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#9da6e2

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

RGB
157, 166, 226
HSL
232°, 54%, 75%
CMYK
31, 27, 0, 11
Luminance
0.3993

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #9da6e2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#9da6e2
Hue
232°
blue
Saturation
54%
vivid
Lightness
75%
light
Brightness
89%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3993
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
88/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
8.99:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 10.5
Where it sits
Hue232° of 360°
Saturation54%
Lightness75%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool88% 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#9da6e2
RGBrgb(157, 166, 226)
HSLhsl(232, 54%, 75%)
CMYKcmyk(31%, 27%, 0%, 11%)
LABlab(69.4 10.4 -31.3)
LCHlch(69.4 33.0 288.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.740 0.087 277.4)
Decimal10331874
Display P3color(display-p3 0.616 0.651 0.886)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #9da6e2;
background-color: #9da6e2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#9da6e2] bg-[#9da6e2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #9da6e2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.616, green: 0.651, blue: 0.886)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#9da6e2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF9DA6E2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(226, 166, 157)

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 #9da6e2 · 8.99:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.34:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.99:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #9da6e2 as text scores 2.34:1 on white and 8.99:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#9da6e2 on white: 2.34:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#9da6e2 on black: 8.99:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #94ACE5
deuteranopia · #90A7E1
tritanopia · #8BB1BB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #9da6e2 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.

#F4F5FB
#E9EBF6
#CED2EE
#9da6e2
#7D89D9
#5262CC
#3849BD
#2F3D9D
#25317E
#1F275C
#131839
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F4F5FBDarkest = 950 · #131839
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F5FB;
  --brand-100: #E9EBF6;
  --brand-200: #CED2EE;
  --brand-300: #9da6e2;
  --brand-400: #7D89D9;
  --brand-500: #5262CC;
  --brand-600: #3849BD;
  --brand-700: #2F3D9D;
  --brand-800: #25317E;
  --brand-900: #1F275C;
  --brand-950: #131839;
  --brand: #9da6e2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #9da6e2

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#F4F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0C6EC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B559B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A2742A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1D2662
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBEDF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141624
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 #9da6e2

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#E2D99D
Analogous left#9DC8E2
Analogous right#B79DE2
Split-complement 1#E2B79D
Split-complement 2#C8E29D
Triadic 1#E29DA6
Triadic 2#A6E29D
Tetradic#E29DC8

RGB percentages

Red61.6%
Green65.1%
Blue88.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan30.5%
Magenta26.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)11.4%

Color previews

#9da6e2 text on a black background

contrast 8.99:1

Card sample

#9da6e2 text on a white background

contrast 2.34:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #9da6e2;
Background color
Panel with #9da6e2 background
background-color: #9da6e2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #9da6e2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(157, 166, 226, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(157, 166, 226, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #9da6e2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9da6e2, #C29DE2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #9da6e2

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.

#9da6e2 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.

#9da6e2, answered

What color is #9da6e2?

#9da6e2 is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 10.5). It sits at 232° on the hue wheel with 54% saturation and 75% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #9da6e2?

rgb(157, 166, 226) — 157 red, 166 green and 226 blue out of 255, or 61.6% / 65.1% / 88.6% by channel.

Is #9da6e2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3993 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 8.99:1.

Should I use black or white text on #9da6e2?

Black. It scores 8.99:1 against #9da6e2, versus 2.34:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #9da6e2?

#E2D99D sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E2B79D and #C8E29D, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #9da6e2?

For interface work: #F4F5FA as the surface, #C0C6EC for borders, #4B559B for secondary text, #A2742A as an accent and #1D2662 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #9DC8E2 and #B79DE2 stays calm, while #E2D99D is the loudest partner.

What is #9da6e2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(31%, 27%, 0%, 11%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #9da6e2 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 88 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #AD9DE2; nudged cooler, #9CB7E3.

Work with #9da6e2 in the Color Lab