Skip to content
blue · cool

#91b0df

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Harbour

RGB
145, 176, 223
HSL
216°, 55%, 72%
CMYK
35, 21, 0, 13
Luminance
0.4240

#91b0df is a light vivid blue, 216° on the wheel and 97/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.48:1). As text it scores 2.22:1 on white — use #3E74C7 instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is sky.

hsl(216 55% 72%)rgb(145 176 223)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #91b0df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#91b0df
Hue
216°
blue
Saturation
55%
vivid
Lightness
72%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
68%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4240
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
97/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.48:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 7.7
Chroma
27.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.751
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
sky
500 · ΔE 13.6
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue216° of 360°
Saturation55%
Lightness72%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #91b0df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool97% 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
Red14%
Green73%
Blue13%

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

Every format

HEX#91b0df
HEX (8-digit)#91b0dfff
RGBrgb(145, 176, 223)
RGBArgba(145, 176, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(216, 55%, 72%)
HSV / HSBhsv(216, 35%, 87%)
HWBhwb(216 57% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(35%, 21%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(71.1 0.7 -27.0)
LCHlch(71.1 27.1 271.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.751 0.076 258.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(40.52, 42.40, 75.85)
Decimal9547999
Display P3color(display-p3 0.569 0.690 0.875)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #91b0df;
background-color: #91b0df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #91b0df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#91b0df] bg-[#91b0df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #91b0df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.569, green: 0.690, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.569, green: 0.690, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#91B0DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF91B0DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF91B0DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 176, 145)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(145, 176, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(145, 176, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 145, 176, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5686f, 0.6902f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{145,176,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #91b0df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #91b0df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#1D3963, #D3DEEE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #91b0df 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: #F4F7FB;
  --brand-100: #E9EEF6;
  --brand-200: #CEDBEE;
  --brand-300: #A8C1E6;
  --brand-400: #91b0df;
  --brand-500: #5182CC;
  --brand-600: #376DBE;
  --brand-700: #2E5A9E;
  --brand-800: #25487E;
  --brand-900: #1E375C;
  --brand-950: #13223A;
  --brand: #91b0df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F7FA;
  --brand-border: #C0D2ED;
  --brand-hover: #769CD7;
  --brand-pressed: #5A88CF;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141A24;
    --brand-ink: #D3DEEE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F4F7FB',
        100: '#E9EEF6',
        200: '#CEDBEE',
        300: '#A8C1E6',
        400: '#91b0df',
        500: '#5182CC',
        600: '#376DBE',
        700: '#2E5A9E',
        800: '#25487E',
        900: '#1E375C',
        950: '#13223A',
        DEFAULT: '#91b0df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F4F7FB,
  '100': #E9EEF6,
  '200': #CEDBEE,
  '300': #A8C1E6,
  '400': #91b0df,
  '500': #5182CC,
  '600': #376DBE,
  '700': #2E5A9E,
  '800': #25487E,
  '900': #1E375C,
  '950': #13223A,
);
$brand-base: #91b0df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F4F7FB", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E9EEF6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#CEDBEE", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#A8C1E6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#91b0df", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#5182CC", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#376DBE", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#2E5A9E", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#25487E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#1E375C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#13223A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #91b0df · 9.48:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.22:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.48:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #91b0df as text scores 2.22:1 on white and 9.48:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #1D3963 at 5.22:1.

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
#3E74C7 · 4.64:1
AA on white−21% L
#3E74C7
The quick fox
#2C5697 · 7.28:1
AAA on white−34% L
#2C5697
The quick fox
#91b0df · 9.48:1
AA on blackalready passes
#91b0df
The quick fox
#91b0df · 9.48:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#91b0df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #6A94D4 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
#91b0df on white: 2.22:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#91b0df on black: 9.48:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #91b0df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #91b0df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.22:1AaAa
Slate 502.12:1AaAa
Slate 1002.02:1AaAa
Slate 2001.80:1AaAa
Slate 3001.49:1AaAa
Slate 4001.16:1AaAa
Slate 5002.15:1AaAa
Slate 6003.42:1AaAa
Slate 7004.67:1AaAa
Slate 8006.60:1AaAa
Slate 9008.06:1AaAa
Black9.48:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9FB2E1
deuteranopia · #97ABDE
tritanopia · #79BAC0

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. #91b0df 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.

#F4F7FB
#E9EEF6
#CEDBEE
#A8C1E6
#91b0df
#5182CC
#376DBE
#2E5A9E
#25487E
#1E375C
#13223A
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F4F7FBDarkest = 950 · #13223AText 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 0.019 258.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.031 258.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.046 258.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.060 258.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.070 258.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.076 258.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.076 258.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.072 258.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.064 258.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.053 258.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.042 258.6);
}

Colors that work with #91b0df

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#F4F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0D2ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B6A9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A2552A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1D3963
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF1F9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141A24
Dark-mode background
Hover#769CD7
One step down in lightness
Pressed#5A88CF
Two steps down
Disabled#EDF0F3
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#9BBAEA
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 #91b0df

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 #1D3963
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #6A94D4

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
  • Weight28/100
  • 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#DFC091
Analogous left#91D7DF
Analogous right#9991DF
Split-complement 1#DF9991
Split-complement 2#D7DF91
Triadic 1#DF91B0
Triadic 2#B0DF91
Tetradic#DF91D7
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°216°

#91b0df sits at 216°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red56.9%
Green69.0%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
145
0x91
G · 0–255
176
0xb0
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan35.0%
Magenta21.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 69%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#91b0df text on a black background

contrast 9.48:1

Card sample

#91b0df text on a white background

contrast 2.22:1

Card sample

#91b0df on grey

2.02:1

#91b0df on its own surface

2.06:1

#91b0df on its dark surface

7.88:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #91b0df;
Background color
Panel with #91b0df background
background-color: #91b0df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #91b0df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(145, 176, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(145, 176, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #91b0df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #91b0df, #A691DF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #91b0df, #BA91DF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #91b0df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #91b0df;
caret-color: #91b0df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #91b0df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EBF1F9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #91b0df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#91b0df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #91b0df 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(145, 176, 223, 0.5)
rgb(145 176 223 / 50%)
#91b0df80
hsl(216 55% 72% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #91b0df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#91b0df1a#F4F7FC
20%#91b0df33#E9EFF9
40%#91b0df66#D3DFF2
60%#91b0df99#BDD0EC
80%#91b0dfcc#A7C0E5

Gradients from #91b0df

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, #C1D2ED, #91b0df 45%, #1D3963);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #91b0df, #9B79D8);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #91b0df, #DFC091);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #D8E3F4 0%, #91b0df 45%, #1D3963 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F7FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #B9EAEB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #B4A9E6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #1D3963 0%, transparent 65%), #91b0df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #91b0df

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.

#91b0df 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 9.48:1.

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.

#91b0df, answered

What color is #91b0df?

#91b0df is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 7.7). It sits at 216° on the hue wheel with 55% saturation and 72% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #91b0df?

rgb(145, 176, 223) — 145 red, 176 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 56.9% / 69% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #91b0df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(216, 55%, 72%) and hsv(216, 35%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #91b0df a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4240 and perceived brightness is 68%, so black text on it reaches 9.48:1.

Should I use black or white text on #91b0df?

Black. It scores 9.48:1 against #91b0df, versus 2.22:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #91b0df accessible on a white background?

#91b0df on white scores 2.22:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #3E74C7 to reach 4.5:1, or #2C5697 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #91b0df?

#DFC091 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF9991 and #D7DF91, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #91b0df?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C0D2ED for borders, #4B6A9B for secondary text, #A2552A as an accent and #1D3963 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #91D7DF and #9991DF stays calm, while #DFC091 is the loudest partner.

What is #91b0df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(35%, 21%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #91b0df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 97 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #9194DF; nudged cooler, #7CA7DB.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #91b0df?

The sky family — its 500 step is #0ea5e9, ΔE2000 13.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #91b0df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #91b0df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#91b0df] or text-[#91b0df], 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 #91b0df with 50% opacity?

rgba(145, 176, 223, 0.5), or #91b0df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #C8D8EF; over black, #495870.

Is #91b0df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 10.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #91b0df 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 #91b0df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #C1D2ED, #91b0df 45%, #1D3963). For more colour, a short hue run to #9B79D8 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #91b0df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #91b0df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.