Skip to content

#8bdfec

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

RGB
139, 223, 236
HSL
188°, 72%, 74%
CMYK
41, 6, 0, 8
Luminance
0.6432

At a glance

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

Hex
#8bdfec
Hue
188°
cyan
Saturation
72%
vivid
Lightness
74%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6432
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
91/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
13.86:1
Closest name
Powder Blue
ΔE2000 5.8
Where it sits
Hue188° of 360°
Saturation72%
Lightness74%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool91% 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#8bdfec
RGBrgb(139, 223, 236)
HSLhsl(188, 72%, 74%)
CMYKcmyk(41%, 6%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(84.1 -22.2 -14.4)
LCHlch(84.1 26.4 212.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.855 0.083 208.2)
Decimal9166828
Display P3color(display-p3 0.545 0.875 0.925)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #8bdfec;
background-color: #8bdfec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#8bdfec] bg-[#8bdfec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #8bdfec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.545, green: 0.875, blue: 0.925)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#8bdfec")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF8BDFEC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 223, 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 #8bdfec · 13.86:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.51:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.86:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #8bdfec as text scores 1.51:1 on white and 13.86:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#8bdfec on white: 1.51:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#8bdfec on black: 13.86:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D2D9ED
deuteranopia · #C2CDEC
tritanopia · #60E6E3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #8bdfec is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F3FAFC
#E7F6F8
#C9EDF3
#8bdfec
#6ED7E7
#3ECADF
#22BBD2
#1D9CAF
#177D8C
#155B66
#0D3940
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3FAFCDarkest = 950 · #0D3940
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FAFC;
  --brand-100: #E7F6F8;
  --brand-200: #C9EDF3;
  --brand-300: #8bdfec;
  --brand-400: #6ED7E7;
  --brand-500: #3ECADF;
  --brand-600: #22BBD2;
  --brand-700: #1D9CAF;
  --brand-800: #177D8C;
  --brand-900: #155B66;
  --brand-950: #0D3940;
  --brand: #8bdfec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #8bdfec

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#F4FAFA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E7ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B909B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B4182A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#12616E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F9FB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142224
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 #8bdfec

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#EC988B
Analogous left#8BECC8
Analogous right#8BAEEC
Split-complement 1#EC8BAE
Split-complement 2#ECC88B
Triadic 1#EC8BDF
Triadic 2#DFEC8B
Tetradic#C88BEC

RGB percentages

Red54.5%
Green87.5%
Blue92.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan41.1%
Magenta5.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#8bdfec text on a black background

contrast 13.86:1

Card sample

#8bdfec text on a white background

contrast 1.51:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(139, 223, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(139, 223, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #8bdfec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8bdfec, #8B9EEC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #8bdfec

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.

#8bdfec 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.

#8bdfec, answered

What color is #8bdfec?

#8bdfec is a light vivid cyan, closest to Powder Blue (ΔE2000 5.8). It sits at 188° on the hue wheel with 72% saturation and 74% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #8bdfec?

rgb(139, 223, 236) — 139 red, 223 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 54.5% / 87.5% / 92.5% by channel.

Is #8bdfec a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6432 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.86:1.

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

Black. It scores 13.86:1 against #8bdfec, versus 1.51:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #8bdfec?

#EC988B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EC8BAE and #ECC88B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #8bdfec?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E7ED for borders, #4B909B for secondary text, #B4182A as an accent and #12616E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8BECC8 and #8BAEEC stays calm, while #EC988B is the loudest partner.

What is #8bdfec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(41%, 6%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #8bdfec warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 91 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #8BECD5; nudged cooler, #89C6ED.

Work with #8bdfec in the Color Lab