Skip to content
cyan · cool

#e3eeeb

a pale, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Mint Cream

Token name suggestion: Mist Reef

RGB
227, 238, 235
HSL
164°, 24%, 91%
CMYK
5, 0, 1, 7
Luminance
0.8348

#e3eeeb is a pale soft cyan, 164° on the wheel and 71/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (17.70:1). As text it scores 1.19:1 on white — use #4D8072 instead. Nearest name is Mint Cream, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(164 24% 91%)rgb(227 238 235)Base step 100AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #e3eeeb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#e3eeeb
Hue
164°
cyan
Saturation
24%
soft
Lightness
91%
pale
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
92%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8348
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
71/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
17.70:1
Closest name
Mint Cream
ΔE2000 3.6
Chroma
4.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.940
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 26.1
Web-safe
#CCFFFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue164° of 360°
Saturation24%
Lightness91%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #e3eeeb.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool71% 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
Red20%
Green73%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#e3eeeb
HEX (8-digit)#e3eeebff
RGBrgb(227, 238, 235)
RGBArgba(227, 238, 235, 1)
HSLhsl(164, 24%, 91%)
HSV / HSBhsv(164, 5%, 93%)
HWBhwb(164 89% 7%)
CMYKcmyk(5%, 0%, 1%, 7%)
LABlab(93.2 -4.2 0.2)
LCHlch(93.2 4.2 177.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.940 0.012 178.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(77.25, 83.48, 90.62)
Decimal14937835
Display P3color(display-p3 0.890 0.933 0.922)
Web-safe#CCFFFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #e3eeeb;
background-color: #e3eeeb;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #e3eeeb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#e3eeeb] bg-[#e3eeeb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #e3eeeb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.890, green: 0.933, blue: 0.922)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.890, green: 0.933, blue: 0.922, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#E3EEEB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFE3EEEB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFE3EEEB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 238, 227)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(227, 238, 235)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(227, 238, 235)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 227, 238, 235)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8902f, 0.9333f, 0.9216f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{227,238,235}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #e3eeeb 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #e3eeeb 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#304F47, #D9E8E4);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #e3eeeb 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: #F6F9F8;
  --brand-100: #e3eeeb;
  --brand-200: #D7E5E1;
  --brand-300: #B9D5CD;
  --brand-400: #96BFB4;
  --brand-500: #73AA9B;
  --brand-600: #5D9888;
  --brand-700: #4D7F71;
  --brand-800: #3E665B;
  --brand-900: #2F4B43;
  --brand-950: #1E2F2A;
  --brand: #e3eeeb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F9F8;
  --brand-border: #CCE0DB;
  --brand-hover: #CDE1DB;
  --brand-pressed: #B7D3CB;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #15231F;
    --brand-ink: #D9E8E4;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F9F8',
        100: '#e3eeeb',
        200: '#D7E5E1',
        300: '#B9D5CD',
        400: '#96BFB4',
        500: '#73AA9B',
        600: '#5D9888',
        700: '#4D7F71',
        800: '#3E665B',
        900: '#2F4B43',
        950: '#1E2F2A',
        DEFAULT: '#e3eeeb',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F9F8,
  '100': #e3eeeb,
  '200': #D7E5E1,
  '300': #B9D5CD,
  '400': #96BFB4,
  '500': #73AA9B,
  '600': #5D9888,
  '700': #4D7F71,
  '800': #3E665B,
  '900': #2F4B43,
  '950': #1E2F2A,
);
$brand-base: #e3eeeb;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F9F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#e3eeeb", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D7E5E1", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B9D5CD", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#96BFB4", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#73AA9B", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5D9888", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#4D7F71", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3E665B", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2F4B43", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1E2F2A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #e3eeeb · 17.70:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.19:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 17.70:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #e3eeeb as text scores 1.19:1 on white and 17.70:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #304F47 at 7.58:1.

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
#4D8072 · 4.52:1
AA on white−51% L
#4D8072
The quick fox
#3A6056 · 7.03:1
AAA on white−61% L
#3A6056
The quick fox
#e3eeeb · 17.70:1
AA on blackalready passes
#e3eeeb
The quick fox
#e3eeeb · 17.70:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#e3eeeb

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #619F8E 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
#e3eeeb on white: 1.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#e3eeeb on black: 17.70:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #e3eeeb as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #e3eeeb.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.19:1AaAa
Slate 501.13:1AaAa
Slate 1001.08:1AaAa
Slate 2001.04:1AaAa
Slate 3001.25:1AaAa
Slate 4002.16:1AaAa
Slate 5004.01:1AaAa
Slate 6006.39:1AaAa
Slate 7008.73:1AaAa
Slate 80012.33:1AaAa
Slate 90015.04:1AaAa
Black17.70:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #EDECEB
deuteranopia · #EBEBEB
tritanopia · #E1EEED

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. #e3eeeb is pinned to step 100; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F9F8
#e3eeeb
#D7E5E1
#B9D5CD
#96BFB4
#73AA9B
#5D9888
#4D7F71
#3E665B
#2F4B43
#1E2F2A
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1E2F2AText step on white = 700
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 0.003 178.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.005 178.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.007 178.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.010 178.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.011 178.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.012 178.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.012 178.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.012 178.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.010 178.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.009 178.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.007 178.0);
}

Colors that work with #e3eeeb

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#F5F9F8
Tinted page background
Border#CCE0DB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#578F7F
Captions on the surface
Accent#834968
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#304F47
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF5F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#15231F
Dark-mode background
Hover#CDE1DB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B7D3CB
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F7F6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E4F2EE
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 #e3eeeb

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #304F47
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #619F8E

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

cleantechnicalfreshclinical

Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

At high lightness it disappears into white surfaces and thin strokes vanish entirely.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight9/100
  • 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#EEE3E6
Analogous left#E3EEE6
Analogous right#E3ECEE
Split-complement 1#EEE3EC
Split-complement 2#EEE6E3
Triadic 1#EBE3EE
Triadic 2#EEEBE3
Tetradic#E6E3EE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°164°

#e3eeeb sits at 164°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red89.0%
Green93.3%
Blue92.2%
R · 0–255
227
0xe3
G · 0–255
238
0xee
B · 0–255
235
0xeb

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.6%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow1.3%
Key (black)6.7%

Total ink coverage is 13%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#e3eeeb text on a black background

contrast 17.70:1

Card sample

#e3eeeb text on a white background

contrast 1.19:1

Card sample

#e3eeeb on grey

1.08:1

#e3eeeb on its own surface

1.12:1

#e3eeeb on its dark surface

13.70:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #e3eeeb;
Background color
Panel with #e3eeeb background
background-color: #e3eeeb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #e3eeeb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(227, 238, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(227, 238, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #e3eeeb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #e3eeeb, #E3EAEE);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #e3eeeb, #E3E7EE);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #e3eeeb;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #e3eeeb;
caret-color: #e3eeeb;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #e3eeeb;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF5F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #e3eeeb;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#e3eeeb 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #e3eeeb 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(227, 238, 235, 0.5)
rgb(227 238 235 / 50%)
#e3eeeb80
hsl(164 24% 91% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #e3eeeb 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#e3eeeb1a#FCFDFD
20%#e3eeeb33#F9FCFB
40%#e3eeeb66#F4F8F7
60%#e3eeeb99#EEF5F3
80%#e3eeebcc#E9F1EF

Gradients from #e3eeeb

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, #F2F7F6, #e3eeeb 45%, #304F47);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #e3eeeb, #D0DAE2);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #e3eeeb, #EEE3E6);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5F9F8 0%, #e3eeeb 45%, #304F47 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F9F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F6F9FA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #304F47 0%, transparent 65%), #e3eeeb;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #e3eeeb

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.

#e3eeeb 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

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

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 17.70:1.

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.

#e3eeeb, answered

What color is #e3eeeb?

#e3eeeb is a pale soft cyan, closest to Mint Cream (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 164° on the hue wheel with 24% saturation and 91% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #e3eeeb?

rgb(227, 238, 235) — 227 red, 238 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 89% / 93.3% / 92.2% by channel.

What is #e3eeeb in HSL and HSV?

hsl(164, 24%, 91%) and hsv(164, 5%, 93%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #e3eeeb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8348 and perceived brightness is 92%, so black text on it reaches 17.70:1.

Should I use black or white text on #e3eeeb?

Black. It scores 17.70:1 against #e3eeeb, versus 1.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #e3eeeb accessible on a white background?

#e3eeeb on white scores 1.19:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #4D8072 to reach 4.5:1, or #3A6056 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #e3eeeb?

#EEE3E6 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EEE3EC and #EEE6E3, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #e3eeeb?

For interface work: #F5F9F8 as the surface, #CCE0DB for borders, #578F7F for secondary text, #834968 as an accent and #304F47 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #E3EEE6 and #E3ECEE stays calm, while #EEE3E6 is the loudest partner.

What is #e3eeeb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(5%, 0%, 1%, 7%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #e3eeeb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 71 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E3EEE7; nudged cooler, #E3EDEE.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #e3eeeb?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 26.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #e3eeeb as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #e3eeeb in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#e3eeeb] or text-[#e3eeeb], 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 #e3eeeb with 50% opacity?

rgba(227, 238, 235, 0.5), or #e3eeeb80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #F1F7F5; over black, #727776.

Is #e3eeeb a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCFFFF, ΔE2000 11.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #e3eeeb mean?

As a cyan, it reads clean, technical, fresh. Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #e3eeeb?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F2F7F6, #e3eeeb 45%, #304F47). For more colour, a short hue run to #D0DAE2 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #e3eeeb in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #e3eeeb at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.