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blue · cool

#c5d1df

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Cobalt

RGB
197, 209, 223
HSL
212°, 29%, 82%
CMYK
12, 6, 0, 13
Luminance
0.6280

#c5d1df is a light soft blue, 212° on the wheel and 90/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (13.56:1). As text it scores 1.55:1 on white — use #58799F instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(212 29% 82%)rgb(197 209 223)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c5d1df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c5d1df
Hue
212°
blue
Saturation
29%
soft
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6280
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
90/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
13.56:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 5.6
Chroma
8.4
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.856
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 21.4
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue212° of 360°
Saturation29%
Lightness82%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c5d1df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool90% 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%
Green73%
Blue8%

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

Every format

HEX#c5d1df
HEX (8-digit)#c5d1dfff
RGBrgb(197, 209, 223)
RGBArgba(197, 209, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(212, 29%, 82%)
HSV / HSBhsv(212, 12%, 87%)
HWBhwb(212 77% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(12%, 6%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(83.3 -1.3 -8.3)
LCHlch(83.3 8.4 261.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.856 0.024 252.2)
XYZ (D65)xyz(59.14, 62.80, 78.80)
Decimal12964319
Display P3color(display-p3 0.773 0.820 0.875)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c5d1df;
background-color: #c5d1df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c5d1df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c5d1df] bg-[#c5d1df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c5d1df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.773, green: 0.820, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.773, green: 0.820, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C5D1DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC5D1DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC5D1DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 209, 197)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(197, 209, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(197, 209, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 197, 209, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7725f, 0.8196f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{197,209,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c5d1df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c5d1df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2D3E52, #D8E0E9);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c5d1df 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: #F6F7F9;
  --brand-100: #ECEFF3;
  --brand-200: #D5DDE6;
  --brand-300: #c5d1df;
  --brand-400: #93A9C3;
  --brand-500: #6E8CAF;
  --brand-600: #57789E;
  --brand-700: #496483;
  --brand-800: #3A5069;
  --brand-900: #2D3C4D;
  --brand-950: #1C2530;
  --brand: #c5d1df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F7FA;
  --brand-border: #CAD5E2;
  --brand-hover: #AEBFD2;
  --brand-pressed: #97ADC6;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141B24;
    --brand-ink: #D8E0E9;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F7F9',
        100: '#ECEFF3',
        200: '#D5DDE6',
        300: '#c5d1df',
        400: '#93A9C3',
        500: '#6E8CAF',
        600: '#57789E',
        700: '#496483',
        800: '#3A5069',
        900: '#2D3C4D',
        950: '#1C2530',
        DEFAULT: '#c5d1df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F7F9,
  '100': #ECEFF3,
  '200': #D5DDE6,
  '300': #c5d1df,
  '400': #93A9C3,
  '500': #6E8CAF,
  '600': #57789E,
  '700': #496483,
  '800': #3A5069,
  '900': #2D3C4D,
  '950': #1C2530,
);
$brand-base: #c5d1df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F7F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECEFF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D5DDE6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#c5d1df", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#93A9C3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6E8CAF", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#57789E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#496483", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3A5069", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2D3C4D", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1C2530", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c5d1df · 13.56:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.55:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.56:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c5d1df as text scores 1.55:1 on white and 13.56:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2D3E52 at 7.05:1.

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
#58799F · 4.52:1
AA on white−34% L
#58799F
The quick fox
#425B78 · 7.00:1
AAA on white−46% L
#425B78
The quick fox
#c5d1df · 13.56:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c5d1df
The quick fox
#c5d1df · 13.56:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c5d1df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7A95B5 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
#c5d1df on white: 1.55:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c5d1df on black: 13.56:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c5d1df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c5d1df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.55:1AaAa
Slate 501.48:1AaAa
Slate 1001.41:1AaAa
Slate 2001.26:1AaAa
Slate 3001.04:1AaAa
Slate 4001.66:1AaAa
Slate 5003.07:1AaAa
Slate 6004.89:1AaAa
Slate 7006.69:1AaAa
Slate 8009.45:1AaAa
Slate 90011.53:1AaAa
Black13.56:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #CCD1E0
deuteranopia · #C9CEDF
tritanopia · #BFD4D5

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. #c5d1df 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.

#F6F7F9
#ECEFF3
#D5DDE6
#c5d1df
#93A9C3
#6E8CAF
#57789E
#496483
#3A5069
#2D3C4D
#1C2530
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F7F9Darkest = 950 · #1C2530Text 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 0.006 252.2);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.009 252.2);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.014 252.2);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.018 252.2);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.022 252.2);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.024 252.2);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.024 252.2);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.022 252.2);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.020 252.2);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.016 252.2);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.013 252.2);
}

Colors that work with #c5d1df

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#CAD5E2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#527094
Captions on the surface
Accent#885844
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2D3E52
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF2F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141B24
Dark-mode background
Hover#AEBFD2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#97ADC6
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F5F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CFDBEA
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 #c5d1df

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 #2D3E52
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7A95B5

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
  • 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#DFD3C5
Analogous left#C5DEDF
Analogous right#C6C5DF
Split-complement 1#DFC6C5
Split-complement 2#DEDFC5
Triadic 1#DFC5D1
Triadic 2#D1DFC5
Tetradic#DFC5DE
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°212°

#c5d1df sits at 212°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red77.3%
Green82.0%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
197
0xc5
G · 0–255
209
0xd1
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan11.7%
Magenta6.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 31%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c5d1df text on a black background

contrast 13.56:1

Card sample

#c5d1df text on a white background

contrast 1.55:1

Card sample

#c5d1df on grey

1.41:1

#c5d1df on its own surface

1.44:1

#c5d1df on its dark surface

11.19:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c5d1df;
Background color
Panel with #c5d1df background
background-color: #c5d1df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c5d1df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(197, 209, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(197, 209, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c5d1df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c5d1df, #CAC5DF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c5d1df, #D1C5DF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c5d1df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c5d1df;
caret-color: #c5d1df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c5d1df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF2F6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c5d1df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c5d1df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c5d1df 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(197, 209, 223, 0.5)
rgb(197 209 223 / 50%)
#c5d1df80
hsl(212 29% 82% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c5d1df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c5d1df1a#F9FAFC
20%#c5d1df33#F3F6F9
40%#c5d1df66#E8EDF2
60%#c5d1df99#DCE3EC
80%#c5d1dfcc#D1DAE5

Gradients from #c5d1df

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, #EDF0F5, #c5d1df 45%, #2D3E52);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c5d1df, #BBB1D4);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c5d1df, #DFD3C5);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5F7FA 0%, #c5d1df 45%, #2D3E52 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%, #E6F1F1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DBD9EA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2D3E52 0%, transparent 65%), #c5d1df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c5d1df

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.

#c5d1df 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 13.56:1.

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.

#c5d1df, answered

What color is #c5d1df?

#c5d1df is a light soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 212° on the hue wheel with 29% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #c5d1df?

rgb(197, 209, 223) — 197 red, 209 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 77.3% / 82% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #c5d1df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(212, 29%, 82%) and hsv(212, 12%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c5d1df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6280 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.56:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c5d1df?

Black. It scores 13.56:1 against #c5d1df, versus 1.55:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c5d1df accessible on a white background?

#c5d1df on white scores 1.55:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #58799F to reach 4.5:1, or #425B78 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c5d1df?

#DFD3C5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFC6C5 and #DEDFC5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c5d1df?

For interface work: #F5F7FA as the surface, #CAD5E2 for borders, #527094 for secondary text, #885844 as an accent and #2D3E52 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C5DEDF and #C6C5DF stays calm, while #DFD3C5 is the loudest partner.

What is #c5d1df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(12%, 6%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #c5d1df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 90 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #C5C8DF; nudged cooler, #B4C4D7.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c5d1df?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 21.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c5d1df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c5d1df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c5d1df] or text-[#c5d1df], 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 #c5d1df with 50% opacity?

rgba(197, 209, 223, 0.5), or #c5d1df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E2E8EF; over black, #636970.

Is #c5d1df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 7.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c5d1df 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 #c5d1df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EDF0F5, #c5d1df 45%, #2D3E52). For more colour, a short hue run to #BBB1D4 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c5d1df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c5d1df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.