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blue · cool

#70b8df

a light, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Light Sky Blue

Token name suggestion: Meadow Harbour

RGB
112, 184, 223
HSL
201°, 63%, 66%
CMYK
50, 18, 0, 13
Luminance
0.4305

#70b8df is a light vivid blue, 201° on the wheel and 96/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.61:1). As text it scores 2.19:1 on white — use #267BAA instead. Nearest name is Light Sky Blue, nearest Tailwind family is sky.

hsl(201 63% 66%)rgb(112 184 223)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #70b8df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#70b8df
Hue
201°
blue
Saturation
63%
vivid
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4305
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
96/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.61:1
Closest name
Light Sky Blue
ΔE2000 6
Chroma
29.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.750
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
sky
500 · ΔE 8.3
Web-safe
#66CCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue201° of 360°
Saturation63%
Lightness66%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #70b8df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool96% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red8%
Green80%
Blue12%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#70b8df
HEX (8-digit)#70b8dfff
RGBrgb(112, 184, 223)
RGBArgba(112, 184, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(201, 63%, 66%)
HSV / HSBhsv(201, 50%, 87%)
HWBhwb(201 44% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(50%, 18%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(71.6 -12.0 -26.5)
LCHlch(71.6 29.1 245.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.750 0.092 233.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(37.14, 43.05, 76.15)
Decimal7387359
Display P3color(display-p3 0.439 0.722 0.875)
Web-safe#66CCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #70b8df;
background-color: #70b8df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #70b8df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#70b8df] bg-[#70b8df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #70b8df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.439, green: 0.722, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.439, green: 0.722, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#70B8DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF70B8DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF70B8DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 184, 112)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(112, 184, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(112, 184, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 112, 184, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.4392f, 0.7216f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{112,184,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #70b8df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #70b8df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#174C68, #D3E4EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #70b8df h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F8FB;
  --brand-100: #E8F2F7;
  --brand-200: #CBE3F0;
  --brand-300: #A3D1EA;
  --brand-400: #70b8df;
  --brand-500: #48A4D6;
  --brand-600: #2D91C8;
  --brand-700: #2579A7;
  --brand-800: #1E6185;
  --brand-900: #1A4861;
  --brand-950: #102D3D;
  --brand: #70b8df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F8FA;
  --brand-border: #C0DDED;
  --brand-hover: #53A9D8;
  --brand-pressed: #369BD2;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141F24;
    --brand-ink: #D3E4EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F4F8FB',
        100: '#E8F2F7',
        200: '#CBE3F0',
        300: '#A3D1EA',
        400: '#70b8df',
        500: '#48A4D6',
        600: '#2D91C8',
        700: '#2579A7',
        800: '#1E6185',
        900: '#1A4861',
        950: '#102D3D',
        DEFAULT: '#70b8df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F4F8FB,
  '100': #E8F2F7,
  '200': #CBE3F0,
  '300': #A3D1EA,
  '400': #70b8df,
  '500': #48A4D6,
  '600': #2D91C8,
  '700': #2579A7,
  '800': #1E6185,
  '900': #1A4861,
  '950': #102D3D,
);
$brand-base: #70b8df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F4F8FB", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E8F2F7", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#CBE3F0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#A3D1EA", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#70b8df", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#48A4D6", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#2D91C8", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#2579A7", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#1E6185", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#1A4861", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#102D3D", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #70b8df · 9.61:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.19:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #70b8df as text scores 2.19:1 on white and 9.61:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #174C68 at 4.23:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#267BAA · 4.67:1
AA on white−25% L
#267BAA
The quick fox
#1D5D80 · 7.17:1
AAA on white−35% L
#1D5D80
The quick fox
#70b8df · 9.61:1
AA on blackalready passes
#70b8df
The quick fox
#70b8df · 9.61:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#70b8df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #3A9DD3 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#70b8df on white: 2.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#70b8df on black: 9.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #70b8df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #70b8df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.19:1AaAa
Slate 502.09:1AaAa
Slate 1001.99:1AaAa
Slate 2001.77:1AaAa
Slate 3001.47:1AaAa
Slate 4001.17:1AaAa
Slate 5002.18:1AaAa
Slate 6003.47:1AaAa
Slate 7004.74:1AaAa
Slate 8006.69:1AaAa
Slate 9008.17:1AaAa
Black9.61:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A5B6E1
deuteranopia · #96AADE
tritanopia · #34C2C5

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #70b8df is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F4F8FB
#E8F2F7
#CBE3F0
#A3D1EA
#70b8df
#48A4D6
#2D91C8
#2579A7
#1E6185
#1A4861
#102D3D
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F4F8FBDarkest = 950 · #102D3DText step on white = 700
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.023 233.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.037 233.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.055 233.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.071 233.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.084 233.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.092 233.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.092 233.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.086 233.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.077 233.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.064 233.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.050 233.5);
}

Colors that work with #70b8df

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F4F8FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0DDED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B7F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#AA3022
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#174C68
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAF5FA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141F24
Dark-mode background
Hover#53A9D8
One step down in lightness
Pressed#369BD2
Two steps down
Disabled#D9E2E7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#79C3EA
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #70b8df

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #174C68
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #3A9DD3

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium-high
  • Weight34/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#DF9770
Analogous left#70DFCF
Analogous right#7081DF
Split-complement 1#DF7081
Split-complement 2#DFCF70
Triadic 1#DF70B8
Triadic 2#B8DF70
Tetradic#CF70DF
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°201°

#70b8df sits at 201°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red43.9%
Green72.2%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
112
0x70
G · 0–255
184
0xb8
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan49.8%
Magenta17.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 80%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#70b8df text on a black background

contrast 9.61:1

Card sample

#70b8df text on a white background

contrast 2.19:1

Card sample

#70b8df on grey

1.99:1

#70b8df on its own surface

2.05:1

#70b8df on its dark surface

7.68:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #70b8df;
Background color
Panel with #70b8df background
background-color: #70b8df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #70b8df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(112, 184, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(112, 184, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #70b8df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #70b8df, #7270DF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #70b8df, #8E70DF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #70b8df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #70b8df;
caret-color: #70b8df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #70b8df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EAF5FA;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #70b8df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#70b8df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #70b8df over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(112, 184, 223, 0.5)
rgb(112 184 223 / 50%)
#70b8df80
hsl(201 63% 66% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #70b8df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#70b8df1a#F1F8FC
20%#70b8df33#E2F1F9
40%#70b8df66#C6E3F2
60%#70b8df99#A9D4EC
80%#70b8dfcc#8DC6E5

Gradients from #70b8df

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #A2D1EA, #70b8df 45%, #174C68);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #70b8df, #6457D9);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #70b8df, #DF9770);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #BBDDF0 0%, #70b8df 45%, #174C68 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F8FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #9AE8D6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #898FE5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #174C68 0%, transparent 65%), #70b8df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #70b8df

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#70b8df in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyFinanceHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 9.61:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#70b8df, answered

What color is #70b8df?

#70b8df is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Sky Blue (ΔE2000 6). It sits at 201° on the hue wheel with 63% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #70b8df?

rgb(112, 184, 223) — 112 red, 184 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 43.9% / 72.2% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #70b8df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(201, 63%, 66%) and hsv(201, 50%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #70b8df a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4305 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 9.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #70b8df?

Black. It scores 9.61:1 against #70b8df, versus 2.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #70b8df accessible on a white background?

#70b8df on white scores 2.19:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #267BAA to reach 4.5:1, or #1D5D80 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #70b8df?

#DF9770 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF7081 and #DFCF70, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #70b8df?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DDED for borders, #4B7F9B for secondary text, #AA3022 as an accent and #174C68 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #70DFCF and #7081DF stays calm, while #DF9770 is the loudest partner.

What is #70b8df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(50%, 18%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #70b8df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 96 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #70DFDD; nudged cooler, #6EACE1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #70b8df?

The sky family — its 500 step is #0ea5e9, ΔE2000 8.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #70b8df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #70b8df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#70b8df] or text-[#70b8df], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #70b8df with 50% opacity?

rgba(112, 184, 223, 0.5), or #70b8df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #B8DCEF; over black, #385C70.

Is #70b8df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #66CCCC, ΔE2000 15.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #70b8df mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #70b8df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #A2D1EA, #70b8df 45%, #174C68). For more colour, a short hue run to #6457D9 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #70b8df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #70b8df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.