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Substantial Vega violet

#a90c73
Notes

Substantial Vega violet (#A90C73) is a true magenta 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 (321°, 87%, 35%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. 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
#a90c73
RGB
rgb(169, 12, 115)
HSL
hsl(321, 87%, 35%)
HWB
hwb(321 5% 34%)
OKLCH
oklch(49.0% 0.200 348.4)
HSV
hsv(321, 93%, 66%)
LAB
lab(37.73% 63.75 -15.27)
LCH
lch(37.73% 65.55 346.53)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 93%, 32%, 34%)

Etymology

Substantial
adjective

Latin substantia, substance — adjectival suffix -al, derived from sub-stāre (to stand under). As a color modifier, substantial implies a saturated-and-weighty-and-material quality where the hue carries visual mass and presence. Sits at the bold-and-weighty end of the grid, parallel to weighty and hefty in usage.

Vega
modifier

Arabic al-nasr-al-wāqi', the-falling-eagle. As a color modifier, vega implies a brilliant-blue-white-and-summer-zenith quality, the visual register of Lyra-constellation-and-northern-summer-Vega hand-brilliant-blue-white-and-summer-zenith Lyra-constellation-and-northern-summer-and-Bortle-1-sky vega-and-brilliant-blue-white-and-summer-zenith surfaces under Lyra-constellation-and-northern-summer-and-Bortle-1-sky July-and-August-northern-zenith deep-sky-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to deneb and altair 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

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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.

#a90c73
Original
#304875
Protanopia
#5d6270
Deuteranopia
#b60043
Tritanopia
#353535
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
7.03:1
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
2.99:1

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