Color #AAA0BA Color / Colour Code #AAA0BA
This page shows the hex color code for color #aaa0ba (#AAA0BA). The colour is a purple tone with 16% saturation and 68% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #AAA0BA against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#AAA0BA paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 233, 263, and 293 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 263, 23, and 143 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #AAA0BA
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 263 and saturation at 16%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 263 to 308 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 263 with its complement at 83 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #AAA0BA
Lightness variations at hue 263 and 16% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #AAA0BA
Design Use Cases for #AAA0BA
Muted Accent Color
With 16% saturation, #AAA0BA has a subtle, sophisticated quality. This level of desaturation works well for secondary buttons, inactive states, subtle borders, and backgrounds that need a hint of color without being distracting. Muted colors communicate restraint and professionalism.
Soft Accent & Highlight
With 68% lightness, #AAA0BA has a softer, more approachable quality. It works well for hover states, subtle highlights, progress indicators, and secondary UI elements. This lightness range is particularly effective for tag backgrounds and status indicators.
Creativity & Premium Positioning
#AAA0BA falls in the purple spectrum (hue 263). Purple communicates creativity, wisdom, and luxury. It is effective for premium product highlights, creative portfolio accents, meditation app interfaces, and rewards program branding. Purple occupies a unique space between the energy of red and the calm of blue.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #AAA0BA (hue 263) to its complement at hue 83. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 293. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #aaa0ba, #b0baa0);
CSS Code for #AAA0BA
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #AAA0BA based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #AAA0BA across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #AAA0BA (#AAA0BA)
#AAA0BA is a purple color (colour) with RGB channel values of 170 red, 160 green, and 186 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 263 degrees with 16% saturation and 68% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #AAA0BA is 166/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This is a medium-brightness color that can work with either dark or light text depending on font weight and size. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 9% cyan, 14% magenta, 0% yellow, and 27% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #AAA0BA against white is 2.49:1 and against black is 8.45:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 8.45:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #B0BAA0 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #AAA0BA. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #A0A3BA and #B7A0BA, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #AAA0BA
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #AAA0BA?
- #AAA0BA is Color #AAA0BA, a purple color (colour) with RGB(170, 160, 186), HSL(263, 16%, 68%), and CMYK(9%, 14%, 0%, 27%). Its perceived brightness is 166/255.
- Is #AAA0BA accessible for text?
- Against white, #AAA0BA has a contrast ratio of 2.49:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 8.45:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #AAA0BA?
- The complementary colour is #B0BAA0 (hue 83). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #A0A3BA and #B7A0BA. The triadic palette adds #BAAAA0 and #A0BAAA for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #AAA0BA in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #aaa0ba; or rgb(170, 160, 186); or hsl(263, 16%, 68%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 263 16% 68%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.