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#b3c8cf

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

RGB
179, 200, 207
HSL
195°, 23%, 76%
CMYK
14, 3, 0, 19
Luminance
0.5540

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b3c8cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b3c8cf
Hue
195°
cyan
Saturation
23%
soft
Lightness
76%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
76%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5540
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
78/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.08:1
Closest name
Light Blue
ΔE2000 6.5
Where it sits
Hue195° of 360°
Saturation23%
Lightness76%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool78% 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#b3c8cf
RGBrgb(179, 200, 207)
HSLhsl(195, 23%, 76%)
CMYKcmyk(14%, 3%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(79.3 -5.7 -5.9)
LCHlch(79.3 8.2 226.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.819 0.025 219.8)
Decimal11782351
Display P3color(display-p3 0.702 0.784 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #b3c8cf;
background-color: #b3c8cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b3c8cf] bg-[#b3c8cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b3c8cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.702, green: 0.784, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#b3c8cf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB3C8CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 200, 179)

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 #b3c8cf · 12.08:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.74:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.08:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b3c8cf as text scores 1.74:1 on white and 12.08:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#b3c8cf on white: 1.74:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b3c8cf on black: 12.08:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C3C6CF
deuteranopia · #BFC3CF
tritanopia · #ACCBCA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #b3c8cf 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.

#F6F8F9
#EDF1F2
#D7E1E4
#b3c8cf
#98B4BE
#759BA8
#5F8896
#4F727D
#3F5B64
#30444A
#1E2A2E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F8F9Darkest = 950 · #1E2A2E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F8F9;
  --brand-100: #EDF1F2;
  --brand-200: #D7E1E4;
  --brand-300: #b3c8cf;
  --brand-400: #98B4BE;
  --brand-500: #759BA8;
  --brand-600: #5F8896;
  --brand-700: #4F727D;
  --brand-800: #3F5B64;
  --brand-900: #30444A;
  --brand-950: #1E2A2E;
  --brand: #b3c8cf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #b3c8cf

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#F6F8F9
Tinted page background
Border#CDDBDF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#59808D
Captions on the surface
Accent#814B4B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#31474E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF4F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161F22
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 #b3c8cf

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

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#CFBAB3
Analogous left#B3CFC8
Analogous right#B3BACF
Split-complement 1#CFB3BA
Split-complement 2#CFC8B3
Triadic 1#CFB3C8
Triadic 2#C8CFB3
Tetradic#C8B3CF

RGB percentages

Red70.2%
Green78.4%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan13.5%
Magenta3.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#b3c8cf text on a black background

contrast 12.08:1

Card sample

#b3c8cf text on a white background

contrast 1.74:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b3c8cf;
Background color
Panel with #b3c8cf background
background-color: #b3c8cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b3c8cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(179, 200, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(179, 200, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b3c8cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b3c8cf, #B3B5CF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b3c8cf

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.

#b3c8cf 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.

#b3c8cf, answered

What color is #b3c8cf?

#b3c8cf is a light soft cyan, closest to Light Blue (ΔE2000 6.5). It sits at 195° on the hue wheel with 23% saturation and 76% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b3c8cf?

rgb(179, 200, 207) — 179 red, 200 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 70.2% / 78.4% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #b3c8cf a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5540 and perceived brightness is 76%, so black text on it reaches 12.08:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b3c8cf?

Black. It scores 12.08:1 against #b3c8cf, versus 1.74:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #b3c8cf?

#CFBAB3 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFB3BA and #CFC8B3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b3c8cf?

For interface work: #F6F8F9 as the surface, #CDDBDF for borders, #59808D for secondary text, #814B4B as an accent and #31474E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B3CFC8 and #B3BACF stays calm, while #CFBAB3 is the loudest partner.

What is #b3c8cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(14%, 3%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b3c8cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 78 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B3CFCC; nudged cooler, #B2C1D0.

Work with #b3c8cf in the Color Lab