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#cbd3eb

a pale, soft blue · cool · closest name: Lavender

RGB
203, 211, 235
HSL
225°, 44%, 86%
CMYK
14, 10, 0, 8
Luminance
0.6528

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbd3eb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbd3eb
Hue
225°
blue
Saturation
44%
soft
Lightness
86%
pale
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
83%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6528
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
92/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.06:1
Closest name
Lavender
ΔE2000 5.8
Where it sits
Hue225° of 360°
Saturation44%
Lightness86%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool92% 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#cbd3eb
RGBrgb(203, 211, 235)
HSLhsl(225, 44%, 86%)
CMYKcmyk(14%, 10%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(84.6 2.0 -12.7)
LCHlch(84.6 12.9 279.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.868 0.034 271.0)
Decimal13358059
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.827 0.922)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cbd3eb;
background-color: #cbd3eb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbd3eb] bg-[#cbd3eb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbd3eb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.827, blue: 0.922)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cbd3eb")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBD3EB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 211, 203)

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 #cbd3eb · 14.06:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.49:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.06:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbd3eb as text scores 1.49:1 on white and 14.06:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cbd3eb on white: 1.49:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbd3eb on black: 14.06:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CCD5EC
deuteranopia · #CAD2EA
tritanopia · #C4D7DB

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cbd3eb 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.

#F5F6FA
#EAEDF5
#cbd3eb
#AEBAE0
#8598D0
#5D76C1
#445FB1
#394F93
#2D3F76
#243156
#171E36
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F5F6FADarkest = 950 · #171E36
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F6FA;
  --brand-100: #EAEDF5;
  --brand-200: #cbd3eb;
  --brand-300: #AEBAE0;
  --brand-400: #8598D0;
  --brand-500: #5D76C1;
  --brand-600: #445FB1;
  --brand-700: #394F93;
  --brand-800: #2D3F76;
  --brand-900: #243156;
  --brand-950: #171E36;
  --brand: #cbd3eb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cbd3eb

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#C4CDE8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B5F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#966636
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#23325C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDEFF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141824
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 #cbd3eb

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

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#EBE3CB
Analogous left#CBE3EB
Analogous right#D3CBEB
Split-complement 1#EBD3CB
Split-complement 2#E3EBCB
Triadic 1#EBCBD3
Triadic 2#D3EBCB
Tetradic#EBCBE3

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green82.7%
Blue92.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan13.6%
Magenta10.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#cbd3eb text on a black background

contrast 14.06:1

Card sample

#cbd3eb text on a white background

contrast 1.49:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbd3eb;
Background color
Panel with #cbd3eb background
background-color: #cbd3eb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbd3eb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 211, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 211, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbd3eb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbd3eb, #D8CBEB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbd3eb

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.

#cbd3eb 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

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

#cbd3eb, answered

What color is #cbd3eb?

#cbd3eb is a pale soft blue, closest to Lavender (ΔE2000 5.8). It sits at 225° on the hue wheel with 44% saturation and 86% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cbd3eb?

rgb(203, 211, 235) — 203 red, 211 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 82.7% / 92.2% by channel.

Is #cbd3eb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6528 and perceived brightness is 83%, so black text on it reaches 14.06:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbd3eb?

Black. It scores 14.06:1 against #cbd3eb, versus 1.49:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cbd3eb?

#EBE3CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EBD3CB and #E3EBCB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbd3eb?

For interface work: #F4F6FA as the surface, #C4CDE8 for borders, #4B5F9B for secondary text, #966636 as an accent and #23325C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBE3EB and #D3CBEB stays calm, while #EBE3CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cbd3eb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(14%, 10%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbd3eb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 92 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CFCBEB; nudged cooler, #CAD9EC.

Work with #cbd3eb in the Color Lab