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#a5ceeb

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

RGB
165, 206, 235
HSL
205°, 64%, 78%
CMYK
30, 12, 0, 8
Luminance
0.5814

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #a5ceeb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#a5ceeb
Hue
205°
blue
Saturation
64%
vivid
Lightness
78%
light
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5814
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
98/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.63:1
Closest name
Light Sky Blue
ΔE2000 5.1
Where it sits
Hue205° of 360°
Saturation64%
Lightness78%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool98% 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#a5ceeb
RGBrgb(165, 206, 235)
HSLhsl(205, 64%, 78%)
CMYKcmyk(30%, 12%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(80.8 -6.9 -18.7)
LCHlch(80.8 19.9 249.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.832 0.059 239.2)
Decimal10866411
Display P3color(display-p3 0.647 0.808 0.922)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #a5ceeb;
background-color: #a5ceeb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#a5ceeb] bg-[#a5ceeb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #a5ceeb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.647, green: 0.808, blue: 0.922)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#a5ceeb")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFA5CEEB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 206, 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 #a5ceeb · 12.63:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.63:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #a5ceeb as text scores 1.66:1 on white and 12.63:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#a5ceeb on white: 1.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#a5ceeb on black: 12.63:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C2CDEC
deuteranopia · #B8C5EB
tritanopia · #8FD5D7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #a5ceeb 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.

#F4F8FB
#E8F1F7
#CBE1F0
#a5ceeb
#75B4E0
#479BD6
#2D88C8
#2571A7
#1E5A85
#194361
#102A3D
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F4F8FBDarkest = 950 · #102A3D
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F8FB;
  --brand-100: #E8F1F7;
  --brand-200: #CBE1F0;
  --brand-300: #a5ceeb;
  --brand-400: #75B4E0;
  --brand-500: #479BD6;
  --brand-600: #2D88C8;
  --brand-700: #2571A7;
  --brand-800: #1E5A85;
  --brand-900: #194361;
  --brand-950: #102A3D;
  --brand: #a5ceeb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #a5ceeb

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#C0DAED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B7A9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#AB3821
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#174768
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAF4FA
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 #a5ceeb

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#EBC2A5
Analogous left#A5EBE5
Analogous right#A5ABEB
Split-complement 1#EBA5AB
Split-complement 2#EBE5A5
Triadic 1#EBA5CE
Triadic 2#CEEBA5
Tetradic#E5A5EB

RGB percentages

Red64.7%
Green80.8%
Blue92.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan29.8%
Magenta12.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#a5ceeb text on a black background

contrast 12.63:1

Card sample

#a5ceeb text on a white background

contrast 1.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #a5ceeb;
Background color
Panel with #a5ceeb background
background-color: #a5ceeb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #a5ceeb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(165, 206, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(165, 206, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #a5ceeb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #a5ceeb, #ABA5EB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #a5ceeb

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.

#a5ceeb 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.

#a5ceeb, answered

What color is #a5ceeb?

#a5ceeb is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Sky Blue (ΔE2000 5.1). It sits at 205° on the hue wheel with 64% saturation and 78% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #a5ceeb?

rgb(165, 206, 235) — 165 red, 206 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 64.7% / 80.8% / 92.2% by channel.

Is #a5ceeb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5814 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.63:1.

Should I use black or white text on #a5ceeb?

Black. It scores 12.63:1 against #a5ceeb, versus 1.66:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #a5ceeb?

#EBC2A5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EBA5AB and #EBE5A5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #a5ceeb?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DAED for borders, #4B7A9B for secondary text, #AB3821 as an accent and #174768 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #A5EBE5 and #A5ABEB stays calm, while #EBC2A5 is the loudest partner.

What is #a5ceeb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(30%, 12%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #a5ceeb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 98 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #A5E8EB; nudged cooler, #8FBBE8.

Work with #a5ceeb in the Color Lab