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blue · cool

#cdc9dc

a light, soft blue · cool · closest name: Lavender

Token name suggestion: Morning Cobalt

RGB
205, 201, 220
HSL
253°, 21%, 83%
CMYK
7, 9, 0, 14
Luminance
0.5992

#cdc9dc is a light soft blue, 253° on the wheel and 66/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.98:1). As text it scores 1.62:1 on white — use #7A6FA2 instead. Nearest name is Lavender, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(253 21% 83%)rgb(205 201 220)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdc9dc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdc9dc
Hue
253°
blue
Saturation
21%
soft
Lightness
83%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5992
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
66/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.98:1
Closest name
Lavender
ΔE2000 6.7
Chroma
10.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.845
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 28.3
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue253° of 360°
Saturation21%
Lightness83%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdc9dc.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool66% 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
Red22%
Green70%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#cdc9dc
HEX (8-digit)#cdc9dcff
RGBrgb(205, 201, 220)
RGBArgba(205, 201, 220, 1)
HSLhsl(253, 21%, 83%)
HSV / HSBhsv(253, 9%, 86%)
HWBhwb(253 79% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(7%, 9%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(81.8 4.9 -8.9)
LCHlch(81.8 10.2 299.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.845 0.026 295.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(58.98, 59.92, 76.15)
Decimal13486556
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.788 0.863)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdc9dc;
background-color: #cdc9dc;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdc9dc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdc9dc] bg-[#cdc9dc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdc9dc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.788, blue: 0.863)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.788, blue: 0.863, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDC9DC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDC9DC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDC9DC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(220, 201, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 201, 220)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 201, 220)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 201, 220)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.7882f, 0.8627f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,201,220}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc9dc 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc9dc 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#38324D, #DDDAE7);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdc9dc 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: #F7F6F9;
  --brand-100: #EEEDF2;
  --brand-200: #cdc9dc;
  --brand-300: #C0BBD3;
  --brand-400: #A099BD;
  --brand-500: #8177A7;
  --brand-600: #6B6094;
  --brand-700: #59507C;
  --brand-800: #484063;
  --brand-900: #363149;
  --brand-950: #221F2E;
  --brand: #cdc9dc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F6F9;
  --brand-border: #D1CEDF;
  --brand-hover: #B9B3CE;
  --brand-pressed: #A59EC0;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #191622;
    --brand-ink: #DDDAE7;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F6F9',
        100: '#EEEDF2',
        200: '#cdc9dc',
        300: '#C0BBD3',
        400: '#A099BD',
        500: '#8177A7',
        600: '#6B6094',
        700: '#59507C',
        800: '#484063',
        900: '#363149',
        950: '#221F2E',
        DEFAULT: '#cdc9dc',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F6F9,
  '100': #EEEDF2,
  '200': #cdc9dc,
  '300': #C0BBD3,
  '400': #A099BD,
  '500': #8177A7,
  '600': #6B6094,
  '700': #59507C,
  '800': #484063,
  '900': #363149,
  '950': #221F2E,
);
$brand-base: #cdc9dc;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F6F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EEEDF2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#cdc9dc", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C0BBD3", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#A099BD", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#8177A7", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#6B6094", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#59507C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#484063", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#363149", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#221F2E", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdc9dc · 12.98:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.62:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.98:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdc9dc as text scores 1.62:1 on white and 12.98:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #38324D at 7.50:1.

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
#7A6FA2 · 4.54:1
AA on white−29% L
#7A6FA2
The quick fox
#5B517D · 7.20:1
AAA on white−42% L
#5B517D
The quick fox
#cdc9dc · 12.98:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdc9dc
The quick fox
#cdc9dc · 12.98:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdc9dc

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #968EB6 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
#cdc9dc on white: 1.62:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdc9dc on black: 12.98:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdc9dc as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdc9dc.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.62:1AaAa
Slate 501.55:1AaAa
Slate 1001.48:1AaAa
Slate 2001.31:1AaAa
Slate 3001.09:1AaAa
Slate 4001.59:1AaAa
Slate 5002.94:1AaAa
Slate 6004.69:1AaAa
Slate 7006.40:1AaAa
Slate 8009.04:1AaAa
Slate 90011.04:1AaAa
Black12.98:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C5CBDD
deuteranopia · #C6CBDB
tritanopia · #CACCCF

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. #cdc9dc is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F7F6F9
#EEEDF2
#cdc9dc
#C0BBD3
#A099BD
#8177A7
#6B6094
#59507C
#484063
#363149
#221F2E
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F7F6F9Darkest = 950 · #221F2EText 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 0.007 295.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.011 295.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.016 295.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.021 295.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.024 295.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.026 295.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.026 295.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.025 295.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.022 295.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.019 295.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.015 295.5);
}

Colors that work with #cdc9dc

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#F6F6F9
Tinted page background
Border#D1CEDF
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#655A8B
Captions on the surface
Accent#807E4C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#38324D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F1F0F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#191622
Dark-mode background
Hover#B9B3CE
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A59EC0
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D6D2E7
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 #cdc9dc

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 #38324D
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #968EB6

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
  • Weight18/100
  • 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#D8DCC9
Analogous left#C9CEDC
Analogous right#D6C9DC
Split-complement 1#DCD6C9
Split-complement 2#CEDCC9
Triadic 1#DCCDC9
Triadic 2#C9DCCD
Tetradic#DCC9CE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°253°

#cdc9dc sits at 253°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green78.8%
Blue86.3%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
201
0xc9
B · 0–255
220
0xdc

CMYK percentages

Cyan6.8%
Magenta8.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)13.7%

Total ink coverage is 29%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cdc9dc text on a black background

contrast 12.98:1

Card sample

#cdc9dc text on a white background

contrast 1.62:1

Card sample

#cdc9dc on grey

1.48:1

#cdc9dc on its own surface

1.50:1

#cdc9dc on its dark surface

11.01:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdc9dc;
Background color
Panel with #cdc9dc background
background-color: #cdc9dc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdc9dc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 201, 220, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 201, 220, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdc9dc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdc9dc, #DAC9DC);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc9dc, #DCC9D9);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdc9dc;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdc9dc;
caret-color: #cdc9dc;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdc9dc;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F1F0F5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdc9dc;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdc9dc 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdc9dc 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(205, 201, 220, 0.5)
rgb(205 201 220 / 50%)
#cdc9dc80
hsl(253 21% 83% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdc9dc 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdc9dc1a#FAFAFC
20%#cdc9dc33#F5F4F8
40%#cdc9dc66#EBE9F1
60%#cdc9dc99#E1DFEA
80%#cdc9dccc#D7D4E3

Gradients from #cdc9dc

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, #EFEEF4, #cdc9dc 45%, #38324D);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdc9dc, #CFB6D0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc9dc, #D8DCC9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F6F6F9 0%, #cdc9dc 45%, #38324D 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F6F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E8EBF0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E5DBE8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #38324D 0%, transparent 65%), #cdc9dc;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdc9dc

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.

#cdc9dc 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 12.98:1.

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.

#cdc9dc, answered

What color is #cdc9dc?

#cdc9dc is a light soft blue, closest to Lavender (ΔE2000 6.7). It sits at 253° on the hue wheel with 21% saturation and 83% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cdc9dc?

rgb(205, 201, 220) — 205 red, 201 green and 220 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 78.8% / 86.3% by channel.

What is #cdc9dc in HSL and HSV?

hsl(253, 21%, 83%) and hsv(253, 9%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdc9dc a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5992 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 12.98:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdc9dc?

Black. It scores 12.98:1 against #cdc9dc, versus 1.62:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdc9dc accessible on a white background?

#cdc9dc on white scores 1.62:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7A6FA2 to reach 4.5:1, or #5B517D for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdc9dc?

#D8DCC9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DCD6C9 and #CEDCC9, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdc9dc?

For interface work: #F6F6F9 as the surface, #D1CEDF for borders, #655A8B for secondary text, #807E4C as an accent and #38324D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C9CEDC and #D6C9DC stays calm, while #D8DCC9 is the loudest partner.

What is #cdc9dc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(7%, 9%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdc9dc warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 66 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D4C9DC; nudged cooler, #C8CBDD.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdc9dc?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 28.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdc9dc as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdc9dc in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdc9dc] or text-[#cdc9dc], 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 #cdc9dc with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 201, 220, 0.5), or #cdc9dc80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6E4EE; over black, #67656E.

Is #cdc9dc a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 9.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdc9dc 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 #cdc9dc?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EFEEF4, #cdc9dc 45%, #38324D). For more colour, a short hue run to #CFB6D0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdc9dc in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdc9dc at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.