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blue · cool

#aeadf4

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

Token name suggestion: Morning Cobalt

RGB
174, 173, 244
HSL
241°, 76%, 82%
CMYK
29, 29, 0, 4
Luminance
0.4542

#aeadf4 is a light electric blue, 241° on the wheel and 83/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.08:1). As text it scores 2.08:1 on white — use #6765EA instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is blue.

hsl(241 76% 82%)rgb(174 173 244)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #aeadf4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#aeadf4
Hue
241°
blue
Saturation
76%
electric
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
96%
HSV value
Perceived
72%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4542
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
83/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.08:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 9.7
Chroma
38.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.775
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
blue
500 · ΔE 19.7
Web-safe
#9999FF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue241° of 360°
Saturation76%
Lightness82%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #aeadf4.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool83% 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
Red20%
Green66%
Blue14%

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

Every format

HEX#aeadf4
HEX (8-digit)#aeadf4ff
RGBrgb(174, 173, 244)
RGBArgba(174, 173, 244, 1)
HSLhsl(241, 76%, 82%)
HSV / HSBhsv(241, 29%, 96%)
HWBhwb(241 68% 4%)
CMYKcmyk(29%, 29%, 0%, 4%)
LABlab(73.2 15.8 -35.2)
LCHlch(73.2 38.6 294.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.775 0.101 284.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.72, 45.42, 91.77)
Decimal11447796
Display P3color(display-p3 0.682 0.678 0.957)
Web-safe#9999FF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #aeadf4;
background-color: #aeadf4;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #aeadf4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#aeadf4] bg-[#aeadf4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #aeadf4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.682, green: 0.678, blue: 0.957)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.682, green: 0.678, blue: 0.957, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#AEADF4</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFAEADF4)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFAEADF4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(244, 173, 174)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(174, 173, 244)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(174, 173, 244)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 174, 173, 244)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6824f, 0.6784f, 0.9569f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{174,173,244}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #aeadf4 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #aeadf4 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#100F70, #D3D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #aeadf4 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: #F3F3FC;
  --brand-100: #E7E7F9;
  --brand-200: #C8C8F4;
  --brand-300: #aeadf4;
  --brand-400: #6C6BEB;
  --brand-500: #3B39E4;
  --brand-600: #1F1DD8;
  --brand-700: #1A18B4;
  --brand-800: #151390;
  --brand-900: #131268;
  --brand-950: #0C0B41;
  --brand: #aeadf4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F4FA;
  --brand-border: #C0C0ED;
  --brand-hover: #8F8EF0;
  --brand-pressed: #706EEC;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141424;
    --brand-ink: #D3D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F3F3FC',
        100: '#E7E7F9',
        200: '#C8C8F4',
        300: '#aeadf4',
        400: '#6C6BEB',
        500: '#3B39E4',
        600: '#1F1DD8',
        700: '#1A18B4',
        800: '#151390',
        900: '#131268',
        950: '#0C0B41',
        DEFAULT: '#aeadf4',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F3F3FC,
  '100': #E7E7F9,
  '200': #C8C8F4,
  '300': #aeadf4,
  '400': #6C6BEB,
  '500': #3B39E4,
  '600': #1F1DD8,
  '700': #1A18B4,
  '800': #151390,
  '900': #131268,
  '950': #0C0B41,
);
$brand-base: #aeadf4;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F3F3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E7E7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#C8C8F4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#aeadf4", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#6C6BEB", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#3B39E4", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#1F1DD8", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#1A18B4", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#151390", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#131268", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#0C0B41", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #aeadf4 · 10.08:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.08:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.08:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #aeadf4 as text scores 2.08:1 on white and 10.08:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #100F70 at 7.61:1.

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
#6765EA · 4.54:1
AA on white−16% L
#6765EA
The quick fox
#3B38E4 · 7.31:1
AAA on white−26% L
#3B38E4
The quick fox
#aeadf4 · 10.08:1
AA on blackalready passes
#aeadf4
The quick fox
#aeadf4 · 10.08:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#aeadf4

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8B89EF 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
#aeadf4 on white: 2.08:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#aeadf4 on black: 10.08:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #aeadf4 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #aeadf4.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.08:1AaAa
Slate 501.99:1AaAa
Slate 1001.90:1AaAa
Slate 2001.69:1AaAa
Slate 3001.40:1AaAa
Slate 4001.23:1AaAa
Slate 5002.29:1AaAa
Slate 6003.64:1AaAa
Slate 7004.97:1AaAa
Slate 8007.02:1AaAa
Slate 9008.57:1AaAa
Black10.08:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #99B6F7
deuteranopia · #97B2F2
tritanopia · #9DBAC6

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. #aeadf4 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.

#F3F3FC
#E7E7F9
#C8C8F4
#aeadf4
#6C6BEB
#3B39E4
#1F1DD8
#1A18B4
#151390
#131268
#0C0B41
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3F3FCDarkest = 950 · #0C0B41Text 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 0.025 284.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.040 284.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.060 284.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.079 284.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.093 284.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.101 284.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.101 284.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.095 284.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.085 284.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.070 284.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.055 284.4);
}

Colors that work with #aeadf4

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#F4F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0C0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4C4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B89114
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#100F70
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9E9FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141424
Dark-mode background
Hover#8F8EF0
One step down in lightness
Pressed#706EEC
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BCBCFA
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 #aeadf4

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #100F70
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8B89EF

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.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. 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
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight18/100
  • 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#F3F4AD
Analogous left#ADD0F4
Analogous right#D2ADF4
Split-complement 1#F4D2AD
Split-complement 2#D0F4AD
Triadic 1#F4AEAD
Triadic 2#ADF4AE
Tetradic#F4ADD0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°241°

#aeadf4 sits at 241°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red68.2%
Green67.8%
Blue95.7%
R · 0–255
174
0xae
G · 0–255
173
0xad
B · 0–255
244
0xf4

CMYK percentages

Cyan28.7%
Magenta29.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)4.3%

Total ink coverage is 62%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#aeadf4 text on a black background

contrast 10.08:1

Card sample

#aeadf4 text on a white background

contrast 2.08:1

Card sample

#aeadf4 on grey

1.90:1

#aeadf4 on its own surface

1.90:1

#aeadf4 on its dark surface

8.73:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #aeadf4;
Background color
Panel with #aeadf4 background
background-color: #aeadf4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #aeadf4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(174, 173, 244, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(174, 173, 244, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #aeadf4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #aeadf4, #DDADF4);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #aeadf4, #EFADF4);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #aeadf4;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #aeadf4;
caret-color: #aeadf4;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #aeadf4;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #E9E9FC;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #aeadf4;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#aeadf4 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #aeadf4 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(174, 173, 244, 0.5)
rgb(174 173 244 / 50%)
#aeadf480
hsl(241 76% 82% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #aeadf4 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#aeadf41a#F7F7FE
20%#aeadf433#EFEFFD
40%#aeadf466#DFDEFB
60%#aeadf499#CECEF8
80%#aeadf4cc#BEBDF6

Gradients from #aeadf4

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, #E3E3FB, #aeadf4 45%, #100F70);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #aeadf4, #DA92F0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #aeadf4, #F3F4AD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F2F2FD 0%, #aeadf4 45%, #100F70 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DAECFA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E4C8F8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #100F70 0%, transparent 65%), #aeadf4;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #aeadf4

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.

#aeadf4 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

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 10.08:1.

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.

#aeadf4, answered

What color is #aeadf4?

#aeadf4 is a light electric blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 9.7). It sits at 241° on the hue wheel with 76% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #aeadf4?

rgb(174, 173, 244) — 174 red, 173 green and 244 blue out of 255, or 68.2% / 67.8% / 95.7% by channel.

What is #aeadf4 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(241, 76%, 82%) and hsv(241, 29%, 96%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #aeadf4 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4542 and perceived brightness is 72%, so black text on it reaches 10.08:1.

Should I use black or white text on #aeadf4?

Black. It scores 10.08:1 against #aeadf4, versus 2.08:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #aeadf4 accessible on a white background?

#aeadf4 on white scores 2.08:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #6765EA to reach 4.5:1, or #3B38E4 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #aeadf4?

#F3F4AD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F4D2AD and #D0F4AD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #aeadf4?

For interface work: #F4F4FA as the surface, #C0C0ED for borders, #4C4B9B for secondary text, #B89114 as an accent and #100F70 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #ADD0F4 and #D2ADF4 stays calm, while #F3F4AD is the loudest partner.

What is #aeadf4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(29%, 29%, 0%, 4%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #aeadf4 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 83 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C8ADF4; nudged cooler, #ACC5F5.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #aeadf4?

The blue family — its 500 step is #3b82f6, ΔE2000 19.7 away. That is a visible difference, so define #aeadf4 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #aeadf4 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#aeadf4] or text-[#aeadf4], 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 #aeadf4 with 50% opacity?

rgba(174, 173, 244, 0.5), or #aeadf480 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D7D6FA; over black, #57577A.

Is #aeadf4 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999FF, ΔE2000 7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #aeadf4 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #aeadf4?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E3E3FB, #aeadf4 45%, #100F70). For more colour, a short hue run to #DA92F0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #aeadf4 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #aeadf4 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.