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blue · cool

#b8d9eb

a light, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Light Blue

Token name suggestion: Meadow Cobalt

RGB
184, 217, 235
HSL
201°, 56%, 82%
CMYK
22, 8, 0, 8
Luminance
0.6581

#b8d9eb is a light vivid blue, 201° on the wheel and 96/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.16:1). As text it scores 1.48:1 on white — use #2F7DA8 instead. Nearest name is Light Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(201 56% 82%)rgb(184 217 235)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #b8d9eb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#b8d9eb
Hue
201°
blue
Saturation
56%
vivid
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
82%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6581
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
96/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
14.16:1
Closest name
Light Blue
ΔE2000 3.8
Chroma
14.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.867
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 17.3
Web-safe
#CCCCFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue201° of 360°
Saturation56%
Lightness82%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #b8d9eb.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool96% 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
Red15%
Green75%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#b8d9eb
HEX (8-digit)#b8d9ebff
RGBrgb(184, 217, 235)
RGBArgba(184, 217, 235, 1)
HSLhsl(201, 56%, 82%)
HSV / HSBhsv(201, 22%, 92%)
HWBhwb(201 72% 8%)
CMYKcmyk(22%, 8%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(84.9 -7.0 -12.4)
LCHlch(84.9 14.3 240.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.867 0.043 231.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(59.57, 65.81, 88.15)
Decimal12114411
Display P3color(display-p3 0.722 0.851 0.922)
Web-safe#CCCCFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #b8d9eb;
background-color: #b8d9eb;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #b8d9eb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b8d9eb] bg-[#b8d9eb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b8d9eb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.722, green: 0.851, blue: 0.922)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.722, green: 0.851, blue: 0.922, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#B8D9EB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFB8D9EB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFB8D9EB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 217, 184)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(184, 217, 235)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(184, 217, 235)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 184, 217, 235)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7216f, 0.8510f, 0.9216f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{184,217,235}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #b8d9eb 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #b8d9eb 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#1C4A63, #D3E4EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #b8d9eb 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: #F4F8FB;
  --brand-100: #E9F2F6;
  --brand-200: #CEE3EE;
  --brand-300: #b8d9eb;
  --brand-400: #7CB9DA;
  --brand-500: #50A1CE;
  --brand-600: #368FBF;
  --brand-700: #2D779F;
  --brand-800: #245F7F;
  --brand-900: #1E465D;
  --brand-950: #132C3A;
  --brand: #b8d9eb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F8FA;
  --brand-border: #C0DDED;
  --brand-hover: #9CCAE3;
  --brand-pressed: #80BBDB;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141F24;
    --brand-ink: #D3E4EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F4F8FB',
        100: '#E9F2F6',
        200: '#CEE3EE',
        300: '#b8d9eb',
        400: '#7CB9DA',
        500: '#50A1CE',
        600: '#368FBF',
        700: '#2D779F',
        800: '#245F7F',
        900: '#1E465D',
        950: '#132C3A',
        DEFAULT: '#b8d9eb',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F4F8FB,
  '100': #E9F2F6,
  '200': #CEE3EE,
  '300': #b8d9eb,
  '400': #7CB9DA,
  '500': #50A1CE,
  '600': #368FBF,
  '700': #2D779F,
  '800': #245F7F,
  '900': #1E465D,
  '950': #132C3A,
);
$brand-base: #b8d9eb;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F4F8FB", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E9F2F6", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#CEE3EE", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#b8d9eb", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#7CB9DA", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#50A1CE", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#368FBF", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#2D779F", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#245F7F", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#1E465D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#132C3A", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #b8d9eb · 14.16:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.48:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.16:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #b8d9eb as text scores 1.48:1 on white and 14.16:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #1C4A63 at 6.41:1.

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
#2F7DA8 · 4.55:1
AA on white−40% L
#2F7DA8
The quick fox
#235D7C · 7.17:1
AAA on white−51% L
#235D7C
The quick fox
#b8d9eb · 14.16:1
AA on blackalready passes
#b8d9eb
The quick fox
#b8d9eb · 14.16:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#b8d9eb

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #499DCC 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
#b8d9eb on white: 1.48:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#b8d9eb on black: 14.16:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #b8d9eb as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #b8d9eb.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.48:1AaAa
Slate 501.42:1AaAa
Slate 1001.35:1AaAa
Slate 2001.20:1AaAa
Slate 3001.00:1AaAa
Slate 4001.73:1AaAa
Slate 5003.21:1AaAa
Slate 6005.11:1AaAa
Slate 7006.98:1AaAa
Slate 8009.87:1AaAa
Slate 90012.04:1AaAa
Black14.16:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D0D7EC
deuteranopia · #C9D1EB
tritanopia · #AADEDF

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. #b8d9eb 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.

#F4F8FB
#E9F2F6
#CEE3EE
#b8d9eb
#7CB9DA
#50A1CE
#368FBF
#2D779F
#245F7F
#1E465D
#132C3A
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F4F8FBDarkest = 950 · #132C3AText 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 0.011 231.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.017 231.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.026 231.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.034 231.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.040 231.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.043 231.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.043 231.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.040 231.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.036 231.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.030 231.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.024 231.8);
}

Colors that work with #b8d9eb

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#F4F8FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0DDED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B7F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A43628
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1C4A63
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF4F9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141F24
Dark-mode background
Hover#9CCAE3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#80BBDB
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F5F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C5E3F3
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 #b8d9eb

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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 #1C4A63
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #499DCC

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.

This is a confident chroma: strong enough to lead a brand, restrained enough to live in an interface all day. 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-high
  • 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#EBCAB8
Analogous left#B8EBE4
Analogous right#B8C0EB
Split-complement 1#EBB8C0
Split-complement 2#EBE4B8
Triadic 1#EBB8D9
Triadic 2#D9EBB8
Tetradic#E4B8EB
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°201°

#b8d9eb sits at 201°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red72.2%
Green85.1%
Blue92.2%
R · 0–255
184
0xb8
G · 0–255
217
0xd9
B · 0–255
235
0xeb

CMYK percentages

Cyan21.7%
Magenta7.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Total ink coverage is 37%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#b8d9eb text on a black background

contrast 14.16:1

Card sample

#b8d9eb text on a white background

contrast 1.48:1

Card sample

#b8d9eb on grey

1.35:1

#b8d9eb on its own surface

1.39:1

#b8d9eb on its dark surface

11.32:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b8d9eb;
Background color
Panel with #b8d9eb background
background-color: #b8d9eb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b8d9eb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(184, 217, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(184, 217, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #b8d9eb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b8d9eb, #B9B8EB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b8d9eb, #C6B8EB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #b8d9eb;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #b8d9eb;
caret-color: #b8d9eb;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #b8d9eb;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EBF4F9;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #b8d9eb;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#b8d9eb 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #b8d9eb 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(184, 217, 235, 0.5)
rgb(184 217 235 / 50%)
#b8d9eb80
hsl(201 56% 82% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #b8d9eb 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#b8d9eb1a#F8FBFD
20%#b8d9eb33#F1F7FB
40%#b8d9eb66#E3F0F7
60%#b8d9eb99#D4E8F3
80%#b8d9ebcc#C6E1EF

Gradients from #b8d9eb

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, #E8F3F8, #b8d9eb 45%, #1C4A63);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #b8d9eb, #A7A0E4);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #b8d9eb, #EBCAB8);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F3F9FC 0%, #b8d9eb 45%, #1C4A63 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F8FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E0F6F1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D0D2F2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #1C4A63 0%, transparent 65%), #b8d9eb;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #b8d9eb

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.

#b8d9eb 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 14.16:1.

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.

#b8d9eb, answered

What color is #b8d9eb?

#b8d9eb is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Blue (ΔE2000 3.8). It sits at 201° on the hue wheel with 56% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #b8d9eb?

rgb(184, 217, 235) — 184 red, 217 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 72.2% / 85.1% / 92.2% by channel.

What is #b8d9eb in HSL and HSV?

hsl(201, 56%, 82%) and hsv(201, 22%, 92%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #b8d9eb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6581 and perceived brightness is 82%, so black text on it reaches 14.16:1.

Should I use black or white text on #b8d9eb?

Black. It scores 14.16:1 against #b8d9eb, versus 1.48:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #b8d9eb accessible on a white background?

#b8d9eb on white scores 1.48:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #2F7DA8 to reach 4.5:1, or #235D7C for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #b8d9eb?

#EBCAB8 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EBB8C0 and #EBE4B8, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #b8d9eb?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DDED for borders, #4B7F9B for secondary text, #A43628 as an accent and #1C4A63 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #B8EBE4 and #B8C0EB stays calm, while #EBCAB8 is the loudest partner.

What is #b8d9eb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(22%, 8%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #b8d9eb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 96 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #B8EBEA; nudged cooler, #B7D2EC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #b8d9eb?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 17.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #b8d9eb as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #b8d9eb in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#b8d9eb] or text-[#b8d9eb], 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 #b8d9eb with 50% opacity?

rgba(184, 217, 235, 0.5), or #b8d9eb80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DCECF5; over black, #5C6D76.

Is #b8d9eb a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCFF, ΔE2000 15.6 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #b8d9eb 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 chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #b8d9eb?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E8F3F8, #b8d9eb 45%, #1C4A63). For more colour, a short hue run to #A7A0E4 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #b8d9eb in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #b8d9eb at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.