Skip to content
blue · cool

#c9c2df

a light, soft blue · cool · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Meadow Denim

RGB
201, 194, 223
HSL
255°, 31%, 82%
CMYK
10, 13, 0, 13
Luminance
0.5633

#c9c2df is a light soft blue, 255° on the wheel and 73/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.27:1). As text it scores 1.71:1 on white — use #7C6BB1 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is zinc.

hsl(255 31% 82%)rgb(201 194 223)Base step 300AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c9c2df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c9c2df
Hue
255°
blue
Saturation
31%
soft
Lightness
82%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
78%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5633
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
73/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
12.27:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 6.3
Chroma
15.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.829
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
zinc
500 · ΔE 27.8
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue255° of 360°
Saturation31%
Lightness82%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #c9c2df.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool73% 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
Red22%
Green68%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#c9c2df
HEX (8-digit)#c9c2dfff
RGBrgb(201, 194, 223)
RGBArgba(201, 194, 223, 1)
HSLhsl(255, 31%, 82%)
HSV / HSBhsv(254, 13%, 87%)
HWBhwb(255 76% 13%)
CMYKcmyk(10%, 13%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(79.8 8.0 -13.5)
LCHlch(79.8 15.7 300.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.829 0.041 296.6)
XYZ (D65)xyz(56.70, 56.33, 77.68)
Decimal13222623
Display P3color(display-p3 0.788 0.761 0.875)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #c9c2df;
background-color: #c9c2df;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #c9c2df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c9c2df] bg-[#c9c2df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c9c2df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.788, green: 0.761, blue: 0.875)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.788, green: 0.761, blue: 0.875, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#C9C2DF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFC9C2DF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC9C2DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 194, 201)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(201, 194, 223)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(201, 194, 223)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 201, 194, 223)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7882f, 0.7608f, 0.8745f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{201,194,223}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #c9c2df 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #c9c2df 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#352C54, #DBD7EA);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #c9c2df 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: #F6F5F9;
  --brand-100: #EEECF3;
  --brand-200: #D9D5E7;
  --brand-300: #c9c2df;
  --brand-400: #9D91C5;
  --brand-500: #7D6CB2;
  --brand-600: #6754A1;
  --brand-700: #564686;
  --brand-800: #44386B;
  --brand-900: #342C4F;
  --brand-950: #211B31;
  --brand: #c9c2df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-border: #D0C9E3;
  --brand-hover: #B4ABD3;
  --brand-pressed: #A093C7;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #181424;
    --brand-ink: #DBD7EA;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F5F9',
        100: '#EEECF3',
        200: '#D9D5E7',
        300: '#c9c2df',
        400: '#9D91C5',
        500: '#7D6CB2',
        600: '#6754A1',
        700: '#564686',
        800: '#44386B',
        900: '#342C4F',
        950: '#211B31',
        DEFAULT: '#c9c2df',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F5F9,
  '100': #EEECF3,
  '200': #D9D5E7,
  '300': #c9c2df,
  '400': #9D91C5,
  '500': #7D6CB2,
  '600': #6754A1,
  '700': #564686,
  '800': #44386B,
  '900': #342C4F,
  '950': #211B31,
);
$brand-base: #c9c2df;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F5F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EEECF3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D9D5E7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#c9c2df", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9D91C5", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7D6CB2", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#6754A1", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#564686", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#44386B", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#342C4F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#211B31", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #c9c2df · 12.27:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.71:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.27:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c9c2df as text scores 1.71:1 on white and 12.27:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #352C54 at 7.48:1.

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
#7C6BB1 · 4.57:1
AA on white−26% L
#7C6BB1
The quick fox
#5E4D93 · 7.10:1
AAA on white−38% L
#5E4D93
The quick fox
#c9c2df · 12.27:1
AA on blackalready passes
#c9c2df
The quick fox
#c9c2df · 12.27:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#c9c2df

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9A8DC3 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
#c9c2df on white: 1.71:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c9c2df on black: 12.27:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #c9c2df as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #c9c2df.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.71:1AaAa
Slate 501.64:1AaAa
Slate 1001.56:1AaAa
Slate 2001.39:1AaAa
Slate 3001.15:1AaAa
Slate 4001.50:1AaAa
Slate 5002.78:1AaAa
Slate 6004.43:1AaAa
Slate 7006.05:1AaAa
Slate 8008.54:1AaAa
Slate 90010.43:1AaAa
Black12.27:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #BCC6E0
deuteranopia · #BDC5DE
tritanopia · #C5C6CB

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. #c9c2df 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.

#F6F5F9
#EEECF3
#D9D5E7
#c9c2df
#9D91C5
#7D6CB2
#6754A1
#564686
#44386B
#342C4F
#211B31
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F5F9Darkest = 950 · #211B31Text step on white = 500
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 0.010 296.6);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.016 296.6);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.024 296.6);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.032 296.6);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.038 296.6);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.041 296.6);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.041 296.6);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.038 296.6);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.034 296.6);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.029 296.6);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.022 296.6);
}

Colors that work with #c9c2df

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#F6F5FA
Tinted page background
Border#D0C9E3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#604F97
Captions on the surface
Accent#8A8A42
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#352C54
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0EEF6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#181424
Dark-mode background
Hover#B4ABD3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A093C7
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D3CCEA
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 #c9c2df

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 #352C54
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9A8DC3

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#D8DFC2
Analogous left#C2CADF
Analogous right#D8C2DF
Split-complement 1#DFD8C2
Split-complement 2#CADFC2
Triadic 1#DFC9C2
Triadic 2#C2DFC9
Tetradic#DFC2CA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°255°

#c9c2df sits at 255°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red78.8%
Green76.1%
Blue87.5%
R · 0–255
201
0xc9
G · 0–255
194
0xc2
B · 0–255
223
0xdf

CMYK percentages

Cyan9.9%
Magenta13.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Total ink coverage is 35%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#c9c2df text on a black background

contrast 12.27:1

Card sample

#c9c2df text on a white background

contrast 1.71:1

Card sample

#c9c2df on grey

1.56:1

#c9c2df on its own surface

1.58:1

#c9c2df on its dark surface

10.53:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c9c2df;
Background color
Panel with #c9c2df background
background-color: #c9c2df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c9c2df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(201, 194, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(201, 194, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c9c2df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c9c2df, #DCC2DF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c9c2df, #DFC2DA);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #c9c2df;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #c9c2df;
caret-color: #c9c2df;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #c9c2df;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0EEF6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #c9c2df;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#c9c2df 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #c9c2df 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(201, 194, 223, 0.5)
rgb(201 194 223 / 50%)
#c9c2df80
hsl(255 31% 82% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #c9c2df 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#c9c2df1a#FAF9FC
20%#c9c2df33#F4F3F9
40%#c9c2df66#E9E7F2
60%#c9c2df99#DFDAEC
80%#c9c2dfcc#D4CEE5

Gradients from #c9c2df

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, #EDEAF4, #c9c2df 45%, #352C54);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #c9c2df, #D4AED5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #c9c2df, #D8DFC2);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F6F5FA 0%, #c9c2df 45%, #352C54 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F5FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E4E8F1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E6D6EA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #352C54 0%, transparent 65%), #c9c2df;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c9c2df

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.

#c9c2df 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 12.27:1.

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.

#c9c2df, answered

What color is #c9c2df?

#c9c2df is a light soft blue, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 6.3). It sits at 255° on the hue wheel with 31% saturation and 82% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #c9c2df?

rgb(201, 194, 223) — 201 red, 194 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 78.8% / 76.1% / 87.5% by channel.

What is #c9c2df in HSL and HSV?

hsl(255, 31%, 82%) and hsv(254, 13%, 87%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #c9c2df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5633 and perceived brightness is 78%, so black text on it reaches 12.27:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c9c2df?

Black. It scores 12.27:1 against #c9c2df, versus 1.71:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #c9c2df accessible on a white background?

#c9c2df on white scores 1.71:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7C6BB1 to reach 4.5:1, or #5E4D93 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #c9c2df?

#D8DFC2 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DFD8C2 and #CADFC2, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c9c2df?

For interface work: #F6F5FA as the surface, #D0C9E3 for borders, #604F97 for secondary text, #8A8A42 as an accent and #352C54 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #C2CADF and #D8C2DF stays calm, while #D8DFC2 is the loudest partner.

What is #c9c2df in CMYK for printing?

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

Is #c9c2df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 73 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D4C2DF; nudged cooler, #C1C5E0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #c9c2df?

The zinc family — its 500 step is #71717a, ΔE2000 27.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #c9c2df as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #c9c2df in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#c9c2df] or text-[#c9c2df], 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 #c9c2df with 50% opacity?

rgba(201, 194, 223, 0.5), or #c9c2df80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E4E1EF; over black, #656170.

Is #c9c2df a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 12.9 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #c9c2df 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 #c9c2df?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EDEAF4, #c9c2df 45%, #352C54). For more colour, a short hue run to #D4AED5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #c9c2df in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #c9c2df at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.