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#c4d9da

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

RGB
196, 217, 218
HSL
183°, 23%, 81%
CMYK
10, 1, 0, 15
Luminance
0.6642

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c4d9da is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c4d9da
Hue
183°
cyan
Saturation
23%
soft
Lightness
81%
light
Brightness
85%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6642
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
75/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.28:1
Closest name
Light Blue
ΔE2000 6.8
Where it sits
Hue183° of 360°
Saturation23%
Lightness81%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool75% 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#c4d9da
RGBrgb(196, 217, 218)
HSLhsl(183, 23%, 81%)
CMYKcmyk(10%, 1%, 0%, 15%)
LABlab(85.2 -6.8 -2.9)
LCHlch(85.2 7.4 203.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.870 0.023 200.2)
Decimal12900826
Display P3color(display-p3 0.769 0.851 0.855)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c4d9da;
background-color: #c4d9da;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c4d9da] bg-[#c4d9da]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c4d9da;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.769, green: 0.851, blue: 0.855)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c4d9da")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC4D9DA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(218, 217, 196)

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 #c4d9da · 14.28:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.47:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.28:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c4d9da as text scores 1.47:1 on white and 14.28:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c4d9da on white: 1.47:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c4d9da on black: 14.28:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D6D7DA
deuteranopia · #D1D3DA
tritanopia · #BEDBD9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c4d9da 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.

#F6F9F9
#EDF2F2
#D7E4E5
#c4d9da
#98BCBE
#75A6A8
#5E9496
#4F7B7D
#3F6364
#30494A
#1E2E2E
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F9Darkest = 950 · #1E2E2E
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F9F9;
  --brand-100: #EDF2F2;
  --brand-200: #D7E4E5;
  --brand-300: #c4d9da;
  --brand-400: #98BCBE;
  --brand-500: #75A6A8;
  --brand-600: #5E9496;
  --brand-700: #4F7B7D;
  --brand-800: #3F6364;
  --brand-900: #30494A;
  --brand-950: #1E2E2E;
  --brand: #c4d9da;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c4d9da

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#F6F9F9
Tinted page background
Border#CDDFE0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#588B8D
Captions on the surface
Accent#824A55
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#314D4E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF5F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#162222
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 #c4d9da

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#DAC5C4
Analogous left#C4DAD0
Analogous right#C4CEDA
Split-complement 1#DAC4CE
Split-complement 2#DAD0C4
Triadic 1#DAC4D9
Triadic 2#D9DAC4
Tetradic#D0C4DA

RGB percentages

Red76.9%
Green85.1%
Blue85.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan10.1%
Magenta0.5%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)14.5%

Color previews

#c4d9da text on a black background

contrast 14.28:1

Card sample

#c4d9da text on a white background

contrast 1.47:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c4d9da;
Background color
Panel with #c4d9da background
background-color: #c4d9da;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c4d9da;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(196, 217, 218, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(196, 217, 218, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c4d9da;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c4d9da, #C4CADA);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c4d9da

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.

#c4d9da 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.

#c4d9da, answered

What color is #c4d9da?

#c4d9da is a light soft cyan, closest to Light Blue (ΔE2000 6.8). It sits at 183° on the hue wheel with 23% saturation and 81% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #c4d9da?

rgb(196, 217, 218) — 196 red, 217 green and 218 blue out of 255, or 76.9% / 85.1% / 85.5% by channel.

Is #c4d9da a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6642 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.28:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c4d9da?

Black. It scores 14.28:1 against #c4d9da, versus 1.47:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c4d9da?

#DAC5C4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DAC4CE and #DAD0C4, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c4d9da?

For interface work: #F6F9F9 as the surface, #CDDFE0 for borders, #588B8D for secondary text, #824A55 as an accent and #314D4E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C4DAD0 and #C4CEDA stays calm, while #DAC5C4 is the loudest partner.

What is #c4d9da in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(10%, 1%, 0%, 15%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c4d9da warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 75 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C4DAD3; nudged cooler, #C3D1DB.

Work with #c4d9da in the Color Lab