Inspiration in the color violet.
Learn the history and meaning of the color violet, a penetrating purple like the color of dreams.
Get inspired with violet design templates.
The color violet has a mystical quality about it and can be used to layer on new perspectives.
How to use the color violet.
Brands using the color violet.
Violet versus purple.
Tap into the psychology of violet.
Combine violet with other colors.
Information about violet color.
The violet HEX code picker is #8F00FF. This is the intense purple that stands alone at the end of the spectrum of visible light.
The color violet can be achieved in a RGB space with 143 red, 0 green, and 255 blue. Violet color can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 65% cyan, 79% magenta, 0% yellow, and 0% black.
What is the meaning of the color violet?
Violet color takes its name from the brilliant purple flower. Unlike other flower-inspired names like wisteria, lilac, and lavender, violet brings the color to mind before the flower. With a history of scientific and cultural importance, the color violet is thought-provoking. Violet color is symbolic of imagination and dreams. With violet, we push boundaries.
The color violet sits between ultraviolet and blue in the spectrum of visible light. Violet is a bold purple emblematic of artistic daring.
The history of the color violet.
Violet color was one of the earliest pigments used by humans.
The first pigments used by humans in prehistoric cave paintings were black and white. Relatively soon after, violet color pigments were used. Violet could be made by grinding mineral manganese or hematite and then mixing it with water or animal fat. Paintings where this pigment was used have been found in France and date back about 25,000 years.
Other avenues to the color purple.
The most sought-after purple dye in the ancient world was Tyrian purple. It was made from the secretion of a sea snail native to the Mediterranean. In Central America, the Mayans and Aztecs used a different snail to make a similar violet dye. Shades of the color violet were made in Ancient Greece and Israel with a moss called orcein. This moss regained popularity in the 19th century when violet became the color of the final stage of mourning.
Sir Isaac Newton secured violet’s place on the spectrum of visible light.
The color violet became a scientific mainstay in 1672 when Sir Isaac Newton labeled it one of the six colors of the spectrum of visible light. Violet had already been part of the English vernacular dating back to around 1300 from the Old French violete, first recorded as the name of the flower.Violet in the sense of the color dates back to the later part of the same century. Its use became much greater after Newton’s discovery.
The color violet across different cultures.
Manganese-based violet color is still used today.
The original violet color pigment was made by grinding the mineral manganese. This violet dye is still used today by a group of indigenous Australians called the Aranda people. In certain rituals, the Aranda apply the color violet to their skin with this ancient dye. Violet color is also used by the Hopi people of Arizona on ritual objects said to carry the color violet.
The color violet has had different levels of popularity around the world.
Violet color enjoyed a certain status because of its cost to produce in antiquity. Its meaning, however, has varied around the world. In China, violet in art is said to represent a unity that transcends Yin and Yang. The color violet in Hinduism and Buddhism is associated with the Crown Chakra. In Japan, the Heian period (794 — 1185) enjoyed a surge in the popularity of the color violet when a new dye was made from the alkanet plant.
Violet traveled from royalty to scholars to religion.
Because violet was costly to make, it was once the color of royalty. By the Middle Ages, violet color was worn less by kings and instead was taken on by professors of Europe’s new universities. During the Renaissance, violet color came to play a greater role in Christianity. The Virgin Mary was often depicted in violet robes, and violet color was increasingly used in clergy uniforms.