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blue · cool

#b4acdf

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Harbour

RGB
180, 172, 223
HSL
249°, 44%, 78%
CMYK
19, 23, 0, 13
Luminance
0.4454

#b4acdf is a light soft blue, 249° on the wheel and 78/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.91:1). As text it scores 2.12:1 on white — use #786AC5 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is blue.

hsl(249 44% 78%)rgb(180 172 223)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b4acdf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b4acdf
Hue
249°
blue
Saturation
44%
soft
Lightness
78%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
71%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4454
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
78/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.91:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 11.3
Chroma
28.0
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.769
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
blue
500 · ΔE 23.1
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue249° of 360°
Saturation44%
Lightness78%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b4acdf.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red22%
Green66%
Blue12%

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

Every format

HEX#b4acdf
HEX (8-digit)#b4acdfff
RGBrgb(180, 172, 223)
RGBArgba(180, 172, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(249, 44%, 78%)
HSV / HSBhsv(249, 23%, 87%)
HWBhwb(249 67% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(19%, 23%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(72.6 13.3 -24.6)
LCHlch(72.6 28.0 298.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.769 0.073 291.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(46.89, 44.54, 75.92)
Decimal11840735
Display P3color(display-p3 0.706 0.675 0.875)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b4acdf;
background-color: #b4acdf;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b4acdf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b4acdf] bg-[#b4acdf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b4acdf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.706, green: 0.675, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.706, green: 0.675, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B4ACDF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB4ACDF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB4ACDF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 172, 180)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(180, 172, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(180, 172, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 180, 172, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7059f, 0.6745f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{180,172,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b4acdf 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b4acdf 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2C245C, #D7D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b4acdf 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: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-100: #ECEAF5;
  --brand-200: #D5D1EB;
  --brand-300: #b4acdf;
  --brand-400: #9186D0;
  --brand-500: #6D5DC1;
  --brand-600: #5544B1;
  --brand-700: #473993;
  --brand-800: #392D76;
  --brand-900: #2C2456;
  --brand-950: #1C1736;
  --brand: #b4acdf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F4FA;
  --brand-border: #CAC4E8;
  --brand-hover: #9D92D5;
  --brand-pressed: #8679CB;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #161424;
    --brand-ink: #D7D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F5FA',
        100: '#ECEAF5',
        200: '#D5D1EB',
        300: '#b4acdf',
        400: '#9186D0',
        500: '#6D5DC1',
        600: '#5544B1',
        700: '#473993',
        800: '#392D76',
        900: '#2C2456',
        950: '#1C1736',
        DEFAULT: '#b4acdf',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F5FA,
  '100': #ECEAF5,
  '200': #D5D1EB,
  '300': #b4acdf,
  '400': #9186D0,
  '500': #6D5DC1,
  '600': #5544B1,
  '700': #473993,
  '800': #392D76,
  '900': #2C2456,
  '950': #1C1736,
);
$brand-base: #b4acdf;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECEAF5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D5D1EB", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#b4acdf", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9186D0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6D5DC1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5544B1", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#473993", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#392D76", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2C2456", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1C1736", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b4acdf · 9.91:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.91:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b4acdf as text scores 2.12:1 on white and 9.91:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2C245C at 6.54:1.

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
#786AC5 · 4.50:1
AA on white−18% L
#786AC5
The quick fox
#5846B6 · 7.08:1
AAA on white−28% L
#5846B6
The quick fox
#b4acdf · 9.91:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b4acdf
The quick fox
#b4acdf · 9.91:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b4acdf

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #968BD2 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
#b4acdf on white: 2.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b4acdf on black: 9.91:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b4acdf as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b4acdf.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.12:1AaAa
Slate 502.03:1AaAa
Slate 1001.93:1AaAa
Slate 2001.72:1AaAa
Slate 3001.43:1AaAa
Slate 4001.21:1AaAa
Slate 5002.25:1AaAa
Slate 6003.57:1AaAa
Slate 7004.89:1AaAa
Slate 8006.90:1AaAa
Slate 9008.42:1AaAa
Black9.91:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A0B3E1
deuteranopia · #A1B1DE
tritanopia · #ABB4BD

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. #b4acdf 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.

#F6F5FA
#ECEAF5
#D5D1EB
#b4acdf
#9186D0
#6D5DC1
#5544B1
#473993
#392D76
#2C2456
#1C1736
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F5FADarkest = 950 · #1C1736Text step on white = 500
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 0.018 291.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.029 291.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.044 291.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.057 291.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.067 291.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.073 291.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.073 291.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.068 291.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.061 291.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.051 291.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.040 291.8);
}

Colors that work with #b4acdf

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#F5F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#CAC4E8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#574B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#978E35
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2C245C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEEDF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161424
Dark-mode background
Hover#9D92D5
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8679CB
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#BEB6E9
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 #b4acdf

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 #2C245C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #968BD2

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
  • Weight23/100
  • 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#D7DFAC
Analogous left#ACBEDF
Analogous right#CEACDF
Split-complement 1#DFCEAC
Split-complement 2#BEDFAC
Triadic 1#DFB4AC
Triadic 2#ACDFB4
Tetradic#DFACBE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°249°

#b4acdf sits at 249°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red70.6%
Green67.5%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
180
0xb4
G · 0–255
172
0xac
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan19.3%
Magenta22.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 55%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b4acdf text on a black background

contrast 9.91:1

Card sample

#b4acdf text on a white background

contrast 2.12:1

Card sample

#b4acdf on grey

1.93:1

#b4acdf on its own surface

1.94:1

#b4acdf on its dark surface

8.54:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b4acdf;
Background color
Panel with #b4acdf background
background-color: #b4acdf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b4acdf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(180, 172, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(180, 172, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b4acdf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b4acdf, #D6ACDF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b4acdf, #DFACDB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b4acdf;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b4acdf;
caret-color: #b4acdf;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b4acdf;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEEDF8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b4acdf;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b4acdf 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b4acdf 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(180, 172, 223, 0.5)
rgb(180 172 223 / 50%)
#b4acdf80
hsl(249 44% 78% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b4acdf 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b4acdf1a#F8F7FC
20%#b4acdf33#F0EEF9
40%#b4acdf66#E1DEF2
60%#b4acdf99#D2CDEC
80%#b4acdfcc#C3BDE5

Gradients from #b4acdf

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, #DCD8F0, #b4acdf 45%, #2C245C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b4acdf, #D196D7);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b4acdf, #D7DFAC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F0EEF9 0%, #b4acdf 45%, #2C245C 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #D1DDED 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DEC2E8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2C245C 0%, transparent 65%), #b4acdf;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b4acdf

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.

#b4acdf 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 9.91:1.

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.

#b4acdf, answered

What color is #b4acdf?

#b4acdf is a light soft blue, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 11.3). It sits at 249° on the hue wheel with 44% saturation and 78% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b4acdf?

rgb(180, 172, 223) — 180 red, 172 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 70.6% / 67.5% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #b4acdf in HSL and HSV?

hsl(249, 44%, 78%) and hsv(249, 23%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b4acdf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4454 and perceived brightness is 71%, so black text on it reaches 9.91:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b4acdf?

Black. It scores 9.91:1 against #b4acdf, versus 2.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b4acdf accessible on a white background?

#b4acdf on white scores 2.12:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #786AC5 to reach 4.5:1, or #5846B6 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b4acdf?

#D7DFAC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFCEAC and #BEDFAC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b4acdf?

For interface work: #F5F4FA as the surface, #CAC4E8 for borders, #574B9B for secondary text, #978E35 as an accent and #2C245C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #ACBEDF and #CEACDF stays calm, while #D7DFAC is the loudest partner.

What is #b4acdf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(19%, 23%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b4acdf 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 #C7ACDF; nudged cooler, #ABB6E0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b4acdf?

The blue family — its 500 step is #3b82f6, ΔE2000 23.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b4acdf as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b4acdf in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b4acdf] or text-[#b4acdf], 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 #b4acdf with 50% opacity?

rgba(180, 172, 223, 0.5), or #b4acdf80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DAD6EF; over black, #5A5670.

Is #b4acdf a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 11.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b4acdf 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 #b4acdf?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #DCD8F0, #b4acdf 45%, #2C245C). For more colour, a short hue run to #D196D7 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b4acdf in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b4acdf at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.