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blue · cool

#838eb0

a balanced, soft blue · cool · closest name: Light Slate Gray

Token name suggestion: True Denim

RGB
131, 142, 176
HSL
225°, 22%, 60%
CMYK
26, 19, 0, 31
Luminance
0.2731

#838eb0 is a balanced soft blue, 225° on the wheel and 76/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.46:1). As text it scores 3.25:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Light Slate Gray, nearest Tailwind family is slate.

hsl(225 22% 60%)rgb(131 142 176)Base step 500AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #838eb0 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#838eb0
Hue
225°
blue
Saturation
22%
soft
Lightness
60%
balanced
Brightness
69%
HSV value
Perceived
56%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2731
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
76/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.46:1
Closest name
Light Slate Gray
ΔE2000 8.4
Chroma
19.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.650
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
slate
500 · ΔE 11.5
Web-safe
#999999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue225° of 360°
Saturation22%
Lightness60%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #838eb0.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool76% 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
Red18%
Green71%
Blue11%

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

Every format

HEX#838eb0
HEX (8-digit)#838eb0ff
RGBrgb(131, 142, 176)
RGBArgba(131, 142, 176, 1)
HSLhsl(225, 22%, 60%)
HSV / HSBhsv(225, 26%, 69%)
HWBhwb(225 51% 31%)
CMYKcmyk(26%, 19%, 0%, 31%)
LABlab(59.3 3.8 -19.1)
LCHlch(59.3 19.5 281.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.650 0.052 270.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(26.87, 27.31, 44.92)
Decimal8621744
Display P3color(display-p3 0.514 0.557 0.690)
Web-safe#999999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #838eb0;
background-color: #838eb0;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #838eb0;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#838eb0] bg-[#838eb0]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #838eb0;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.514, green: 0.557, blue: 0.690)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.514, green: 0.557, blue: 0.690, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#838EB0</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF838EB0)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF838EB0)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(176, 142, 131)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(131, 142, 176)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(131, 142, 176)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 131, 142, 176)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5137f, 0.5569f, 0.6902f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{131,142,176}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #838eb0 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #838eb0 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#32394E, #DADDE7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #838eb0 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: #F6F7F9;
  --brand-100: #EDEEF2;
  --brand-200: #D7DBE4;
  --brand-300: #BAC1D3;
  --brand-400: #98A1BE;
  --brand-500: #838eb0;
  --brand-600: #5F6D96;
  --brand-700: #4F5A7D;
  --brand-800: #3F4864;
  --brand-900: #31374A;
  --brand-950: #1E222E;
  --brand: #838eb0;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F6F9;
  --brand-border: #CDD2DF;
  --brand-hover: #6D7AA2;
  --brand-pressed: #5C6890;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #161922;
    --brand-ink: #DADDE7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F7F9',
        100: '#EDEEF2',
        200: '#D7DBE4',
        300: '#BAC1D3',
        400: '#98A1BE',
        500: '#838eb0',
        600: '#5F6D96',
        700: '#4F5A7D',
        800: '#3F4864',
        900: '#31374A',
        950: '#1E222E',
        DEFAULT: '#838eb0',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F7F9,
  '100': #EDEEF2,
  '200': #D7DBE4,
  '300': #BAC1D3,
  '400': #98A1BE,
  '500': #838eb0,
  '600': #5F6D96,
  '700': #4F5A7D,
  '800': #3F4864,
  '900': #31374A,
  '950': #1E222E,
);
$brand-base: #838eb0;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EDEEF2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D7DBE4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#BAC1D3", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#98A1BE", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#838eb0", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5F6D96", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#4F5A7D", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3F4864", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#31374A", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1E222E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #838eb0 · 6.46:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.25:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.46:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #838eb0 as text scores 3.25:1 on white and 6.46:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #32394E at 3.53:1.

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
#67749E · 4.60:1
AA on white−9% L
#67749E
The quick fox
#4C5677 · 7.23:1
AAA on white−22% L
#4C5677
The quick fox
#838eb0 · 6.46:1
AA on blackalready passes
#838eb0
The quick fox
#8C97B6 · 7.22:1
AAA on black+3% L
#8C97B6

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #838EB0 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
#838eb0 on white: 3.25:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#838eb0 on black: 6.46:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #838eb0 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #838eb0.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.25:1AaAa
Slate 503.11:1AaAa
Slate 1002.97:1AaAa
Slate 2002.64:1AaAa
Slate 3002.19:1AaAa
Slate 4001.27:1AaAa
Slate 5001.46:1AaAa
Slate 6002.33:1AaAa
Slate 7003.19:1AaAa
Slate 8004.50:1AaAa
Slate 9005.49:1AaAa
Black6.46:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #8491B2
deuteranopia · #808DAF
tritanopia · #789499

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. #838eb0 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F7F9
#EDEEF2
#D7DBE4
#BAC1D3
#98A1BE
#838eb0
#5F6D96
#4F5A7D
#3F4864
#31374A
#1E222E
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F6F7F9Darkest = 950 · #1E222EText step on white = 600
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 0.013 270.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.021 270.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.032 270.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.041 270.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.048 270.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.052 270.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.052 270.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.049 270.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.044 270.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.037 270.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.029 270.9);
}

Colors that work with #838eb0

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#F6F6F9
Tinted page background
Border#CDD2DF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#59668C
Captions on the surface
Accent#81674B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#32394E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF1F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161922
Dark-mode background
Hover#6D7AA2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#5C6890
Two steps down
Disabled#C8CDDC
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#8695C1
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 #838eb0

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

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #32394E
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

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.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

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

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight40/100
  • 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#B0A583
Analogous left#83A5B0
Analogous right#8E83B0
Split-complement 1#B08E83
Split-complement 2#A5B083
Triadic 1#B0838E
Triadic 2#8EB083
Tetradic#B083A5
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°225°

#838eb0 sits at 225°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red51.4%
Green55.7%
Blue69.0%
R · 0–255
131
0x83
G · 0–255
142
0x8e
B · 0–255
176
0xb0

CMYK percentages

Cyan25.6%
Magenta19.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)31.0%

Total ink coverage is 76%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#838eb0 text on a black background

contrast 6.46:1

Card sample

#838eb0 text on a white background

contrast 3.25:1

Card sample

#838eb0 on grey

2.97:1

#838eb0 on its own surface

3.01:1

#838eb0 on its dark surface

5.40:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #838eb0;
Background color
Panel with #838eb0 background
background-color: #838eb0;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #838eb0;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(131, 142, 176, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(131, 142, 176, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #838eb0;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #838eb0, #9683B0);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #838eb0, #A183B0);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #838eb0;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #838eb0;
caret-color: #838eb0;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #838eb0;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF1F5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #838eb0;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#838eb0 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #838eb0 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(131, 142, 176, 0.5)
rgb(131 142 176 / 50%)
#838eb080
hsl(225 22% 60% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #838eb0 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#838eb01a#F3F4F7
20%#838eb033#E6E8EF
40%#838eb066#CDD2DF
60%#838eb099#B5BBD0
80%#838eb0cc#9CA5C0

Gradients from #838eb0

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, #A8B0C8, #838eb0 45%, #32394E);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #838eb0, #8A70A4);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #838eb0, #B0A583);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #BBC1D4 0%, #838eb0 45%, #32394E 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F6F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #A2BEC4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #A396BC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #32394E 0%, transparent 65%), #838eb0;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #838eb0

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.

#838eb0 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
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
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 6.46:1.

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.

#838eb0, answered

What color is #838eb0?

#838eb0 is a balanced soft blue, closest to Light Slate Gray (ΔE2000 8.4). It sits at 225° on the hue wheel with 22% saturation and 60% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #838eb0?

rgb(131, 142, 176) — 131 red, 142 green and 176 blue out of 255, or 51.4% / 55.7% / 69% by channel.

What is #838eb0 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(225, 22%, 60%) and hsv(225, 26%, 69%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #838eb0 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2731 and perceived brightness is 56%, so black text on it reaches 6.46:1.

Should I use black or white text on #838eb0?

Black. It scores 6.46:1 against #838eb0, versus 3.25:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #838eb0 accessible on a white background?

#838eb0 on white scores 3.25:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #67749E to reach 4.5:1, or #4C5677 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #838eb0?

#B0A583 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B08E83 and #A5B083, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #838eb0?

For interface work: #F6F6F9 as the surface, #CDD2DF for borders, #59668C for secondary text, #81674B as an accent and #32394E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #83A5B0 and #8E83B0 stays calm, while #B0A583 is the loudest partner.

What is #838eb0 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(26%, 19%, 0%, 31%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #838eb0 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 76 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #8883B0; nudged cooler, #8196B2.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #838eb0?

The slate family — its 500 step is #64748b, ΔE2000 11.5 away. That is a visible difference, so define #838eb0 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #838eb0 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#838eb0] or text-[#838eb0], 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 #838eb0 with 50% opacity?

rgba(131, 142, 176, 0.5), or #838eb080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #C1C7D8; over black, #424758.

Is #838eb0 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #999999, ΔE2000 14.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #838eb0 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #838eb0?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #A8B0C8, #838eb0 45%, #32394E). For more colour, a short hue run to #8A70A4 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #838eb0 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #838eb0 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.