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#bbdcd3

a light, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Powder Blue

RGB
187, 220, 211
HSL
164°, 32%, 80%
CMYK
15, 0, 4, 14
Luminance
0.6645

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bbdcd3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bbdcd3
Hue
164°
cyan
Saturation
32%
soft
Lightness
80%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
82%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6645
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
78/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.29:1
Closest name
Powder Blue
ΔE2000 6.8
Where it sits
Hue164° of 360°
Saturation32%
Lightness80%
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.

Every format

HEX#bbdcd3
RGBrgb(187, 220, 211)
HSLhsl(164, 32%, 80%)
CMYKcmyk(15%, 0%, 4%, 14%)
LABlab(85.2 -12.6 0.8)
LCHlch(85.2 12.6 176.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.868 0.037 177.1)
Decimal12311763
Display P3color(display-p3 0.733 0.863 0.827)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bbdcd3;
background-color: #bbdcd3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bbdcd3] bg-[#bbdcd3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bbdcd3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.733, green: 0.863, blue: 0.827)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bbdcd3")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBBDCD3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(211, 220, 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 #bbdcd3 · 14.29:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.47:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.29:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bbdcd3 as text scores 1.47:1 on white and 14.29:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bbdcd3 on white: 1.47:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bbdcd3 on black: 14.29:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D9D8D3
deuteranopia · #D3D3D4
tritanopia · #B3DDD9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bbdcd3 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.

#F5F9F8
#ECF4F1
#D5E7E2
#bbdcd3
#90C6B7
#6BB39F
#53A28C
#458775
#376C5D
#2B4F45
#1B322B
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1B322B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F9F8;
  --brand-100: #ECF4F1;
  --brand-200: #D5E7E2;
  --brand-300: #bbdcd3;
  --brand-400: #90C6B7;
  --brand-500: #6BB39F;
  --brand-600: #53A28C;
  --brand-700: #458775;
  --brand-800: #376C5D;
  --brand-900: #2B4F45;
  --brand-950: #1B322B;
  --brand: #bbdcd3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bbdcd3

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#F5FAF8
Tinted page background
Border#C9E3DC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4E9783
Captions on the surface
Accent#8B4167
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2B5449
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF6F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142420
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 #bbdcd3

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

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#DCBBC4
Analogous left#BBDCC2
Analogous right#BBD5DC
Split-complement 1#DCBBD5
Split-complement 2#DCC2BB
Triadic 1#D3BBDC
Triadic 2#DCD3BB
Tetradic#C2BBDC

RGB percentages

Red73.3%
Green86.3%
Blue82.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan15.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow4.1%
Key (black)13.7%

Color previews

#bbdcd3 text on a black background

contrast 14.29:1

Card sample

#bbdcd3 text on a white background

contrast 1.47:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bbdcd3;
Background color
Panel with #bbdcd3 background
background-color: #bbdcd3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bbdcd3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(187, 220, 211, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(187, 220, 211, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bbdcd3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bbdcd3, #BBCFDC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bbdcd3

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.

#bbdcd3 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#bbdcd3, answered

What color is #bbdcd3?

#bbdcd3 is a light soft cyan, closest to Powder Blue (ΔE2000 6.8). It sits at 164° on the hue wheel with 32% saturation and 80% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bbdcd3?

rgb(187, 220, 211) — 187 red, 220 green and 211 blue out of 255, or 73.3% / 86.3% / 82.7% by channel.

Is #bbdcd3 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6645 and perceived brightness is 82%, so black text on it reaches 14.29:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bbdcd3?

Black. It scores 14.29:1 against #bbdcd3, versus 1.47:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bbdcd3?

#DCBBC4 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DCBBD5 and #DCC2BB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bbdcd3?

For interface work: #F5FAF8 as the surface, #C9E3DC for borders, #4E9783 for secondary text, #8B4167 as an accent and #2B5449 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BBDCC2 and #BBD5DC stays calm, while #DCBBC4 is the loudest partner.

What is #bbdcd3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(15%, 0%, 4%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bbdcd3 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 #BBDCC7; nudged cooler, #BADADD.

Work with #bbdcd3 in the Color Lab