Indigo #4B0082

Indigo (#4B0082) is a very dark, saturated purple with an OKLCH hue of 302°, lightness 0.34 and chroma 0.179. It sits on the transitional side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as a grounding tone — suited to text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces.

Color values

HEX#4B0082
RGBrgb(75, 0, 130)
HSLhsl(275, 100%, 25%)
HSVhsv(275, 100%, 51%)
CMYKcmyk(42%, 100%, 0%, 49%)
CIE Lablab(20.5 51.7 -53.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.339 0.179 302)

How Indigo behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Indigo shifts subtly: leans toward magenta; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.4), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 12.95:1 and against black 1.62:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Indigo

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#ab8adc · #8760bd · #66359d · #4b0082 · #20003e · #04000f

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#3a4fa5 · #453097 · #4b0082 · #420053 · #33002d · #210011

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#dc90af · #9c74d4 · #b73276 · #773b56 · #4b0082 · #2c0050

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#b2d538 · #7e67a0 · #5a4e6e · #4b0082 · #260a42 · #0a0019

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#eff5e2 · #bcb3cc · #808477 · #544a64 · #4b0082 · #1f2414

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#f0f4e8 · #c7cbbe · #999e8f · #202512 · #020400 · #4b0082

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#d8dab4 · #d5a1cc · #2eac66 · #414c38 · #4b0082 · #000b35

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#dbd9b3 · #74c183 · #917d54 · #464c3d · #4b0082 · #05092e

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#ffeee1 · #f9a14d · #009786 · #005d52 · #4b0082 · #351900

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#ffedea · #ff9885 · #748e00 · #005a67 · #4b0082 · #1d2600

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#65369B · #805BB3 · #9D7FCB · #BBA3E3 · #DBC8FB

Shades

#400071 · #35005F · #2B004E · #20003E · #17002F

Muted

#461B73 · #422763 · #3E2F54

Using Indigo

As a deep tone it works for grounding elements — text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces — rather than open fields. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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