purplishblue

Purplish blue is a descriptive term used for a color that lies on the boundary between blue and purple. It is not a single, universally defined shade but a family of hues that are blue-dominant with a noticeable yet not overpowering purple component. Perception of the color can vary with lighting and context, making it a flexible label in design and art.

In digital color spaces, purplish blues tend to occupy the blue-violet region. In the HSL/HSV models, these hues generally fall around 260–290 degrees, with relatively high saturation and mid-range lightness. Common examples that illustrate this range in web colors include SlateBlue (#6A5ACD), MediumSlateBlue (#7B68EE), and DarkSlateBlue (#483D8B). These colors demonstrate the characteristic blend of blue depth with a purple tint, while not representing a single fixed shade.

In pigment and printing, purplish blue can be produced by combining blue pigments with a small amount of red or magenta to introduce a violet tint. In CMYK printing, achieving the effect involves adjusting cyan and magenta levels (and black, as needed) to balance blue and purple tones and control lightness.

Perception of purplish blue is influenced by context, including adjacent colors and ambient light. Deeper purplish blues tend to read as formal or sophisticated, while lighter variants can feel calm or creative. The term is widely used in art, fashion, interior design, and branding as a descriptive label rather than a fixed standard, with several closely related terms such as blue-violet or indigo reflecting adjacent points on the spectrum.