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#8eb4d2

a light, soft blue · cool · closest name: Light Steel Blue

RGB
142, 180, 210
HSL
207°, 43%, 69%
CMYK
32, 14, 0, 18
Luminance
0.4305

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #8eb4d2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#8eb4d2
Hue
207°
blue
Saturation
43%
soft
Lightness
69%
light
Brightness
82%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4305
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
99/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.61:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 7.1
Where it sits
Hue207° of 360°
Saturation43%
Lightness69%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool99% cool

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

Every format

HEX#8eb4d2
RGBrgb(142, 180, 210)
HSLhsl(207, 43%, 69%)
CMYKcmyk(32%, 14%, 0%, 18%)
LABlab(71.6 -5.6 -19.3)
LCHlch(71.6 20.1 253.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.753 0.060 242.4)
Decimal9352402
Display P3color(display-p3 0.557 0.706 0.824)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #8eb4d2;
background-color: #8eb4d2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#8eb4d2] bg-[#8eb4d2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #8eb4d2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.557, green: 0.706, blue: 0.824)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#8eb4d2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF8EB4D2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(210, 180, 142)

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 #8eb4d2 · 9.61:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
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: #8eb4d2 as text scores 2.19:1 on white and 9.61:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#8eb4d2 on white: 2.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#8eb4d2 on black: 9.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #A8B4D4
deuteranopia · #9FACD1
tritanopia · #78BBBE

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #8eb4d2 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.

#F5F8FA
#EBF0F5
#D1DFEA
#AFCADF
#8eb4d2
#5F94BF
#4681AF
#3A6B92
#2F5675
#254055
#172835
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F5F8FADarkest = 950 · #172835
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F8FA;
  --brand-100: #EBF0F5;
  --brand-200: #D1DFEA;
  --brand-300: #AFCADF;
  --brand-400: #8eb4d2;
  --brand-500: #5F94BF;
  --brand-600: #4681AF;
  --brand-700: #3A6B92;
  --brand-800: #2F5675;
  --brand-900: #254055;
  --brand-950: #172835;
  --brand: #8eb4d2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #8eb4d2

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#C5D8E8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B779B
Captions on the surface
Accent#964836
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#24435B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDF3F8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141D24
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #8eb4d2

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

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#D2AC8E
Analogous left#8ED2CE
Analogous right#8E92D2
Split-complement 1#D28E92
Split-complement 2#D2CE8E
Triadic 1#D28EB4
Triadic 2#B4D28E
Tetradic#CE8ED2

RGB percentages

Red55.7%
Green70.6%
Blue82.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan32.4%
Magenta14.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)17.6%

Color previews

#8eb4d2 text on a black background

contrast 9.61:1

Card sample

#8eb4d2 text on a white background

contrast 2.19:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #8eb4d2;
Background color
Panel with #8eb4d2 background
background-color: #8eb4d2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #8eb4d2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(142, 180, 210, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(142, 180, 210, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #8eb4d2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8eb4d2, #958ED2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #8eb4d2

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#8eb4d2 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.

#8eb4d2, answered

What color is #8eb4d2?

#8eb4d2 is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 207° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 69% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #8eb4d2?

rgb(142, 180, 210) — 142 red, 180 green and 210 blue out of 255, or 55.7% / 70.6% / 82.4% by channel.

Is #8eb4d2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4305 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #8eb4d2?

Black. It scores 9.61:1 against #8eb4d2, versus 2.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #8eb4d2?

#D2AC8E sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D28E92 and #D2CE8E, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #8eb4d2?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C5D8E8 for borders, #4B779B for secondary text, #964836 as an accent and #24435B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8ED2CE and #8E92D2 stays calm, while #D2AC8E is the loudest partner.

What is #8eb4d2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(32%, 14%, 0%, 18%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #8eb4d2 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 99 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #8E9BD2; nudged cooler, #7AA3CD.

Work with #8eb4d2 in the Color Lab