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#8bcddf

a light, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Sky Blue

RGB
139, 205, 223
HSL
193°, 57%, 71%
CMYK
38, 8, 0, 13
Luminance
0.5448

At a glance

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

Hex
#8bcddf
Hue
193°
cyan
Saturation
57%
vivid
Lightness
71%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5448
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
93/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
11.90:1
Closest name
Sky Blue
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue193° of 360°
Saturation57%
Lightness71%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool93% 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#8bcddf
RGBrgb(139, 205, 223)
HSLhsl(193, 57%, 71%)
CMYKcmyk(38%, 8%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(78.7 -16.4 -15.5)
LCHlch(78.7 22.6 223.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.810 0.071 216.7)
Decimal9162207
Display P3color(display-p3 0.545 0.804 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #8bcddf;
background-color: #8bcddf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#8bcddf] bg-[#8bcddf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #8bcddf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.545, green: 0.804, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#8bcddf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF8BCDDF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 205, 139)

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 #8bcddf · 11.90:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.77:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.90:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #8bcddf as text scores 1.77:1 on white and 11.90:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#8bcddf on white: 1.77:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#8bcddf on black: 11.90:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C1C9E0
deuteranopia · #B3BEDF
tritanopia · #6AD4D2

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F4F9FB
#E9F4F6
#CDE7EE
#A7D9E7
#8bcddf
#4FB3CF
#35A2C0
#2C87A0
#236C80
#1D4F5D
#12323A
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F4F9FBDarkest = 950 · #12323A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F9FB;
  --brand-100: #E9F4F6;
  --brand-200: #CDE7EE;
  --brand-300: #A7D9E7;
  --brand-400: #8bcddf;
  --brand-500: #4FB3CF;
  --brand-600: #35A2C0;
  --brand-700: #2C87A0;
  --brand-800: #236C80;
  --brand-900: #1D4F5D;
  --brand-950: #12323A;
  --brand: #8bcddf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #8bcddf

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#F4F9FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E3ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B8A9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A4282C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1C5464
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF6F9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142124
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 #8bcddf

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
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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#DF9D8B
Analogous left#8BDFC7
Analogous right#8BA3DF
Split-complement 1#DF8BA3
Split-complement 2#DFC78B
Triadic 1#DF8BCD
Triadic 2#CDDF8B
Tetradic#C78BDF

RGB percentages

Red54.5%
Green80.4%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan37.7%
Magenta8.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#8bcddf text on a black background

contrast 11.90:1

Card sample

#8bcddf text on a white background

contrast 1.77:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(139, 205, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(139, 205, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #8bcddf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8bcddf, #8B95DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #8bcddf

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.

#8bcddf in the real world

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

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#8bcddf, answered

What color is #8bcddf?

#8bcddf is a light vivid cyan, closest to Sky Blue (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 193° on the hue wheel with 57% saturation and 71% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #8bcddf?

rgb(139, 205, 223) — 139 red, 205 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 54.5% / 80.4% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #8bcddf a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5448 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 11.90:1.

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

Black. It scores 11.90:1 against #8bcddf, versus 1.77:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #8bcddf?

#DF9D8B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF8BA3 and #DFC78B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #8bcddf?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E3ED for borders, #4B8A9B for secondary text, #A4282C as an accent and #1C5464 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8BDFC7 and #8BA3DF stays calm, while #DF9D8B is the loudest partner.

What is #8bcddf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(38%, 8%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #8bcddf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 93 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #8BDFD2; nudged cooler, #8ABBE1.

Work with #8bcddf in the Color Lab