Skip to content
blue · cool

#bdc9df

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Cobalt

RGB
189, 201, 223
HSL
219°, 35%, 81%
CMYK
15, 10, 0, 13
Luminance
0.5792

#bdc9df is a light soft blue, 219° on the wheel and 95/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.58:1). As text it scores 1.67:1 on white — use #5675AD instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(219 35% 81%)rgb(189 201 223)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bdc9df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bdc9df
Hue
219°
blue
Saturation
35%
soft
Lightness
81%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5792
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
95/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.58:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 3.2
Chroma
12.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.834
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 21.8
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue219° of 360°
Saturation35%
Lightness81%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bdc9df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool95% 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
Red19%
Green72%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#bdc9df
HEX (8-digit)#bdc9dfff
RGBrgb(189, 201, 223)
RGBArgba(189, 201, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(219, 35%, 81%)
HSV / HSBhsv(219, 15%, 87%)
HWBhwb(219 74% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(15%, 10%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(80.7 0.3 -12.3)
LCHlch(80.7 12.3 271.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.834 0.034 262.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(55.19, 57.92, 78.07)
Decimal12437983
Display P3color(display-p3 0.741 0.788 0.875)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bdc9df;
background-color: #bdc9df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bdc9df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bdc9df] bg-[#bdc9df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bdc9df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.741, green: 0.788, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.741, green: 0.788, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BDC9DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBDC9DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBDC9DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 201, 189)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(189, 201, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(189, 201, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 189, 201, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7412f, 0.7882f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{189,201,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bdc9df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bdc9df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2A3956, #D6DDEB);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bdc9df 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: #F5F7F9;
  --brand-100: #ECEEF4;
  --brand-200: #D4DBE8;
  --brand-300: #bdc9df;
  --brand-400: #8EA2C8;
  --brand-500: #6883B6;
  --brand-600: #506EA5;
  --brand-700: #435C89;
  --brand-800: #35496E;
  --brand-900: #2A3751;
  --brand-950: #1A2332;
  --brand: #bdc9df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F7FA;
  --brand-border: #C8D2E4;
  --brand-hover: #A5B5D3;
  --brand-pressed: #8DA2C8;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141A24;
    --brand-ink: #D6DDEB;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F5F7F9',
        100: '#ECEEF4',
        200: '#D4DBE8',
        300: '#bdc9df',
        400: '#8EA2C8',
        500: '#6883B6',
        600: '#506EA5',
        700: '#435C89',
        800: '#35496E',
        900: '#2A3751',
        950: '#1A2332',
        DEFAULT: '#bdc9df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F5F7F9,
  '100': #ECEEF4,
  '200': #D4DBE8,
  '300': #bdc9df,
  '400': #8EA2C8,
  '500': #6883B6,
  '600': #506EA5,
  '700': #435C89,
  '800': #35496E,
  '900': #2A3751,
  '950': #1A2332,
);
$brand-base: #bdc9df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F5F7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECEEF4", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D4DBE8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#bdc9df", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#8EA2C8", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6883B6", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#506EA5", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#435C89", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#35496E", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2A3751", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1A2332", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #bdc9df · 12.58:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.67:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.58:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bdc9df as text scores 1.67:1 on white and 12.58:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2A3956 at 6.92:1.

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
#5675AD · 4.62:1
AA on white−30% L
#5675AD
The quick fox
#415985 · 7.02:1
AAA on white−42% L
#415985
The quick fox
#bdc9df · 12.58:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bdc9df
The quick fox
#bdc9df · 12.58:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bdc9df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7C94BF 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
#bdc9df on white: 1.67:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bdc9df on black: 12.58:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bdc9df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bdc9df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.67:1AaAa
Slate 501.59:1AaAa
Slate 1001.52:1AaAa
Slate 2001.35:1AaAa
Slate 3001.12:1AaAa
Slate 4001.54:1AaAa
Slate 5002.85:1AaAa
Slate 6004.54:1AaAa
Slate 7006.20:1AaAa
Slate 8008.77:1AaAa
Slate 90010.70:1AaAa
Black12.58:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C2CAE0
deuteranopia · #BFC7DE
tritanopia · #B5CDD0

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. #bdc9df 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.

#F5F7F9
#ECEEF4
#D4DBE8
#bdc9df
#8EA2C8
#6883B6
#506EA5
#435C89
#35496E
#2A3751
#1A2332
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F5F7F9Darkest = 950 · #1A2332Text step on white = 600
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 0.008 262.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.013 262.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.020 262.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.026 262.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.031 262.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.034 262.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.034 262.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.031 262.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.028 262.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.023 262.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.018 262.7);
}

Colors that work with #bdc9df

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#F5F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C8D2E4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B679B
Captions on the surface
Accent#8E5E3E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2A3956
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF1F7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141A24
Dark-mode background
Hover#A5B5D3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#8DA2C8
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F4F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#C7D3EA
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 #bdc9df

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 #2A3956
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7C94BF

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
  • Weight19/100
  • 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#DFD3BD
Analogous left#BDDADF
Analogous right#C2BDDF
Split-complement 1#DFC2BD
Split-complement 2#DADFBD
Triadic 1#DFBDC9
Triadic 2#C9DFBD
Tetradic#DFBDDA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°219°

#bdc9df sits at 219°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red74.1%
Green78.8%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
189
0xbd
G · 0–255
201
0xc9
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan15.2%
Magenta9.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 38%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bdc9df text on a black background

contrast 12.58:1

Card sample

#bdc9df text on a white background

contrast 1.67:1

Card sample

#bdc9df on grey

1.52:1

#bdc9df on its own surface

1.55:1

#bdc9df on its dark surface

10.46:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bdc9df;
Background color
Panel with #bdc9df background
background-color: #bdc9df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bdc9df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(189, 201, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(189, 201, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bdc9df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bdc9df, #C8BDDF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bdc9df, #D0BDDF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bdc9df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bdc9df;
caret-color: #bdc9df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bdc9df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEF1F7;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bdc9df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bdc9df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bdc9df 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(189, 201, 223, 0.5)
rgb(189 201 223 / 50%)
#bdc9df80
hsl(219 35% 81% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bdc9df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bdc9df1a#F8FAFC
20%#bdc9df33#F2F4F9
40%#bdc9df66#E5E9F2
60%#bdc9df99#D7DFEC
80%#bdc9dfcc#CAD4E5

Gradients from #bdc9df

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, #E6EBF3, #bdc9df 45%, #2A3956);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bdc9df, #BAA8D5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bdc9df, #DFD3BD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5F7FA 0%, #bdc9df 45%, #2A3956 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F7FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #DFEFF0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #D7D2E9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2A3956 0%, transparent 65%), #bdc9df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bdc9df

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.

#bdc9df 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 12.58:1.

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.

#bdc9df, answered

What color is #bdc9df?

#bdc9df is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 3.2). It sits at 219° on the hue wheel with 35% saturation and 81% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bdc9df?

rgb(189, 201, 223) — 189 red, 201 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 74.1% / 78.8% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #bdc9df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(219, 35%, 81%) and hsv(219, 15%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bdc9df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5792 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.58:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bdc9df?

Black. It scores 12.58:1 against #bdc9df, versus 1.67:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bdc9df accessible on a white background?

#bdc9df on white scores 1.67:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #5675AD to reach 4.5:1, or #415985 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bdc9df?

#DFD3BD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFC2BD and #DADFBD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bdc9df?

For interface work: #F5F7FA as the surface, #C8D2E4 for borders, #4B679B for secondary text, #8E5E3E as an accent and #2A3956 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BDDADF and #C2BDDF stays calm, while #DFD3BD is the loudest partner.

What is #bdc9df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(15%, 10%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bdc9df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 95 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BEBDDF; nudged cooler, #BCCCE0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bdc9df?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 21.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bdc9df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bdc9df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bdc9df] or text-[#bdc9df], 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 #bdc9df with 50% opacity?

rgba(189, 201, 223, 0.5), or #bdc9df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DEE4EF; over black, #5F6570.

Is #bdc9df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 9.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bdc9df 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 #bdc9df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #E6EBF3, #bdc9df 45%, #2A3956). For more colour, a short hue run to #BAA8D5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bdc9df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bdc9df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.