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Mauve Silk Clear
Color detail

Mauve Silk Clear

Pink · Hue 305
Metrics
S 54% · L 68%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white2.6:1Failon black8:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Mauve Silk Clear (#D981D2) belongs to the pink family — hue 305°, 54% saturation, 68% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-mauve-silk-clear: #D981D2;
  --colorarchive-mauve-silk-clear-hsl: hsl(305, 54%, 68%);
  --colorarchive-mauve-silk-clear-rgb: rgb(217, 129, 210);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

SweetNurturingPlayful
Common in

Beauty · Children's Fashion · Dessert Brands

Pairs well with

Mint green for freshness, soft gold for warmth, light gray for sophistication

Design tip

Use for friendly, approachable interfaces. Millennial pink became a design movement — it still works for brands targeting warmth.

Cultural context ▶

Soft pink represents nurturing, innocence, and sweetness. Modern brands have reclaimed it as a gender-neutral color of kindness.

Color Origins

Pink family

From cheap cosmetic to feminist reclamation to gender-neutral comeback.

Heritage

Pink, as a named color, is recent in English (only since the late 17th century, originally referring to the Dianthus flower). The hue itself is much older — Renaissance painters mixed it for flesh tones, and by the late 18th century it was a fashionable color across Europe. Many of pink's modern associations, though, are a 20th-century construction.

Across cultures

Pink-as-girl only became firmly established in the US in the 1940s; before then some advice even suggested pink for boys ('a more decided and stronger color') and blue for girls, though how common that was is disputed. In Japanese culture, sakura pink carries seasonal and nostalgic weight. In Mexico, hot pink (rosa mexicano) is considered part of the national identity; in India, pink has become a popular bridal choice alongside traditional red. The Pink Triangle was reclaimed from a Nazi badge into a 1970s LGBTQ+ symbol.

In the wild

T-Mobile's magenta is a hard-trademarked, hard-defended brand color. Barbie pink (Pantone 219 C) became its own cultural force in 2023. Owens Corning trademarked the color of its insulation. Pepto-Bismol's pink is instantly recognizable, though nobody is sure why it was first chosen. Wes Anderson made heritage pinks feel deeply specific in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Millennial Pink (named in 2016) was a trend that recast pink as gender-neutral, sophisticated, and salable to adults.

How it reads

Pink reads softer and warmer than red; the white in it takes the edge off red's intensity. Light pinks (blush, dusty rose) read as romantic, gentle, premium-feminine. Hot pinks read as energetic, queer-coded, or counterculture. Salmon and coral pinks read as healthy, beachy, or hospitality-friendly. Pink is having a sustained moment in adult-targeted brand design (skincare, DTC, beverage) now that it is no longer read as exclusively a children's color.

This particular tone

A confident mid-tone — this is the workhorse register of the hue, and the band where many brand colors live.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where many identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: The clear, mid-saturation register is a common identity sweet spot — saturated enough to register as a 'real' color, restrained enough not to fight typography or photography placed over it.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #D981D2.

  • Bilibili 哔哩哔哩primary
    Bilibili Pink · #FB7299
    →
  • PlayStationaccent
    Square Purple · #A363D9
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Orange · #D97757
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #D981D2.

  • ScandinaviaFaded Rose
    #D3A6A0 · Vintage Swedish wallpaper
    →
  • MexicoBarragán Earth Pink
    #D77176 · Casa Gilardi, Mexico City (1976)
    →
  • IcelandMidnight Sun Pink
    #F2AEB5 · Horizon light, June
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using pink and color in design.

Color HistoryMillennial Pink: What It Is, Where It Came From, and Why It Won't Go AwayColor History1950s Pastel Color Palettes: Mid-Century Mint, Coral Pink & Butter YellowColor PsychologyColor Psychology in Product Design: Evidence-Based Principles for UI and Brand

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Mauve Bloom Clear
#E3A1DD · hsl(305, 54%, 76%)
Darker companion
Mauve Tone Clear
#D062C7 · hsl(305, 54%, 60%)
Complementary counterpoint
Emerald Silk Clear
#81D981 · hsl(120, 54%, 68%)
Analogous lead
Blush Silk Clear
#D981AD · hsl(330, 54%, 68%)
Analogous echo
Mulberry Silk Clear
#BC81D9 · hsl(280, 54%, 68%)
Triadic +120°
Citrine Silk Clear
#D9D981 · hsl(60, 54%, 68%)
Triadic +240°
Aqua Silk Clear
#81D9D9 · hsl(180, 54%, 68%)
Split-comp +150°
Lime Silk Clear
#ADD981 · hsl(90, 54%, 68%)
Split-comp +210°
Jade Silk Clear
#81D9AD · hsl(150, 54%, 68%)
Export preview
Base: Mauve Silk Clear #D981D2
Lighter companion: Mauve Bloom Clear #E3A1DD
Darker companion: Mauve Tone Clear #D062C7
Complementary counterpoint: Emerald Silk Clear #81D981
Analogous lead: Blush Silk Clear #D981AD
Analogous echo: Mulberry Silk Clear #BC81D9
Triadic +120°: Citrine Silk Clear #D9D981
Triadic +240°: Aqua Silk Clear #81D9D9
Split-comp +150°: Lime Silk Clear #ADD981
Split-comp +210°: Jade Silk Clear #81D9AD

Compare

See how Mauve Silk Clear compares side by side with related colors.

vsMauve Bloom ClearvsMauve Tone ClearvsEmerald Silk ClearvsBlush Silk ClearvsMulberry Silk ClearvsCitrine Silk Clear

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Fuchsia Silk Clear
#D981D9 · hsl(300, 54%, 68%)
Nearby match
Peony Silk Clear
#D981CB · hsl(310, 54%, 68%)
Nearby match
Mauve Tone Clear
#D062C7 · hsl(305, 54%, 60%)
Nearby match
Mauve Bloom Clear
#E3A1DD · hsl(305, 54%, 76%)
Nearby match
Mauve Silk Soft
#C992C5 · hsl(305, 34%, 68%)
Nearby match
Mauve Silk Vivid
#EA71E0 · hsl(305, 74%, 68%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA7:1
Indigo Ink Pure
#030E45
AAA7:1
Iris Ink Clear
#101037
AAA7.2:1
Iris Ink Vivid
#09093E
AAA7.2:1
Iris Ink Bright
#060642
AAA7.3:1
Iris Ink Pure
#030345
AAA7.1:1
Amethyst Ink Vivid
#0E093E

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#BEC4BE
Protanopia
#BAB9C2
Tritanopia
#D6B5B2
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Mauve Silk Faint#B6A5B4 · hsl(305, 10%, 68%)Mauve Silk Muted#BC9FBA · hsl(305, 18%, 68%)Mauve Silk Dust#C398BF · hsl(305, 26%, 68%)Mauve Silk Soft#C992C5 · hsl(305, 34%, 68%)Mauve Silk Clear#D981D2 · hsl(305, 54%, 68%)Mauve Silk Vivid#EA71E0 · hsl(305, 74%, 68%)Mauve Silk Bright#F269E7 · hsl(305, 84%, 68%)Mauve Silk Pure#F862EC · hsl(305, 92%, 68%)
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