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Knightly Zǐsè

#9d48db
Notes

Knightly Zǐsè (#9D48DB) 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 (275°, 67%, 57%) 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
#9d48db
RGB
rgb(157, 72, 219)
HSL
hsl(275, 67%, 57%)
HWB
hwb(275 28% 14%)
OKLCH
oklch(57.9% 0.217 307.4)
HSV
hsv(275, 67%, 86%)
LAB
lab(48.16% 60.09 -60.96)
LCH
lch(48.16% 85.60 314.59)
CMYK
cmyk(28%, 67%, 0%, 14%)

Etymology

Knightly
adjective

Old English cniht, young man / knight — adjectival suffix -ly. As a color modifier, knightly implies a saturated-and-chivalrous-and-medieval quality, the deep-rich color of medieval-English-and-French knight-and-squire armorial-bearings-and-livery tradition. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to gallant and cavalier.

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

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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.

#9d48db
Original
#006fdf
Protanopia
#2573d8
Deuteranopia
#93688c
Tritanopia
#656565
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
4.79:1
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
4.38:1

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