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Sinewy Horn Violet

#ac145c
Notes

Sinewy Horn Violet (#AC145C) 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 (332°, 79%, 38%) 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 teal. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#ac145c
RGB
rgb(172, 20, 92)
HSL
hsl(332, 79%, 38%)
HWB
hwb(332 8% 33%)
OKLCH
oklch(49.0% 0.188 359.9)
HSV
hsv(332, 88%, 67%)
LAB
lab(37.93% 60.92 -0.32)
LCH
lch(37.93% 60.92 359.70)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 88%, 47%, 33%)

Etymology

Sinewy
adjective

Old English sinu, sinew — adjectival suffix -y. As a color modifier, sinewy implies a saturated-and-muscular-and-firm quality where the hue carries the lean-and-strong visual presence of a Roman-statue athletic figure. Sits at the bold-and-firm end of the grid, parallel to stalwart and rugged in usage.

Horn
modifier

Old English horn, horn. As a color modifier, horn implies a translucent-keratin quality, the visual register of cattle-horn-and-deer-antler hand-shaped-and-polished translucent-keratin button-and-comb-and-knife-handle horn-and-antler surfaces under translucent-horn-and-antler hand-polished light. Sits at the modifier-and-texture end of the grid, parallel to bone and pith 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.

#ac145c
Original
#3e475d
Protanopia
#666359
Deuteranopia
#bb0038
Tritanopia
#3a3a3a
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
6.98:1
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
3.01:1

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