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#a4c2db

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

RGB
164, 194, 219
HSL
207°, 43%, 75%
CMYK
25, 11, 0, 14
Luminance
0.5159

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a4c2db is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a4c2db
Hue
207°
blue
Saturation
43%
soft
Lightness
75%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5159
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
99/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.32:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 3.7
Where it sits
Hue207° of 360°
Saturation43%
Lightness75%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool99% 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#a4c2db
RGBrgb(164, 194, 219)
HSLhsl(207, 43%, 75%)
CMYKcmyk(25%, 11%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(77.0 -4.5 -15.8)
LCHlch(77.0 16.4 253.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.800 0.048 243.5)
Decimal10797787
Display P3color(display-p3 0.643 0.761 0.859)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a4c2db;
background-color: #a4c2db;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a4c2db] bg-[#a4c2db]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a4c2db;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.643, green: 0.761, blue: 0.859)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a4c2db")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA4C2DB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(219, 194, 164)

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 #a4c2db · 11.32:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.86:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.32:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #a4c2db as text scores 1.86:1 on white and 11.32:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a4c2db on white: 1.86:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a4c2db on black: 11.32:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B8C2DC
deuteranopia · #B1BCDB
tritanopia · #94C8CA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a4c2db 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.

#F5F8FA
#EBF0F5
#D1DFEA
#a4c2db
#86AECF
#5E93BF
#457FAF
#3A6A92
#2E5575
#253F56
#172835
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F8FADarkest = 950 · #172835
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F8FA;
  --brand-100: #EBF0F5;
  --brand-200: #D1DFEA;
  --brand-300: #a4c2db;
  --brand-400: #86AECF;
  --brand-500: #5E93BF;
  --brand-600: #457FAF;
  --brand-700: #3A6A92;
  --brand-800: #2E5575;
  --brand-900: #253F56;
  --brand-950: #172835;
  --brand: #a4c2db;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a4c2db

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#C5D8E8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B769B
Captions on the surface
Accent#974A35
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#24425B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDF3F8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141D24
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 #a4c2db

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
  • 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#DBBDA4
Analogous left#A4DBD9
Analogous right#A4A6DB
Split-complement 1#DBA4A6
Split-complement 2#DBD9A4
Triadic 1#DBA4C2
Triadic 2#C2DBA4
Tetradic#D9A4DB

RGB percentages

Red64.3%
Green76.1%
Blue85.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan25.1%
Magenta11.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)14.1%

Color previews

#a4c2db text on a black background

contrast 11.32:1

Card sample

#a4c2db text on a white background

contrast 1.86:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a4c2db;
Background color
Panel with #a4c2db background
background-color: #a4c2db;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a4c2db;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(164, 194, 219, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(164, 194, 219, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a4c2db;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a4c2db, #ABA4DB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a4c2db

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.

#a4c2db 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.

#a4c2db, answered

What color is #a4c2db?

#a4c2db is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 3.7). It sits at 207° on the hue wheel with 43% saturation and 75% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a4c2db?

rgb(164, 194, 219) — 164 red, 194 green and 219 blue out of 255, or 64.3% / 76.1% / 85.9% by channel.

Is #a4c2db a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5159 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.32:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a4c2db?

Black. It scores 11.32:1 against #a4c2db, versus 1.86:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a4c2db?

#DBBDA4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DBA4A6 and #DBD9A4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a4c2db?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C5D8E8 for borders, #4B769B for secondary text, #974A35 as an accent and #24425B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A4DBD9 and #A4A6DB stays calm, while #DBBDA4 is the loudest partner.

What is #a4c2db in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(25%, 11%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a4c2db warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 99 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #A4AEDB; nudged cooler, #90B2D5.

Work with #a4c2db in the Color Lab