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blue · cool

#b5becf

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Denim

RGB
181, 190, 207
HSL
219°, 21%, 76%
CMYK
13, 8, 0, 19
Luminance
0.5116

#b5becf is a light soft blue, 219° on the wheel and 77/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (11.23:1). As text it scores 1.87:1 on white — use #65779B instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(219 21% 76%)rgb(181 190 207)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b5becf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b5becf
Hue
219°
blue
Saturation
21%
soft
Lightness
76%
light
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5116
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
77/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
11.23:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 4.4
Chroma
9.6
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.800
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 21.4
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue219° of 360°
Saturation21%
Lightness76%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b5becf.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool77% 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
Red19%
Green72%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#b5becf
HEX (8-digit)#b5becfff
RGBrgb(181, 190, 207)
RGBArgba(181, 190, 207, 1)
HSLhsl(219, 21%, 76%)
HSV / HSBhsv(219, 13%, 81%)
HWBhwb(219 71% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(76.8 0.3 -9.6)
LCHlch(76.8 9.6 271.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.800 0.026 263.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(48.73, 51.16, 66.33)
Decimal11910863
Display P3color(display-p3 0.710 0.745 0.812)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b5becf;
background-color: #b5becf;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b5becf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b5becf] bg-[#b5becf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b5becf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.710, green: 0.745, blue: 0.812)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.710, green: 0.745, blue: 0.812, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B5BECF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB5BECF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB5BECF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 190, 181)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(181, 190, 207)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(181, 190, 207)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 181, 190, 207)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7098f, 0.7451f, 0.8118f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{181,190,207}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b5becf 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b5becf 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#323C4D, #DADEE7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b5becf 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: #EDEFF2;
  --brand-200: #D8DCE4;
  --brand-300: #b5becf;
  --brand-400: #99A5BD;
  --brand-500: #7787A7;
  --brand-600: #607294;
  --brand-700: #505F7C;
  --brand-800: #404C63;
  --brand-900: #313A49;
  --brand-950: #1F242E;
  --brand: #b5becf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F7F9;
  --brand-border: #CED4DF;
  --brand-hover: #9FABC1;
  --brand-pressed: #8A98B3;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #161A22;
    --brand-ink: #DADEE7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F7F9',
        100: '#EDEFF2',
        200: '#D8DCE4',
        300: '#b5becf',
        400: '#99A5BD',
        500: '#7787A7',
        600: '#607294',
        700: '#505F7C',
        800: '#404C63',
        900: '#313A49',
        950: '#1F242E',
        DEFAULT: '#b5becf',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F7F9,
  '100': #EDEFF2,
  '200': #D8DCE4,
  '300': #b5becf,
  '400': #99A5BD,
  '500': #7787A7,
  '600': #607294,
  '700': #505F7C,
  '800': #404C63,
  '900': #313A49,
  '950': #1F242E,
);
$brand-base: #b5becf;
$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": "#EDEFF2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D8DCE4", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#b5becf", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#99A5BD", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7787A7", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#607294", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#505F7C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#404C63", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#313A49", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1F242E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b5becf · 11.23:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.87:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.23:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b5becf as text scores 1.87:1 on white and 11.23:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #323C4D at 5.95:1.

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
#65779B · 4.50:1
AA on white−26% L
#65779B
The quick fox
#4A5873 · 7.16:1
AAA on white−39% L
#4A5873
The quick fox
#b5becf · 11.23:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b5becf
The quick fox
#b5becf · 11.23:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b5becf

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8795B1 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
#b5becf on white: 1.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b5becf on black: 11.23:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b5becf as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b5becf.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.87:1AaAa
Slate 501.79:1AaAa
Slate 1001.71:1AaAa
Slate 2001.52:1AaAa
Slate 3001.26:1AaAa
Slate 4001.37:1AaAa
Slate 5002.55:1AaAa
Slate 6004.05:1AaAa
Slate 7005.54:1AaAa
Slate 8007.82:1AaAa
Slate 9009.55:1AaAa
Black11.23:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B9BFD0
deuteranopia · #B6BCCF
tritanopia · #AFC1C3

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. #b5becf 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
#EDEFF2
#D8DCE4
#b5becf
#99A5BD
#7787A7
#607294
#505F7C
#404C63
#313A49
#1F242E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F7F9Darkest = 950 · #1F242EText 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 0.006 263.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.010 263.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.016 263.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.020 263.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.024 263.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.026 263.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.026 263.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.024 263.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.022 263.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.018 263.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.014 263.3);
}

Colors that work with #b5becf

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#F6F7F9
Tinted page background
Border#CED4DF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#5A6B8B
Captions on the surface
Accent#7F614D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#323C4D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0F1F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161A22
Dark-mode background
Hover#9FABC1
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8A98B3
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F4F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BCC7DC
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 #b5becf

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 #323C4D
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8795B1

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
  • Weight24/100
  • 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#CFC6B5
Analogous left#B5CBCF
Analogous right#B9B5CF
Split-complement 1#CFB9B5
Split-complement 2#CBCFB5
Triadic 1#CFB5BE
Triadic 2#BECFB5
Tetradic#CFB5CB
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°219°

#b5becf sits at 219°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red71.0%
Green74.5%
Blue81.2%
R · 0–255
181
0xb5
G · 0–255
190
0xbe
B · 0–255
207
0xcf

CMYK percentages

Cyan12.6%
Magenta8.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 40%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b5becf text on a black background

contrast 11.23:1

Card sample

#b5becf text on a white background

contrast 1.87:1

Card sample

#b5becf on grey

1.71:1

#b5becf on its own surface

1.74:1

#b5becf on its dark surface

9.32:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b5becf;
Background color
Panel with #b5becf background
background-color: #b5becf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b5becf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(181, 190, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(181, 190, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b5becf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b5becf, #BDB5CF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b5becf, #C4B5CF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b5becf;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b5becf;
caret-color: #b5becf;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b5becf;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0F1F5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b5becf;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b5becf 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b5becf 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(181, 190, 207, 0.5)
rgb(181 190 207 / 50%)
#b5becf80
hsl(219 21% 76% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b5becf 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b5becf1a#F8F9FA
20%#b5becf33#F0F2F5
40%#b5becf66#E1E5EC
60%#b5becf99#D3D8E2
80%#b5becfcc#C4CBD9

Gradients from #b5becf

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, #DADFE7, #b5becf 45%, #323C4D);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b5becf, #B0A3C3);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b5becf, #CFC6B5);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #EDEFF3 0%, #b5becf 45%, #323C4D 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F7F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D4E2E3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #CCC8DB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #323C4D 0%, transparent 65%), #b5becf;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b5becf

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.

#b5becf 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 11.23:1.

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.

#b5becf, answered

What color is #b5becf?

#b5becf is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 4.4). It sits at 219° on the hue wheel with 21% saturation and 76% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b5becf?

rgb(181, 190, 207) — 181 red, 190 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 71% / 74.5% / 81.2% by channel.

What is #b5becf in HSL and HSV?

hsl(219, 21%, 76%) and hsv(219, 13%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b5becf a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5116 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.23:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b5becf?

Black. It scores 11.23:1 against #b5becf, versus 1.87:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b5becf accessible on a white background?

#b5becf on white scores 1.87:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #65779B to reach 4.5:1, or #4A5873 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b5becf?

#CFC6B5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CFB9B5 and #CBCFB5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b5becf?

For interface work: #F6F7F9 as the surface, #CED4DF for borders, #5A6B8B for secondary text, #7F614D as an accent and #323C4D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B5CBCF and #B9B5CF stays calm, while #CFC6B5 is the loudest partner.

What is #b5becf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b5becf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 77 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B6B5CF; nudged cooler, #B4C1D0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b5becf?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 21.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b5becf as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b5becf in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b5becf] or text-[#b5becf], 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 #b5becf with 50% opacity?

rgba(181, 190, 207, 0.5), or #b5becf80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DADFE7; over black, #5B5F68.

Is #b5becf a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 8.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b5becf 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 #b5becf?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DADFE7, #b5becf 45%, #323C4D). For more colour, a short hue run to #B0A3C3 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b5becf in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b5becf at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.