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cyan · cool

#b2d8ce

a light, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Powder Blue

Token name suggestion: Drift Lagoon

RGB
178, 216, 206
HSL
164°, 33%, 77%
CMYK
18, 0, 5, 15
Luminance
0.6303

#b2d8ce is a light soft cyan, 164° on the wheel and 79/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (13.61:1). As text it scores 1.54:1 on white — use #428271 instead. Nearest name is Powder Blue, nearest Tailwind family is teal.

hsl(164 33% 77%)rgb(178 216 206)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b2d8ce is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b2d8ce
Hue
164°
cyan
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
77%
light
Brightness
85%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6303
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
79/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
13.61:1
Closest name
Powder Blue
ΔE2000 7
Chroma
14.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.852
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
teal
500 · ΔE 17.2
Web-safe
#99CCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue164° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness77%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b2d8ce.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool79% 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
Red15%
Green78%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#b2d8ce
HEX (8-digit)#b2d8ceff
RGBrgb(178, 216, 206)
RGBArgba(178, 216, 206, 1)
HSLhsl(164, 33%, 77%)
HSV / HSBhsv(164, 18%, 85%)
HWBhwb(164 70% 15%)
CMYKcmyk(18%, 0%, 5%, 15%)
LABlab(83.5 -14.4 0.8)
LCHlch(83.5 14.5 176.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.852 0.042 177.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(54.05, 63.03, 67.70)
Decimal11720910
Display P3color(display-p3 0.698 0.847 0.808)
Web-safe#99CCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b2d8ce;
background-color: #b2d8ce;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b2d8ce;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b2d8ce] bg-[#b2d8ce]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b2d8ce;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.698, green: 0.847, blue: 0.808)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.698, green: 0.847, blue: 0.808, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B2D8CE</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB2D8CE)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB2D8CE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(206, 216, 178)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(178, 216, 206)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(178, 216, 206)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 178, 216, 206)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.6980f, 0.8471f, 0.8078f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{178,216,206}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b2d8ce 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b2d8ce 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2B554A, #D6EAE5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b2d8ce 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: #F5F9F8;
  --brand-100: #ECF4F2;
  --brand-200: #D4E7E2;
  --brand-300: #b2d8ce;
  --brand-400: #8FC6B8;
  --brand-500: #6AB4A0;
  --brand-600: #52A38D;
  --brand-700: #458776;
  --brand-800: #376C5E;
  --brand-900: #2B5046;
  --brand-950: #1B322C;
  --brand: #b2d8ce;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5FAF9;
  --brand-border: #C9E4DD;
  --brand-hover: #9ACCBF;
  --brand-pressed: #83C0B0;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #142420;
    --brand-ink: #D6EAE5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F5F9F8',
        100: '#ECF4F2',
        200: '#D4E7E2',
        300: '#b2d8ce',
        400: '#8FC6B8',
        500: '#6AB4A0',
        600: '#52A38D',
        700: '#458776',
        800: '#376C5E',
        900: '#2B5046',
        950: '#1B322C',
        DEFAULT: '#b2d8ce',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F5F9F8,
  '100': #ECF4F2,
  '200': #D4E7E2,
  '300': #b2d8ce,
  '400': #8FC6B8,
  '500': #6AB4A0,
  '600': #52A38D,
  '700': #458776,
  '800': #376C5E,
  '900': #2B5046,
  '950': #1B322C,
);
$brand-base: #b2d8ce;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F5F9F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECF4F2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D4E7E2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#b2d8ce", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#8FC6B8", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6AB4A0", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#52A38D", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#458776", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#376C5E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2B5046", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1B322C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b2d8ce · 13.61:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.54:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.61:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b2d8ce as text scores 1.54:1 on white and 13.61:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2B554A at 5.44:1.

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
#428271 · 4.50:1
AA on white−39% L
#428271
The quick fox
#306053 · 7.18:1
AAA on white−49% L
#306053
The quick fox
#b2d8ce · 13.61:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b2d8ce
The quick fox
#b2d8ce · 13.61:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b2d8ce

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #51A08B 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
#b2d8ce on white: 1.54:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b2d8ce on black: 13.61:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b2d8ce as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b2d8ce.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.54:1AaAa
Slate 501.48:1AaAa
Slate 1001.41:1AaAa
Slate 2001.25:1AaAa
Slate 3001.04:1AaAa
Slate 4001.66:1AaAa
Slate 5003.08:1AaAa
Slate 6004.91:1AaAa
Slate 7006.71:1AaAa
Slate 8009.48:1AaAa
Slate 90011.57:1AaAa
Black13.61:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D5D3CE
deuteranopia · #CDCECF
tritanopia · #A9D9D5

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. #b2d8ce 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.

#F5F9F8
#ECF4F2
#D4E7E2
#b2d8ce
#8FC6B8
#6AB4A0
#52A38D
#458776
#376C5E
#2B5046
#1B322C
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1B322CText step on white = 800
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 0.011 177.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.017 177.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.025 177.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.033 177.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.039 177.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.042 177.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.042 177.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.040 177.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.036 177.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.030 177.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.023 177.5);
}

Colors that work with #b2d8ce

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#F5FAF9
Tinted page background
Border#C9E4DD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4D9885
Captions on the surface
Accent#8B4168
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2B554A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF6F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142420
Dark-mode background
Hover#9ACCBF
One step down in lightness
Pressed#83C0B0
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F7F6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BBE4D9
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 #b2d8ce

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
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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 #2B554A
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #51A08B

Meaning and mood

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

cleantechnicalfreshclinical

Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered.

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

At high lightness it disappears into white surfaces and thin strokes vanish entirely.

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#D8B2BC
Analogous left#B2D8BB
Analogous right#B2CFD8
Split-complement 1#D8B2CF
Split-complement 2#D8BBB2
Triadic 1#CEB2D8
Triadic 2#D8CEB2
Tetradic#BBB2D8
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°164°

#b2d8ce sits at 164°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red69.8%
Green84.7%
Blue80.8%
R · 0–255
178
0xb2
G · 0–255
216
0xd8
B · 0–255
206
0xce

CMYK percentages

Cyan17.6%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow4.6%
Key (black)15.3%

Total ink coverage is 38%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b2d8ce text on a black background

contrast 13.61:1

Card sample

#b2d8ce text on a white background

contrast 1.54:1

Card sample

#b2d8ce on grey

1.41:1

#b2d8ce on its own surface

1.46:1

#b2d8ce on its dark surface

10.44:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b2d8ce;
Background color
Panel with #b2d8ce background
background-color: #b2d8ce;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b2d8ce;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(178, 216, 206, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(178, 216, 206, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b2d8ce;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b2d8ce, #B2C9D8);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2d8ce, #B2BFD8);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b2d8ce;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b2d8ce;
caret-color: #b2d8ce;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b2d8ce;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEF6F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b2d8ce;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b2d8ce 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b2d8ce 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(178, 216, 206, 0.5)
rgb(178 216 206 / 50%)
#b2d8ce80
hsl(164 33% 77% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b2d8ce 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b2d8ce1a#F7FBFA
20%#b2d8ce33#F0F7F5
40%#b2d8ce66#E0EFEB
60%#b2d8ce99#D1E8E2
80%#b2d8cecc#C1E0D8

Gradients from #b2d8ce

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, #DBEDE8, #b2d8ce 45%, #2B554A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b2d8ce, #9EB6CE);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b2d8ce, #D8B2BC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EFF7F5 0%, #b2d8ce 45%, #2B554A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5FAF9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D4E9D7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #C6D9E2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2B554A 0%, transparent 65%), #b2d8ce;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b2d8ce

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.

#b2d8ce in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
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 13.61:1.

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.

#b2d8ce, answered

What color is #b2d8ce?

#b2d8ce is a light soft cyan, closest to Powder Blue (ΔE2000 7). It sits at 164° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 77% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b2d8ce?

rgb(178, 216, 206) — 178 red, 216 green and 206 blue out of 255, or 69.8% / 84.7% / 80.8% by channel.

What is #b2d8ce in HSL and HSV?

hsl(164, 33%, 77%) and hsv(164, 18%, 85%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b2d8ce a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6303 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.61:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b2d8ce?

Black. It scores 13.61:1 against #b2d8ce, versus 1.54:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b2d8ce accessible on a white background?

#b2d8ce on white scores 1.54:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #428271 to reach 4.5:1, or #306053 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b2d8ce?

#D8B2BC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D8B2CF and #D8BBB2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b2d8ce?

For interface work: #F5FAF9 as the surface, #C9E4DD for borders, #4D9885 for secondary text, #8B4168 as an accent and #2B554A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B2D8BB and #B2CFD8 stays calm, while #D8B2BC is the loudest partner.

What is #b2d8ce in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(18%, 0%, 5%, 15%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b2d8ce warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 79 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B2D8C0; nudged cooler, #B1D5D9.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b2d8ce?

The teal family — its 500 step is #14b8a6, ΔE2000 17.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b2d8ce as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b2d8ce in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b2d8ce] or text-[#b2d8ce], 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 #b2d8ce with 50% opacity?

rgba(178, 216, 206, 0.5), or #b2d8ce80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #D9ECE7; over black, #596C67.

Is #b2d8ce a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #99CCCC, ΔE2000 5.8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b2d8ce mean?

As a cyan, it reads clean, technical, fresh. Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #b2d8ce?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DBEDE8, #b2d8ce 45%, #2B554A). For more colour, a short hue run to #9EB6CE keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b2d8ce in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b2d8ce at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.