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Spectral Iconostasis

#b972ed
Notes

Spectral Iconostasis (#B972ED) is a true indigo with a cool character. It leans cool, sitting on the blue, green, and violet side of the wheel. Quiet and dependable, a fit for product UI and data visualization. Its HSL profile (275°, 77%, 69%) 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 lime. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#b972ed
RGB
rgb(185, 114, 237)
HSL
hsl(275, 77%, 69%)
HWB
hwb(275 45% 7%)
OKLCH
oklch(67.9% 0.185 308.9)
HSV
hsv(275, 52%, 93%)
LAB
lab(60.31% 49.83 -51.45)
LCH
lch(60.31% 71.62 314.09)
CMYK
cmyk(22%, 52%, 0%, 7%)

Etymology

Spectral
adjective

Latin spectrum, appearance — adjectival suffix -al. As a color modifier, spectral implies a saturated-and-rainbow-decomposed-and-pure quality, the bright color of Newton-prism sunlight-decomposed seven-color spectrum band. Sits at the bright-and-pure end of the grid, parallel to prismatic and pure in usage.

Iconostasis
noun

Russian and Greek Orthodox icon screen — the multi-tier wall of religious icons that separates the naos (nave) from the bema (sanctuary) in an Orthodox church, traditionally rendered in deep-violet-and-gold-leaf. Iconostasis color refers to a 14th-century Novgorod-school iconostasis royal-doors panel: a saturated, slightly cool deep violet with the matte finish of egg-tempera ultramarine-and-cinnabar on gilt gesso ground.

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.

#b972ed
Original
#4f8ef1
Protanopia
#6592ea
Deuteranopia
#b287a5
Tritanopia
#8a8a8a
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).
AA Largeon White
3.14:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
6.69:1

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