colors
Back to gallery

Sovereign Zǐsè

#642c7d
Notes

Sovereign Zǐsè (#642C7D) is a deep violet with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (281°, 48%, 33%) 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 green. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#642c7d
RGB
rgb(100, 44, 125)
HSL
hsl(281, 48%, 33%)
HWB
hwb(281 17% 51%)
OKLCH
oklch(40.8% 0.138 313.9)
HSV
hsv(281, 65%, 49%)
LAB
lab(29.39% 39.26 -35.50)
LCH
lch(29.39% 52.93 317.88)
CMYK
cmyk(20%, 65%, 0%, 51%)

Etymology

Sovereign
adjective

Old French soverain, supreme — derived from Latin super (above). As a color modifier, sovereign implies a saturated-and-royal-supremacy quality where the hue carries imperial-ruling-class register. Sits at the bold-and-imperial end of the grid, parallel to regal and imperial in tone.

Zǐsè
noun

Chinese 紫色, deep purple color — the formal color name for imperial purple in Chinese color terminology, distinguished from the broader (purple). Zǐsè color refers to a Qing-dynasty qipao dress in formal court-purple silk: a saturated, slightly cool deep violet with the silk luster of multi-bath fermentation-and-mineral dye on tussah silk. Slightly warmer than Japanese murasaki.

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 explore

Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

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.

#642c7d
Original
#0d427f
Protanopia
#29477b
Deuteranopia
#623b50
Tritanopia
#3e3e3e
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

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.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon White
9.55:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon Black
2.20:1

Related Colors

Canvas