How to use the color lilac in your designs.
Learn what makes this soft shade of purple unique, and how to integrate lilac into your own designs, posters, and illustrations.
Whether you’re creating logos and icons or poster art and illustrations, color is a powerful design tool. Every color has a meaning, which can evoke emotions, attract attention, and influence thoughts and opinions. Let’s learn more about lilac, and how you can use this color effectively in your designs.
The meaning of lilac.
A soft and gentle color, lilac symbolizes friendliness, innocence, and youthfulness. As you may have guessed, the color gets its name from the flower. Since lilacs bloom in the spring, the color can also represent new beginnings or romantic courtship. In addition, lilac has a strong connection to femininity.
- HEX #C8A2C8
- RGB 200, 162, 200
Hue variations of lilac.
Because lilac gets its name from the flower, it’s often confused with the color of another flower, lavender (#E6E6FA), but the colors are noticeably different. All varieties of purple are made with some combination of red and blue, but the pink tones in lilac put it toward the warm side of the color wheel while the blue tones of lavender make it a much cooler color. Other hues that are similar to lilac include mauve (#E0B0FF), violet (#8F00FF), purple (#A020F0), periwinkle (#CCCCFF), and magenta (#FF00FF).
Colors that complement lilac.
For a calm and uplifting design, try pairing lilac with analogous shades of purple like pewter, as well as soft colors like rosewater or rose quartz and ivory or cream. When you want a brighter and bolder palette, go for contrast by pairing it with colors such as orange, yellow, olive green, and gray. Discover even more ways to create visual harmony in your designs.
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