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#bbcdf3

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

RGB
187, 205, 243
HSL
221°, 70%, 84%
CMYK
23, 16, 0, 5
Luminance
0.6070

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bbcdf3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bbcdf3
Hue
221°
blue
Saturation
70%
vivid
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
95%
HSV value
Perceived
80%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6070
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
94/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
13.14:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 4.8
Where it sits
Hue221° of 360°
Saturation70%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool94% 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#bbcdf3
RGBrgb(187, 205, 243)
HSLhsl(221, 70%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(23%, 16%, 0%, 5%)
LABlab(82.2 2.0 -20.7)
LCHlch(82.2 20.8 275.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.847 0.057 265.2)
Decimal12307955
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.804 0.953)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bbcdf3;
background-color: #bbcdf3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bbcdf3] bg-[#bbcdf3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bbcdf3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.804, blue: 0.953)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bbcdf3")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBCDF3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(243, 205, 187)

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 #bbcdf3 · 13.14:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.60:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.14:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bbcdf3 as text scores 1.60:1 on white and 13.14:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bbcdf3 on white: 1.60:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bbcdf3 on black: 13.14:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C1CFF5
deuteranopia · #BCCAF2
tritanopia · #ADD4D9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bbcdf3 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.

#F3F6FC
#E7EDF8
#bbcdf3
#A0B9EE
#7096E6
#4073DD
#255CD0
#1F4DAD
#183D8B
#162F65
#0E1D3F
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F3F6FCDarkest = 950 · #0E1D3F
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F6FC;
  --brand-100: #E7EDF8;
  --brand-200: #bbcdf3;
  --brand-300: #A0B9EE;
  --brand-400: #7096E6;
  --brand-500: #4073DD;
  --brand-600: #255CD0;
  --brand-700: #1F4DAD;
  --brand-800: #183D8B;
  --brand-900: #162F65;
  --brand-950: #0E1D3F;
  --brand: #bbcdf3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bbcdf3

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#F4F6FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0CEED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B649B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B35C19
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#13306C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9EFFB
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141924
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 #bbcdf3

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

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#F3E1BB
Analogous left#BBE9F3
Analogous right#C5BBF3
Split-complement 1#F3C5BB
Split-complement 2#E9F3BB
Triadic 1#F3BBCD
Triadic 2#CDF3BB
Tetradic#F3BBE9

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green80.4%
Blue95.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan23.0%
Magenta15.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)4.7%

Color previews

#bbcdf3 text on a black background

contrast 13.14:1

Card sample

#bbcdf3 text on a white background

contrast 1.60:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bbcdf3;
Background color
Panel with #bbcdf3 background
background-color: #bbcdf3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bbcdf3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 205, 243, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 205, 243, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bbcdf3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bbcdf3, #CEBBF3);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bbcdf3

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.

#bbcdf3 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.

#bbcdf3, answered

What color is #bbcdf3?

#bbcdf3 is a light vivid blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 4.8). It sits at 221° on the hue wheel with 70% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bbcdf3?

rgb(187, 205, 243) — 187 red, 205 green and 243 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 80.4% / 95.3% by channel.

Is #bbcdf3 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6070 and perceived brightness is 80%, so black text on it reaches 13.14:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bbcdf3?

Black. It scores 13.14:1 against #bbcdf3, versus 1.60:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bbcdf3?

#F3E1BB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F3C5BB and #E9F3BB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bbcdf3?

For interface work: #F4F6FA as the surface, #C0CEED for borders, #4B649B for secondary text, #B35C19 as an accent and #13306C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BBE9F3 and #C5BBF3 stays calm, while #F3E1BB is the loudest partner.

What is #bbcdf3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(23%, 16%, 0%, 5%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bbcdf3 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 94 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BDBBF3; nudged cooler, #BAD3F4.

Work with #bbcdf3 in the Color Lab