Magenta #FF00FF

Magenta has an unusual place in color science. No single wavelength of light looks magenta; the eye sees it when red and blue light arrive together. That is why it never appears in a rainbow, even though it fills the gap between red and violet on the color wheel.

The name dates to 1859, when a new aniline dye was renamed after the Battle of Magenta in northern Italy. Today the most familiar magenta is the M in CMYK, one of the four process inks in color printing.

Culturally, magenta reads as unconventional, creative and a little loud. It lacks the long symbolic history of red or purple, so most of its meaning comes from modern uses in printing, technology and pop design.

Full magenta is very intense on screen, so most interfaces use it for small accents like a highlight, a tag or a single call to action. Black and dark text read well on it, and white text is weak except at large sizes.

It works in gradients with purple, blue or orange for social graphics and music artwork. If you want magenta as a brand color, test a slightly deeper or less saturated version for large areas. For print, choose a CMYK target, since screen magenta and ink magenta differ.