Somber Phlox
Somber Phlox (#261554) is a deep indigo with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (256°, 60%, 21%) places it in the balanced band at a dark lightness. It works well as a headline, icon, or deep background in an otherwise light layout, pairing cleanly with cream, bone, and warm neutrals. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary lime. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.
Etymology
From the French sombre, dark, gloomy — itself from the Latin sub umbra, under shadow. Used as a color word since the eighteenth century to imply restrained darkness — the deep grays and blue-blacks of mourning dress and Victorian parlor decoration. Sits in the deep-and-quiet end of the grid, closer to brooding than to charred.
The genus Phlox — flame in Greek, for the brightness of its flower colors. P. subulata is the creeping moss phlox of rock gardens; P. paniculata is the tall summer-border phlox in cottage gardens. The color refers to a fresh blue-violet phlox cluster: a saturated, slightly violet-shifted blue-purple with the matte finish of densely packed five-petaled flowers. Cooler than wisteria, warmer than veronica.
Closest matches
The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.
Variations
Click any swatch to exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.
The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.