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#a3cdcf

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

RGB
163, 205, 207
HSL
183°, 31%, 73%
CMYK
21, 1, 0, 19
Luminance
0.5595

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a3cdcf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a3cdcf
Hue
183°
cyan
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
73%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5595
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
85/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.19:1
Closest name
Powder Blue
ΔE2000 4.7
Where it sits
Hue183° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness73%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool85% 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#a3cdcf
RGBrgb(163, 205, 207)
HSLhsl(183, 31%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(21%, 1%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(79.6 -13.3 -5.5)
LCHlch(79.6 14.4 202.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.819 0.044 199.9)
Decimal10735055
Display P3color(display-p3 0.639 0.804 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a3cdcf;
background-color: #a3cdcf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a3cdcf] bg-[#a3cdcf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a3cdcf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.639, green: 0.804, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a3cdcf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA3CDCF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 205, 163)

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 #a3cdcf · 12.19:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.72:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.19:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #a3cdcf as text scores 1.72:1 on white and 12.19:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a3cdcf on white: 1.72:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a3cdcf on black: 12.19:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C7C9CF
deuteranopia · #BEC3CF
tritanopia · #95D0CD

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a3cdcf 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.

#F5F9F9
#ECF3F3
#D5E6E7
#a3cdcf
#90C3C5
#6CAFB2
#549DA1
#468386
#38696B
#2C4D4F
#1B3031
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F9F9Darkest = 950 · #1B3031
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F9F9;
  --brand-100: #ECF3F3;
  --brand-200: #D5E6E7;
  --brand-300: #a3cdcf;
  --brand-400: #90C3C5;
  --brand-500: #6CAFB2;
  --brand-600: #549DA1;
  --brand-700: #468386;
  --brand-800: #38696B;
  --brand-900: #2C4D4F;
  --brand-950: #1B3031;
  --brand: #a3cdcf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a3cdcf

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#F5FAFA
Tinted page background
Border#C9E2E3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4F9497
Captions on the surface
Accent#8A4250
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2C5254
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF6F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142424
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 #a3cdcf

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • 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#CFA5A3
Analogous left#A3CFBB
Analogous right#A3B7CF
Split-complement 1#CFA3B7
Split-complement 2#CFBBA3
Triadic 1#CFA3CD
Triadic 2#CDCFA3
Tetradic#BBA3CF

RGB percentages

Red63.9%
Green80.4%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan21.3%
Magenta1.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#a3cdcf text on a black background

contrast 12.19:1

Card sample

#a3cdcf text on a white background

contrast 1.72:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a3cdcf;
Background color
Panel with #a3cdcf background
background-color: #a3cdcf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a3cdcf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(163, 205, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(163, 205, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a3cdcf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a3cdcf, #A3B0CF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a3cdcf

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.

#a3cdcf 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.

#a3cdcf, answered

What color is #a3cdcf?

#a3cdcf is a light soft cyan, closest to Powder Blue (ΔE2000 4.7). It sits at 183° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 73% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a3cdcf?

rgb(163, 205, 207) — 163 red, 205 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 63.9% / 80.4% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #a3cdcf a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5595 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.19:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a3cdcf?

Black. It scores 12.19:1 against #a3cdcf, versus 1.72:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a3cdcf?

#CFA5A3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFA3B7 and #CFBBA3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a3cdcf?

For interface work: #F5FAFA as the surface, #C9E2E3 for borders, #4F9497 for secondary text, #8A4250 as an accent and #2C5254 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A3CFBB and #A3B7CF stays calm, while #CFA5A3 is the loudest partner.

What is #a3cdcf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(21%, 1%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a3cdcf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 85 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #A3CFC1; nudged cooler, #A1BDD0.

Work with #a3cdcf in the Color Lab