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#a5cdf2

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

RGB
165, 205, 242
HSL
209°, 75%, 80%
CMYK
32, 15, 0, 5
Luminance
0.5807

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a5cdf2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a5cdf2
Hue
209°
blue
Saturation
75%
vivid
Lightness
80%
light
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5807
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
99/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.61:1
Closest name
Light Sky Blue
ΔE2000 5.5
Where it sits
Hue209° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness80%
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#a5cdf2
RGBrgb(165, 205, 242)
HSLhsl(209, 75%, 80%)
CMYKcmyk(32%, 15%, 0%, 5%)
LABlab(80.8 -4.7 -22.5)
LCHlch(80.8 23.0 258.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.832 0.067 246.6)
Decimal10866162
Display P3color(display-p3 0.647 0.804 0.949)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a5cdf2;
background-color: #a5cdf2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a5cdf2] bg-[#a5cdf2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a5cdf2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.647, green: 0.804, blue: 0.949)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a5cdf2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA5CDF2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(242, 205, 165)

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 #a5cdf2 · 12.61:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #a5cdf2 as text scores 1.66:1 on white and 12.61:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a5cdf2 on white: 1.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a5cdf2 on black: 12.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BFCDF4
deuteranopia · #B5C5F1
tritanopia · #8DD6D9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a5cdf2 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
#E7F0F9
#C8DFF4
#a5cdf2
#6CADEA
#3B92E3
#1F7ED6
#1A69B2
#15548F
#133F67
#0C2741
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3F8FCDarkest = 950 · #0C2741
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F8FC;
  --brand-100: #E7F0F9;
  --brand-200: #C8DFF4;
  --brand-300: #a5cdf2;
  --brand-400: #6CADEA;
  --brand-500: #3B92E3;
  --brand-600: #1F7ED6;
  --brand-700: #1A69B2;
  --brand-800: #15548F;
  --brand-900: #133F67;
  --brand-950: #0C2741;
  --brand: #a5cdf2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a5cdf2

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#F4F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0D7ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B749B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B63C16
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#10426F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F3FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141C24
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 #a5cdf2

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#F2CAA5
Analogous left#A5F2F0
Analogous right#A5A7F2
Split-complement 1#F2A5A7
Split-complement 2#F2F0A5
Triadic 1#F2A5CD
Triadic 2#CDF2A5
Tetradic#F0A5F2

RGB percentages

Red64.7%
Green80.4%
Blue94.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan31.8%
Magenta15.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)5.1%

Color previews

#a5cdf2 text on a black background

contrast 12.61:1

Card sample

#a5cdf2 text on a white background

contrast 1.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a5cdf2;
Background color
Panel with #a5cdf2 background
background-color: #a5cdf2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a5cdf2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(165, 205, 242, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(165, 205, 242, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a5cdf2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a5cdf2, #B0A5F2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a5cdf2

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.

#a5cdf2 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.

#a5cdf2, answered

What color is #a5cdf2?

#a5cdf2 is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Sky Blue (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 209° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 80% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a5cdf2?

rgb(165, 205, 242) — 165 red, 205 green and 242 blue out of 255, or 64.7% / 80.4% / 94.9% by channel.

Is #a5cdf2 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5807 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a5cdf2?

Black. It scores 12.61:1 against #a5cdf2, versus 1.66:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a5cdf2?

#F2CAA5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F2A5A7 and #F2F0A5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a5cdf2?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C0D7ED for borders, #4B749B for secondary text, #B63C16 as an accent and #10426F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A5F2F0 and #A5A7F2 stays calm, while #F2CAA5 is the loudest partner.

What is #a5cdf2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(32%, 15%, 0%, 5%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a5cdf2 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 #A5B1F2; nudged cooler, #8DBDF0.

Work with #a5cdf2 in the Color Lab