Skip to content

#b2dcef

a light, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Light Blue

RGB
178, 220, 239
HSL
199°, 66%, 82%
CMYK
26, 8, 0, 6
Luminance
0.6688

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b2dcef is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b2dcef
Hue
199°
cyan
Saturation
66%
vivid
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6688
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
95/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
14.38:1
Closest name
Light Blue
ΔE2000 2.4
Where it sits
Hue199° of 360°
Saturation66%
Lightness82%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool95% 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#b2dcef
RGBrgb(178, 220, 239)
HSLhsl(199, 66%, 82%)
CMYKcmyk(26%, 8%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(85.4 -9.5 -13.8)
LCHlch(85.4 16.7 235.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.871 0.051 227.2)
Decimal11721967
Display P3color(display-p3 0.698 0.863 0.937)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #b2dcef;
background-color: #b2dcef;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b2dcef] bg-[#b2dcef]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b2dcef;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.698, green: 0.863, blue: 0.937)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#b2dcef")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB2DCEF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(239, 220, 178)

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 #b2dcef · 14.38:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.46:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.38:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b2dcef as text scores 1.46:1 on white and 14.38:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#b2dcef on white: 1.46:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b2dcef on black: 14.38:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D2DAF0
deuteranopia · #C9D2EF
tritanopia · #A0E2E2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #b2dcef 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.

#F3F9FB
#E8F3F8
#CBE5F1
#b2dcef
#74C0E2
#45ABD8
#2A99CB
#237FA9
#1C6687
#184B62
#0F2F3D
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F3F9FBDarkest = 950 · #0F2F3D
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F9FB;
  --brand-100: #E8F3F8;
  --brand-200: #CBE5F1;
  --brand-300: #b2dcef;
  --brand-400: #74C0E2;
  --brand-500: #45ABD8;
  --brand-600: #2A99CB;
  --brand-700: #237FA9;
  --brand-800: #1C6687;
  --brand-900: #184B62;
  --brand-950: #0F2F3D;
  --brand: #b2dcef;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #b2dcef

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#F4F9FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0DFED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B829B
Captions on the surface
Accent#AD271F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#16506A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAF5FB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141F24
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 #b2dcef

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
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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#EFC5B2
Analogous left#B2EFE4
Analogous right#B2BEEF
Split-complement 1#EFB2BE
Split-complement 2#EFE4B2
Triadic 1#EFB2DC
Triadic 2#DCEFB2
Tetradic#E4B2EF

RGB percentages

Red69.8%
Green86.3%
Blue93.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan25.5%
Magenta7.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#b2dcef text on a black background

contrast 14.38:1

Card sample

#b2dcef text on a white background

contrast 1.46:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b2dcef;
Background color
Panel with #b2dcef background
background-color: #b2dcef;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b2dcef;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(178, 220, 239, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(178, 220, 239, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b2dcef;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b2dcef, #B2B3EF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b2dcef

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.

#b2dcef 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.

#b2dcef, answered

What color is #b2dcef?

#b2dcef is a light vivid cyan, closest to Light Blue (ΔE2000 2.4). It sits at 199° on the hue wheel with 66% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b2dcef?

rgb(178, 220, 239) — 178 red, 220 green and 239 blue out of 255, or 69.8% / 86.3% / 93.7% by channel.

Is #b2dcef a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6688 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.38:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b2dcef?

Black. It scores 14.38:1 against #b2dcef, versus 1.46:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #b2dcef?

#EFC5B2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EFB2BE and #EFE4B2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b2dcef?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0DFED for borders, #4B829B for secondary text, #AD271F as an accent and #16506A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B2EFE4 and #B2BEEF stays calm, while #EFC5B2 is the loudest partner.

What is #b2dcef in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(26%, 8%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b2dcef warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 95 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B2EFEC; nudged cooler, #B1D2F0.

Work with #b2dcef in the Color Lab