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Composed Sparta violet

#9a2be0
Notes

Composed Sparta violet (#9A2BE0) is a true indigo with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (277°, 74%, 52%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. 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.

HEX
#9a2be0
RGB
rgb(154, 43, 224)
HSL
hsl(277, 74%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(277 17% 12%)
OKLCH
oklch(55.2% 0.252 307.4)
P3
color(display-p3 0.5565 0.2031 0.8467)
HSV
hsv(277, 81%, 88%)
LAB
lab(44.20% 71.77 -70.24)
LCH
lch(44.20% 100.42 315.62)
CMYK
cmyk(31%, 81%, 0%, 12%)

Etymology

Composed
adjective

The past participle of compose, to arrange together — used as a color modifier for hues that read as deliberate and balanced. Composed black, composed gray: the saturation is moderate, the hue is calmly positioned without aggression. Sits at the bold-and-quiet edge of the grid near settled and resolute.

Sparta
modifier

Greek Σπάρτη, Sparta. As a color modifier, sparta implies a Lacedaemonian-and-warrior-city-state quality, the visual register of Spartan-Lacedaemonian-City-State hand-built bronze-armor-and-crimson-tunic-and-stone-temple Doric-warrior-state surfaces under Lacedaemonian-Sparta-and-Eurotas-Valley Doric-warrior-state Greek-Peloponnese light. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to athens and roman in usage.

violet
noun

Viola odorata, the European sweet violet — small, fragrant, and the original meaning of the color name in English (the Violet of the rainbow). The color refers to a fresh sweet violet blossom in late winter: a saturated, slightly red-shifted deep blue-purple with the matte finish of small five-petaled flower. Cooler than amethyst, warmer than indigo, with the perfumed weight of a flower used in Roman garlands and Victorian eau de toilette.

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.

#9a2be0
Original
#0065e5
Protanopia
#0069dd
Deuteranopia
#8e5c88
Tritanopia
#505050
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).
AAon White
5.53:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AA Largeon Black
3.80:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##9A2BE0
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.5565 0.2031 0.8467)
P3 has visible headroomOKLCH chroma 0.252

This color is chromatic enough that authoring it as P3 native (instead of clamping to sRGB) gives a perceptibly more saturated render on wide-gamut displays — modern Macs, iPhones, iPads, and most recent OLED laptops.

Related Colors

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