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blue · cool

#abafdc

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Sapphire

RGB
171, 175, 220
HSL
235°, 41%, 77%
CMYK
22, 21, 0, 14
Luminance
0.4449

#abafdc is a light soft blue, 235° on the wheel and 86/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.90:1). As text it scores 2.12:1 on white — use #676EC0 instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is blue.

hsl(235 41% 77%)rgb(171 175 220)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

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

Hex
#abafdc
Hue
235°
blue
Saturation
41%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
70%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4449
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
86/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.90:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 9.7
Chroma
24.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.766
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
blue
500 · ΔE 21
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue235° of 360°
Saturation41%
Lightness77%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #abafdc.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool86% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red19%
Green69%
Blue12%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#abafdc
HEX (8-digit)#abafdcff
RGBrgb(171, 175, 220)
RGBArgba(171, 175, 220, 1)
HSLhsl(235, 41%, 77%)
HSV / HSBhsv(235, 22%, 86%)
HWBhwb(235 67% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(22%, 21%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(72.5 8.1 -23.1)
LCHlch(72.5 24.5 289.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.766 0.064 280.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(45.04, 44.48, 73.91)
Decimal11251676
Display P3color(display-p3 0.671 0.686 0.863)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #abafdc;
background-color: #abafdc;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #abafdc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#abafdc] bg-[#abafdc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #abafdc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.671, green: 0.686, blue: 0.863)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.671, green: 0.686, blue: 0.863, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#ABAFDC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFABAFDC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFABAFDC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(220, 175, 171)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(171, 175, 220)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(171, 175, 220)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 171, 175, 220)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6706f, 0.6863f, 0.8627f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{171,175,220}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #abafdc 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #abafdc 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#252A5A, #D4D6ED);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #abafdc h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F5FA;
  --brand-100: #EBECF5;
  --brand-200: #D2D4EA;
  --brand-300: #abafdc;
  --brand-400: #888ECE;
  --brand-500: #6168BD;
  --brand-600: #4850AD;
  --brand-700: #3C4390;
  --brand-800: #303573;
  --brand-900: #262A54;
  --brand-950: #181A35;
  --brand: #abafdc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F5FA;
  --brand-border: #C5C8E7;
  --brand-hover: #9297D2;
  --brand-pressed: #797FC7;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141524;
    --brand-ink: #D4D6ED;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F5F5FA',
        100: '#EBECF5',
        200: '#D2D4EA',
        300: '#abafdc',
        400: '#888ECE',
        500: '#6168BD',
        600: '#4850AD',
        700: '#3C4390',
        800: '#303573',
        900: '#262A54',
        950: '#181A35',
        DEFAULT: '#abafdc',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F5F5FA,
  '100': #EBECF5,
  '200': #D2D4EA,
  '300': #abafdc,
  '400': #888ECE,
  '500': #6168BD,
  '600': #4850AD,
  '700': #3C4390,
  '800': #303573,
  '900': #262A54,
  '950': #181A35,
);
$brand-base: #abafdc;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F5F5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EBECF5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D2D4EA", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#abafdc", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#888ECE", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6168BD", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#4850AD", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#3C4390", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#303573", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#262A54", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#181A35", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #abafdc · 9.90:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.90:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #abafdc as text scores 2.12:1 on white and 9.90:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #252A5A at 6.35:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#676EC0 · 4.60:1
AA on white−19% L
#676EC0
The quick fox
#464EA8 · 7.20:1
AAA on white−30% L
#464EA8
The quick fox
#abafdc · 9.90:1
AA on blackalready passes
#abafdc
The quick fox
#abafdc · 9.90:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#abafdc

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8B90CF is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#abafdc on white: 2.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#abafdc on black: 9.90:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #abafdc as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #abafdc.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.12:1AaAa
Slate 502.03:1AaAa
Slate 1001.94:1AaAa
Slate 2001.72:1AaAa
Slate 3001.43:1AaAa
Slate 4001.21:1AaAa
Slate 5002.24:1AaAa
Slate 6003.57:1AaAa
Slate 7004.88:1AaAa
Slate 8006.89:1AaAa
Slate 9008.41:1AaAa
Black9.90:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A3B4DE
deuteranopia · #A1B0DB
tritanopia · #A0B7BE

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F5F5FA
#EBECF5
#D2D4EA
#abafdc
#888ECE
#6168BD
#4850AD
#3C4390
#303573
#262A54
#181A35
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F5FADarkest = 950 · #181A35Text step on white = 500
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.016 280.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.026 280.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.039 280.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.050 280.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.059 280.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.064 280.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.064 280.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.061 280.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.054 280.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.045 280.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.035 280.8);
}

Colors that work with #abafdc

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#C5C8E7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B519B
Captions on the surface
Accent#937639
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#252A5A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDEEF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141524
Dark-mode background
Hover#9297D2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#797FC7
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#B5B9E7
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #abafdc

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #252A5A
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8B90CF

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight23/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#DCD8AB
Analogous left#ABC8DC
Analogous right#C0ABDC
Split-complement 1#DCC0AB
Split-complement 2#C8DCAB
Triadic 1#DCABAF
Triadic 2#AFDCAB
Tetradic#DCABC8
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°235°

#abafdc sits at 235°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red67.1%
Green68.6%
Blue86.3%
R · 0–255
171
0xab
G · 0–255
175
0xaf
B · 0–255
220
0xdc

CMYK percentages

Cyan22.3%
Magenta20.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)13.7%

Total ink coverage is 57%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#abafdc text on a black background

contrast 9.90:1

Card sample

#abafdc text on a white background

contrast 2.12:1

Card sample

#abafdc on grey

1.94:1

#abafdc on its own surface

1.95:1

#abafdc on its dark surface

8.51:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(171, 175, 220, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(171, 175, 220, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #abafdc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #abafdc, #C8ABDC);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #abafdc, #D4ABDC);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #abafdc;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #abafdc;
caret-color: #abafdc;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #abafdc;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EDEEF8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #abafdc;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#abafdc 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #abafdc over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(171, 175, 220, 0.5)
rgb(171 175 220 / 50%)
#abafdc80
hsl(235 41% 77% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #abafdc 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#abafdc1a#F7F7FC
20%#abafdc33#EEEFF8
40%#abafdc66#DDDFF1
60%#abafdc99#CDCFEA
80%#abafdccc#BCBFE3

Gradients from #abafdc

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #D6D8EE, #abafdc 45%, #252A5A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #abafdc, #BF96D3);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #abafdc, #DCD8AB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #ECEDF7 0%, #abafdc 45%, #252A5A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F5FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CFE2EB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D3C1E5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #252A5A 0%, transparent 65%), #abafdc;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #abafdc

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#abafdc 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 9.90:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#abafdc, answered

What color is #abafdc?

#abafdc is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 9.7). It sits at 235° on the hue wheel with 41% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #abafdc?

rgb(171, 175, 220) — 171 red, 175 green and 220 blue out of 255, or 67.1% / 68.6% / 86.3% by channel.

What is #abafdc in HSL and HSV?

hsl(235, 41%, 77%) and hsv(235, 22%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #abafdc a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4449 and perceived brightness is 70%, so black text on it reaches 9.90:1.

Should I use black or white text on #abafdc?

Black. It scores 9.90:1 against #abafdc, versus 2.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #abafdc accessible on a white background?

#abafdc on white scores 2.12:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #676EC0 to reach 4.5:1, or #464EA8 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #abafdc?

#DCD8AB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DCC0AB and #C8DCAB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #abafdc?

For interface work: #F4F5FA as the surface, #C5C8E7 for borders, #4B519B for secondary text, #937639 as an accent and #252A5A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #ABC8DC and #C0ABDC stays calm, while #DCD8AB is the loudest partner.

What is #abafdc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(22%, 21%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #abafdc warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 86 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B9ABDC; nudged cooler, #AABEDD.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #abafdc?

The blue family — its 500 step is #3b82f6, ΔE2000 21 away. That is a visible difference, so define #abafdc as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #abafdc in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#abafdc] or text-[#abafdc], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #abafdc with 50% opacity?

rgba(171, 175, 220, 0.5), or #abafdc80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D5D7EE; over black, #56586E.

Is #abafdc a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 6.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #abafdc mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #abafdc?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D6D8EE, #abafdc 45%, #252A5A). For more colour, a short hue run to #BF96D3 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #abafdc in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #abafdc at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.