pairing stays calm enough for large areas of both.
Analogous
Either side sit #BFA0DD and #DDA0BF, 30 degrees out. Low tension by construction: useful when you need several related tones that still feel like one choice.
Triadic
#DDDDA0 and #A0DDDD complete an even 120 degree split. Three fully independent hues, so one has to lead: keep this base dominant and let the other two appear in small quantities.
Split-complementary
Instead of the direct complement, this takes the two hues either side of it: #BFDDA0 and #A0DDBF. Almost the same contrast, without the edge shimmer a true complementary pair produces at high saturation.
Tetradic
Two complementary pairs forming a rectangle: this base with #A0DDA0, and #DDBFA0 with #A0BFDD. The richest of the five and the hardest to balance, so treat the darkest of the four as the lead and hold the other three well back.
Accessibility
Contrast checker: is Plum accessible?
Measured against white and against black, with a separate verdict for each element type. Small text, large text and UI components have different thresholds, so one pass or fail for the whole color would be wrong roughly a third of the time.
White background
2.07:12.07
contrast ratio on white background
| Element | AA | AAA |
|---|---|---|
| Small text needs 4.5:1 / 7:1 | Fails | Fails |
| Large text needs 3:1 / 4.5:1 | Fails | Fails |
| UI component needs 3:1 | Fails | n/a |
Black background
10.15:110.15
contrast ratio on black background
| Element | AA | AAA |
|---|---|---|
| Small text needs 4.5:1 / 7:1 | Passes | Passes |
| Large text needs 3:1 / 4.5:1 | Passes | Passes |
| UI component needs 3:1 | Passes | n/a |
At 2.07:1 against white, Plum is a fill color rather than a text color. Use it for surfaces, borders and large display type, and set the copy in ink. Text placed on it should be black, which gives 10.15:1.
Color vision
How Plum looks with color blindness
Around 300 million people see color differently from the way it is specified. Each card shows the actual color beside how it appears, and how common that form of vision is.
Protanopia
About 1% of men#C6C5D0
Plum changes substantially here. ΔE 35.0
No working red cones. Reds darken sharply and drift toward the same muddy olive as green.
Deuteranopia
About 1% of men#C9CDCD
Plum changes substantially here. ΔE 41.1
No working green cones. With the milder deuteranomaly at nearer 6% of men, this is by far the most common form, and the one worth designing around.
Tritanopia
About 1 in 10,000#DAC6C3
Plum changes substantially here. ΔE 37.7
No working blue cones. Blues shift toward green and yellows toward pink. Rare, and unlike the others it is not sex-linked, so it affects men and women equally.
Achromatopsia
About 1 in 30,000#B4B4B4
Plum changes substantially here. ΔE 39.3
No color vision at all. Also a fair proxy for how the color survives a greyscale print or a failing screen.
To a deuteranope, the most common form, Plum reads as #C9CDCD. That is a shift of ΔE 41.1, so it is a different color to roughly one man in sixteen. The widest shift is under deuteranopia, at ΔE 41.1. The rule this leads to needs no simulator: never let color be the only thing carrying a message. Add a label, an icon, or a clear difference in lightness, and the problem disappears for everyone.
Snippets
Using Plum in code
:root {
--plum: #DDA0DD;
}
.example {
color: var(--plum);
}// tailwind.config.js
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'plum': '#DDA0DD',
},
},
}// SwiftUI takes 0–1 components, not 0–255.
let plum = Color(
red: 0.867,
green: 0.627,
blue: 0.867
)<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="plum">#DDA0DD</color>// Flutter wants ARGB: FF for full opacity, then the hex.
const plum = Color(0xFFDDA0DD);