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blue · cool

#abbdd2

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

Token name suggestion: Drift Cobalt

RGB
171, 189, 210
HSL
212°, 30%, 75%
CMYK
19, 10, 0, 18
Luminance
0.4971

#abbdd2 is a light soft blue, 212° on the wheel and 92/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.94:1). As text it scores 1.92:1 on white — use #5779A2 instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is sky.

hsl(212 30% 75%)rgb(171 189 210)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #abbdd2 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#abbdd2
Hue
212°
blue
Saturation
30%
soft
Lightness
75%
light
Brightness
82%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4971
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
92/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
10.94:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 2.5
Chroma
12.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.791
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
sky
500 · ΔE 17.8
Web-safe
#99CCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue212° of 360°
Saturation30%
Lightness75%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #abbdd2.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool92% 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
Red17%
Green73%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#abbdd2
HEX (8-digit)#abbdd2ff
RGBrgb(171, 189, 210)
RGBArgba(171, 189, 210, 1)
HSLhsl(212, 30%, 75%)
HSV / HSBhsv(212, 19%, 82%)
HWBhwb(212 67% 18%)
CMYKcmyk(19%, 10%, 0%, 18%)
LABlab(75.9 -1.7 -12.6)
LCHlch(75.9 12.7 262.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.791 0.036 252.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(46.62, 49.71, 68.10)
Decimal11255250
Display P3color(display-p3 0.671 0.741 0.824)
Web-safe#99CCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #abbdd2;
background-color: #abbdd2;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #abbdd2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#abbdd2] bg-[#abbdd2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #abbdd2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.671, green: 0.741, blue: 0.824)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.671, green: 0.741, blue: 0.824, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#ABBDD2</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFABBDD2)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFABBDD2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(210, 189, 171)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(171, 189, 210)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(171, 189, 210)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 171, 189, 210)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6706f, 0.7412f, 0.8235f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{171,189,210}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #abbdd2 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #abbdd2 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2C3E53, #D7E0EA);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #abbdd2 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: #F6F7F9;
  --brand-100: #ECEFF3;
  --brand-200: #D5DDE7;
  --brand-300: #abbdd2;
  --brand-400: #91A9C4;
  --brand-500: #6D8CB1;
  --brand-600: #55789F;
  --brand-700: #476485;
  --brand-800: #39506A;
  --brand-900: #2C3C4E;
  --brand-950: #1C2531;
  --brand: #abbdd2;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F7FA;
  --brand-border: #CAD5E3;
  --brand-hover: #94ABC6;
  --brand-pressed: #7D98B9;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141B24;
    --brand-ink: #D7E0EA;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F7F9',
        100: '#ECEFF3',
        200: '#D5DDE7',
        300: '#abbdd2',
        400: '#91A9C4',
        500: '#6D8CB1',
        600: '#55789F',
        700: '#476485',
        800: '#39506A',
        900: '#2C3C4E',
        950: '#1C2531',
        DEFAULT: '#abbdd2',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F7F9,
  '100': #ECEFF3,
  '200': #D5DDE7,
  '300': #abbdd2,
  '400': #91A9C4,
  '500': #6D8CB1,
  '600': #55789F,
  '700': #476485,
  '800': #39506A,
  '900': #2C3C4E,
  '950': #1C2531,
);
$brand-base: #abbdd2;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECEFF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D5DDE7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#abbdd2", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#91A9C4", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6D8CB1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#55789F", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#476485", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#39506A", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2C3C4E", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1C2531", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #abbdd2 · 10.94:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.92:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.94:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #abbdd2 as text scores 1.92:1 on white and 10.94:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2C3E53 at 5.70:1.

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
#5779A2 · 4.50:1
AA on white−26% L
#5779A2
The quick fox
#405977 · 7.21:1
AAA on white−39% L
#405977
The quick fox
#abbdd2 · 10.94:1
AA on blackalready passes
#abbdd2
The quick fox
#abbdd2 · 10.94:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#abbdd2

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7996B7 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
#abbdd2 on white: 1.92:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#abbdd2 on black: 10.94:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #abbdd2 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #abbdd2.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.92:1AaAa
Slate 501.83:1AaAa
Slate 1001.75:1AaAa
Slate 2001.56:1AaAa
Slate 3001.29:1AaAa
Slate 4001.34:1AaAa
Slate 5002.48:1AaAa
Slate 6003.95:1AaAa
Slate 7005.39:1AaAa
Slate 8007.62:1AaAa
Slate 9009.30:1AaAa
Black10.94:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B6BDD3
deuteranopia · #B1B9D2
tritanopia · #A1C2C4

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. #abbdd2 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.

#F6F7F9
#ECEFF3
#D5DDE7
#abbdd2
#91A9C4
#6D8CB1
#55789F
#476485
#39506A
#2C3C4E
#1C2531
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F7F9Darkest = 950 · #1C2531Text step on white = 600
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 0.009 252.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.014 252.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.022 252.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.028 252.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.033 252.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.036 252.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.036 252.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.034 252.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.030 252.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.025 252.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.020 252.3);
}

Colors that work with #abbdd2

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#F5F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#CAD5E3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#507095
Captions on the surface
Accent#8A5742
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2C3E53
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF2F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141B24
Dark-mode background
Hover#94ABC6
One step down in lightness
Pressed#7D98B9
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F5F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#B3C7DF
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 #abbdd2

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 #2C3E53
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7996B7

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
  • Weight25/100
  • 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#D2C0AB
Analogous left#ABD0D2
Analogous right#ACABD2
Split-complement 1#D2ACAB
Split-complement 2#D0D2AB
Triadic 1#D2ABBD
Triadic 2#BDD2AB
Tetradic#D2ABD0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°212°

#abbdd2 sits at 212°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red67.1%
Green74.1%
Blue82.4%
R · 0–255
171
0xab
G · 0–255
189
0xbd
B · 0–255
210
0xd2

CMYK percentages

Cyan18.6%
Magenta10.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)17.6%

Total ink coverage is 46%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#abbdd2 text on a black background

contrast 10.94:1

Card sample

#abbdd2 text on a white background

contrast 1.92:1

Card sample

#abbdd2 on grey

1.75:1

#abbdd2 on its own surface

1.79:1

#abbdd2 on its dark surface

9.03:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #abbdd2;
Background color
Panel with #abbdd2 background
background-color: #abbdd2;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #abbdd2;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(171, 189, 210, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(171, 189, 210, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #abbdd2;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #abbdd2, #B3ABD2);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #abbdd2, #BDABD2);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #abbdd2;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #abbdd2;
caret-color: #abbdd2;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #abbdd2;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEF2F6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #abbdd2;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#abbdd2 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #abbdd2 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, 189, 210, 0.5)
rgb(171 189 210 / 50%)
#abbdd280
hsl(212 30% 75% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #abbdd2 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#abbdd21a#F7F8FB
20%#abbdd233#EEF2F6
40%#abbdd266#DDE5ED
60%#abbdd299#CDD7E4
80%#abbdd2cc#BCCADB

Gradients from #abbdd2

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, #D3DCE7, #abbdd2 45%, #2C3E53);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #abbdd2, #A597C7);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #abbdd2, #D2C0AB);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E7ECF2 0%, #abbdd2 45%, #2C3E53 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F7FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CCE4E3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C3BFDD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2C3E53 0%, transparent 65%), #abbdd2;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #abbdd2

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.

#abbdd2 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 10.94:1.

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.

#abbdd2, answered

What color is #abbdd2?

#abbdd2 is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 2.5). It sits at 212° on the hue wheel with 30% saturation and 75% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #abbdd2?

rgb(171, 189, 210) — 171 red, 189 green and 210 blue out of 255, or 67.1% / 74.1% / 82.4% by channel.

What is #abbdd2 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(212, 30%, 75%) and hsv(212, 19%, 82%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #abbdd2 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4971 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 10.94:1.

Should I use black or white text on #abbdd2?

Black. It scores 10.94:1 against #abbdd2, versus 1.92:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #abbdd2 accessible on a white background?

#abbdd2 on white scores 1.92:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #5779A2 to reach 4.5:1, or #405977 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #abbdd2?

#D2C0AB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D2ACAB and #D0D2AB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #abbdd2?

For interface work: #F5F7FA as the surface, #CAD5E3 for borders, #507095 for secondary text, #8A5742 as an accent and #2C3E53 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #ABD0D2 and #ACABD2 stays calm, while #D2C0AB is the loudest partner.

What is #abbdd2 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(19%, 10%, 0%, 18%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #abbdd2 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 92 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ABAFD2; nudged cooler, #99B0CB.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #abbdd2?

The sky family — its 500 step is #0ea5e9, ΔE2000 17.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #abbdd2 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #abbdd2 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#abbdd2] or text-[#abbdd2], 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 #abbdd2 with 50% opacity?

rgba(171, 189, 210, 0.5), or #abbdd280 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D5DEE9; over black, #565F69.

Is #abbdd2 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #99CCCC, ΔE2000 14.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #abbdd2 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 #abbdd2?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D3DCE7, #abbdd2 45%, #2C3E53). For more colour, a short hue run to #A597C7 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #abbdd2 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #abbdd2 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.