Skip to content

Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Seeing colourOvernight News Digest: Science Saturday, 10/3/26 Seeing colourTony Chess Obituary Seeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision Model Craft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessories Pigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art form FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 1/11 FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 2/11 FestivalsPhotos of the week Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Seeing colourOvernight News Digest: Science Saturday, 10/3/26 Seeing colourTony Chess Obituary Seeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision Model Craft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessories Pigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art form FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 1/11 FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 2/11 FestivalsPhotos of the week

Rang

The colour lab

Close to Purple mountain majesty

What is this colour called?

The closest names in the swatch book, nearest first. The number is the distance in CIE Lab space: under 2 is hard to tell apart by eye.

Purple mountain majesty#9678B611.6 Middle blue purple#8B72BE12.2 Maximum blue purple#ACACE613.1 African violet#B284BE15.6 Blue bell#A2A2D015.8 Wisteria#C9A0DC16.1 Cornflower blue#6495ED16.3 cornflowerblue#6495ED16.3 Violet-blue (Crayola)#766EC817.1 Glaucous#6082B618.5 Fuji-iro藤色#89729E18.6 Little boy blue#6CA0DC18.9

Harmonies

ComplementaryIts opposite on the wheel

#958FD6 #D0D68F

AnalogousIts neighbours

#958FD6 #8FADD6 #B88FD6

TriadicThree evenly spaced

#958FD6 #D6958F #8FD695

Split complementaryEither side of its opposite

#958FD6 #D6B88F #ADD68F

TintsLighter

#958FD6 #C7C3E9 #F1F0F9 #F1F1F9

ShadesDarker

#958FD6 #6B63C5 #483FAB #352F7F

Contrast with text

White text 2.93:1fails

Black text 7.18:1passes AAA

Ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula. 4.5:1 is the usual minimum for body text.

Through colour-blind eyes

Typical vision

Protanopia

Deuteranopia

Tritanopia

No colour

A simulation. Real colour vision varies from person to person.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.