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#9acdef

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

RGB
154, 205, 239
HSL
204°, 73%, 77%
CMYK
36, 14, 0, 6
Luminance
0.5676

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9acdef is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9acdef
Hue
204°
blue
Saturation
73%
vivid
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5676
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
98/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.35:1
Closest name
Light Sky Blue
ΔE2000 3.1
Where it sits
Hue204° of 360°
Saturation73%
Lightness77%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool98% 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#9acdef
RGBrgb(154, 205, 239)
HSLhsl(204, 73%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(36%, 14%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(80.0 -8.4 -22.1)
LCHlch(80.0 23.6 249.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.825 0.072 237.9)
Decimal10145263
Display P3color(display-p3 0.604 0.804 0.937)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #9acdef;
background-color: #9acdef;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9acdef] bg-[#9acdef]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9acdef;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.604, green: 0.804, blue: 0.937)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#9acdef")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9ACDEF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(239, 205, 154)

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 #9acdef · 12.35:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.70:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.35:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #9acdef as text scores 1.70:1 on white and 12.35:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9acdef on white: 1.70:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9acdef on black: 12.35:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BECCF1
deuteranopia · #B2C2EE
tritanopia · #7DD6D8

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #9acdef 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.

#F3F8FC
#E7F1F8
#C9E2F3
#9acdef
#6EB7E8
#3D9FE0
#228CD3
#1C75B0
#165D8D
#144566
#0D2B40
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3F8FCDarkest = 950 · #0D2B40
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F8FC;
  --brand-100: #E7F1F8;
  --brand-200: #C9E2F3;
  --brand-300: #9acdef;
  --brand-400: #6EB7E8;
  --brand-500: #3D9FE0;
  --brand-600: #228CD3;
  --brand-700: #1C75B0;
  --brand-800: #165D8D;
  --brand-900: #144566;
  --brand-950: #0D2B40;
  --brand: #9acdef;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #9acdef

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#C0DBED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B7B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B42F18
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#11496E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F4FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141E24
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 #9acdef

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

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#EFBC9A
Analogous left#9AEFE7
Analogous right#9AA3EF
Split-complement 1#EF9AA3
Split-complement 2#EFE79A
Triadic 1#EF9ACD
Triadic 2#CDEF9A
Tetradic#E79AEF

RGB percentages

Red60.4%
Green80.4%
Blue93.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan35.6%
Magenta14.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#9acdef text on a black background

contrast 12.35:1

Card sample

#9acdef text on a white background

contrast 1.70:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9acdef;
Background color
Panel with #9acdef background
background-color: #9acdef;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9acdef;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(154, 205, 239, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(154, 205, 239, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9acdef;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9acdef, #A09AEF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9acdef

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.

#9acdef 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.

#9acdef, answered

What color is #9acdef?

#9acdef is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Sky Blue (ΔE2000 3.1). It sits at 204° on the hue wheel with 73% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9acdef?

rgb(154, 205, 239) — 154 red, 205 green and 239 blue out of 255, or 60.4% / 80.4% / 93.7% by channel.

Is #9acdef a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5676 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 12.35:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9acdef?

Black. It scores 12.35:1 against #9acdef, versus 1.70:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #9acdef?

#EFBC9A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EF9AA3 and #EFE79A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9acdef?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DBED for borders, #4B7B9B for secondary text, #B42F18 as an accent and #11496E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #9AEFE7 and #9AA3EF stays calm, while #EFBC9A is the loudest partner.

What is #9acdef in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(36%, 14%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9acdef warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 98 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #9AECEF; nudged cooler, #83B9ED.

Work with #9acdef in the Color Lab