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#9ccdec

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

RGB
156, 205, 236
HSL
203°, 68%, 77%
CMYK
34, 13, 0, 8
Luminance
0.5679

At a glance

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

Hex
#9ccdec
Hue
203°
blue
Saturation
68%
vivid
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
77%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5679
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
97/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.36:1
Closest name
Light Sky Blue
ΔE2000 3.7
Where it sits
Hue203° of 360°
Saturation68%
Lightness77%
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.

Every format

HEX#9ccdec
RGBrgb(156, 205, 236)
HSLhsl(203, 68%, 77%)
CMYKcmyk(34%, 13%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(80.1 -8.6 -20.4)
LCHlch(80.1 22.2 247.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.825 0.067 236.4)
Decimal10276332
Display P3color(display-p3 0.612 0.804 0.925)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #9ccdec;
background-color: #9ccdec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9ccdec] bg-[#9ccdec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9ccdec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.612, green: 0.804, blue: 0.925)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#9ccdec")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9CCDEC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 205, 156)

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 #9ccdec · 12.36:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.70:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.36:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #9ccdec as text scores 1.70:1 on white and 12.36:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9ccdec on white: 1.70:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9ccdec on black: 12.36:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BFCCEE
deuteranopia · #B4C3EC
tritanopia · #81D5D7

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F3F8FB
#E8F2F8
#CAE2F2
#9ccdec
#72B8E4
#43A0DB
#278DCD
#2175AB
#1A5E89
#174663
#0E2C3E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3F8FBDarkest = 950 · #0E2C3E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F8FB;
  --brand-100: #E8F2F8;
  --brand-200: #CAE2F2;
  --brand-300: #9ccdec;
  --brand-400: #72B8E4;
  --brand-500: #43A0DB;
  --brand-600: #278DCD;
  --brand-700: #2175AB;
  --brand-800: #1A5E89;
  --brand-900: #174663;
  --brand-950: #0E2C3E;
  --brand: #9ccdec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #9ccdec

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#4B7C9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#AF321D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#15496B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAF4FB
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 #9ccdec

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#ECBB9C
Analogous left#9CECE3
Analogous right#9CA5EC
Split-complement 1#EC9CA5
Split-complement 2#ECE39C
Triadic 1#EC9CCD
Triadic 2#CDEC9C
Tetradic#E39CEC

RGB percentages

Red61.2%
Green80.4%
Blue92.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan33.9%
Magenta13.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#9ccdec text on a black background

contrast 12.36:1

Card sample

#9ccdec text on a white background

contrast 1.70:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(156, 205, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(156, 205, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9ccdec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9ccdec, #A19CEC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9ccdec

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.

#9ccdec 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.

#9ccdec, answered

What color is #9ccdec?

#9ccdec is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Sky Blue (ΔE2000 3.7). It sits at 203° on the hue wheel with 68% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9ccdec?

rgb(156, 205, 236) — 156 red, 205 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 61.2% / 80.4% / 92.5% by channel.

Is #9ccdec a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5679 and perceived brightness is 77%, so black text on it reaches 12.36:1.

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

Black. It scores 12.36:1 against #9ccdec, versus 1.70:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #9ccdec?

#ECBB9C sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EC9CA5 and #ECE39C, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9ccdec?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DBED for borders, #4B7C9B for secondary text, #AF321D as an accent and #15496B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #9CECE3 and #9CA5EC stays calm, while #ECBB9C is the loudest partner.

What is #9ccdec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(34%, 13%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9ccdec 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 #9CEAEC; nudged cooler, #85B9E9.

Work with #9ccdec in the Color Lab