Utilitarian Cassis
Utilitarian Cassis (#F1BDFB) is a soft violet with a pastel character. It reads calm and airy, with enough chroma to feel intentional rather than washed out. Its HSL profile (290°, 89%, 86%) places it in the highly saturated band at a light 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.
Etymology
Latin ūtilitās, usefulness — adjectival suffix -ian. As a color modifier, utilitarian implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-stripped-down quality, the crisp color of Shaker-and-Quaker anti-ornamental functional-and-no-frills craft tradition. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to functional and workmanlike in usage.
French for blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) — the deep-violet drupe used in Burgundian Crème de Cassis liqueur and Kir aperitif. Cassis color refers to a freshly macerated Ribes nigrum drupe-pulp in a Burgundian Crème de Cassis base: a saturated, slightly cool deep violet with the matte finish of anthocyanin-rich blackcurrant juice. Slightly warmer than Cabernet-style table wine.
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 exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
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.
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.