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cyan · cool

#cbdbd7

a light, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Light Gray

Token name suggestion: Meadow Teal

RGB
203, 219, 215
HSL
165°, 18%, 83%
CMYK
7, 0, 2, 14
Luminance
0.6827

#cbdbd7 is a light soft cyan, 165° on the wheel and 66/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.65:1). As text it scores 1.43:1 on white — use #577E74 instead. Nearest name is Light Gray, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(165 18% 83%)rgb(203 219 215)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbdbd7 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbdbd7
Hue
165°
cyan
Saturation
18%
soft
Lightness
83%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
84%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6827
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
66/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.65:1
Closest name
Light Gray
ΔE2000 7.7
Chroma
6.1
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.878
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 22.6
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue165° of 360°
Saturation18%
Lightness83%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cbdbd7.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool66% 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%
Green74%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#cbdbd7
HEX (8-digit)#cbdbd7ff
RGBrgb(203, 219, 215)
RGBArgba(203, 219, 215, 1)
HSLhsl(165, 18%, 83%)
HSV / HSBhsv(165, 7%, 86%)
HWBhwb(165 80% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(7%, 0%, 2%, 14%)
LABlab(86.1 -6.1 0.1)
LCHlch(86.1 6.1 178.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.878 0.018 179.3)
XYZ (D65)xyz(62.22, 68.27, 74.18)
Decimal13360087
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.859 0.843)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cbdbd7;
background-color: #cbdbd7;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cbdbd7;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbdbd7] bg-[#cbdbd7]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbdbd7;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.859, blue: 0.843)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.796, green: 0.859, blue: 0.843, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CBDBD7</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCBDBD7)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBDBD7)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(215, 219, 203)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(203, 219, 215)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(203, 219, 215)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 203, 219, 215)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7961f, 0.8588f, 0.8431f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{203,219,215}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cbdbd7 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cbdbd7 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#344B46, #DBE6E3);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cbdbd7 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: #F6F8F8;
  --brand-100: #EEF2F1;
  --brand-200: #cbdbd7;
  --brand-300: #BDD1CC;
  --brand-400: #9CBAB3;
  --brand-500: #7AA399;
  --brand-600: #649186;
  --brand-700: #53796F;
  --brand-800: #436059;
  --brand-900: #334742;
  --brand-950: #202D29;
  --brand: #cbdbd7;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F9F8;
  --brand-border: #CFDEDA;
  --brand-hover: #B6CCC7;
  --brand-pressed: #A1BEB6;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #17211F;
    --brand-ink: #DBE6E3;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F8F8',
        100: '#EEF2F1',
        200: '#cbdbd7',
        300: '#BDD1CC',
        400: '#9CBAB3',
        500: '#7AA399',
        600: '#649186',
        700: '#53796F',
        800: '#436059',
        900: '#334742',
        950: '#202D29',
        DEFAULT: '#cbdbd7',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F8F8,
  '100': #EEF2F1,
  '200': #cbdbd7,
  '300': #BDD1CC,
  '400': #9CBAB3,
  '500': #7AA399,
  '600': #649186,
  '700': #53796F,
  '800': #436059,
  '900': #334742,
  '950': #202D29,
);
$brand-base: #cbdbd7;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F8F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EEF2F1", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#cbdbd7", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#BDD1CC", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9CBAB3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7AA399", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#649186", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#53796F", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#436059", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#334742", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#202D29", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cbdbd7 · 14.65:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.43:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.65:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbdbd7 as text scores 1.43:1 on white and 14.65:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #344B46 at 6.54:1.

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
#577E74 · 4.52:1
AA on white−41% L
#577E74
The quick fox
#405D55 · 7.20:1
AAA on white−52% L
#405D55
The quick fox
#cbdbd7 · 14.65:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cbdbd7
The quick fox
#cbdbd7 · 14.65:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cbdbd7

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #709C91 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
#cbdbd7 on white: 1.43:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbdbd7 on black: 14.65:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cbdbd7 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cbdbd7.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.43:1AaAa
Slate 501.37:1AaAa
Slate 1001.31:1AaAa
Slate 2001.16:1AaAa
Slate 3001.04:1AaAa
Slate 4001.79:1AaAa
Slate 5003.32:1AaAa
Slate 6005.29:1AaAa
Slate 7007.23:1AaAa
Slate 80010.21:1AaAa
Slate 90012.46:1AaAa
Black14.65:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D9D9D7
deuteranopia · #D6D6D7
tritanopia · #C7DCDA

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. #cbdbd7 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.

#F6F8F8
#EEF2F1
#cbdbd7
#BDD1CC
#9CBAB3
#7AA399
#649186
#53796F
#436059
#334742
#202D29
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F6F8F8Darkest = 950 · #202D29Text step on white = 700
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 0.004 179.3);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.007 179.3);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.011 179.3);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.014 179.3);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.017 179.3);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.018 179.3);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.018 179.3);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.017 179.3);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.015 179.3);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.013 179.3);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.010 179.3);
}

Colors that work with #cbdbd7

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#F6F9F8
Tinted page background
Border#CFDEDA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#5E887D
Captions on the surface
Accent#7D4F66
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#344B46
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0F5F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#17211F
Dark-mode background
Hover#B6CCC7
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A1BEB6
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F7F6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D4E7E2
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 #cbdbd7

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #344B46
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #709C91

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

cleantechnicalfreshclinical

Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered.

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

At high lightness it disappears into white surfaces and thin strokes vanish entirely.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight17/100
  • 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#DBCBCF
Analogous left#CBDBCF
Analogous right#CBD7DB
Split-complement 1#DBCBD7
Split-complement 2#DBCFCB
Triadic 1#D7CBDB
Triadic 2#DBD7CB
Tetradic#CFCBDB
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°165°

#cbdbd7 sits at 165°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green85.9%
Blue84.3%
R · 0–255
203
0xcb
G · 0–255
219
0xdb
B · 0–255
215
0xd7

CMYK percentages

Cyan7.3%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow1.8%
Key (black)14.1%

Total ink coverage is 23%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cbdbd7 text on a black background

contrast 14.65:1

Card sample

#cbdbd7 text on a white background

contrast 1.43:1

Card sample

#cbdbd7 on grey

1.31:1

#cbdbd7 on its own surface

1.35:1

#cbdbd7 on its dark surface

11.50:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbdbd7;
Background color
Panel with #cbdbd7 background
background-color: #cbdbd7;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbdbd7;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 219, 215, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 219, 215, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbdbd7;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbdbd7, #CBD4DB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cbdbd7, #CBD0DB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cbdbd7;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cbdbd7;
caret-color: #cbdbd7;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cbdbd7;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0F5F3;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cbdbd7;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cbdbd7 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cbdbd7 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(203, 219, 215, 0.5)
rgb(203 219 215 / 50%)
#cbdbd780
hsl(165 18% 83% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cbdbd7 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cbdbd71a#FAFBFB
20%#cbdbd733#F5F8F7
40%#cbdbd766#EAF1EF
60%#cbdbd799#E0E9E7
80%#cbdbd7cc#D5E2DF

Gradients from #cbdbd7

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, #EFF4F3, #cbdbd7 45%, #344B46);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cbdbd7, #B9C4CE);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cbdbd7, #DBCBCF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F6F9F8 0%, #cbdbd7 45%, #344B46 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F9F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E9F0EA 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DDE4E7 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #344B46 0%, transparent 65%), #cbdbd7;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbdbd7

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.

#cbdbd7 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.

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 14.65:1.

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.

#cbdbd7, answered

What color is #cbdbd7?

#cbdbd7 is a light soft cyan, closest to Light Gray (ΔE2000 7.7). It sits at 165° on the hue wheel with 18% saturation and 83% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cbdbd7?

rgb(203, 219, 215) — 203 red, 219 green and 215 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 85.9% / 84.3% by channel.

What is #cbdbd7 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(165, 18%, 83%) and hsv(165, 7%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cbdbd7 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6827 and perceived brightness is 84%, so black text on it reaches 14.65:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbdbd7?

Black. It scores 14.65:1 against #cbdbd7, versus 1.43:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cbdbd7 accessible on a white background?

#cbdbd7 on white scores 1.43:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #577E74 to reach 4.5:1, or #405D55 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cbdbd7?

#DBCBCF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DBCBD7 and #DBCFCB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbdbd7?

For interface work: #F6F9F8 as the surface, #CFDEDA for borders, #5E887D for secondary text, #7D4F66 as an accent and #344B46 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBDBCF and #CBD7DB stays calm, while #DBCBCF is the loudest partner.

What is #cbdbd7 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(7%, 0%, 2%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbdbd7 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 66 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CBDBD1; nudged cooler, #CADADC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cbdbd7?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 22.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cbdbd7 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cbdbd7 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cbdbd7] or text-[#cbdbd7], 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 #cbdbd7 with 50% opacity?

rgba(203, 219, 215, 0.5), or #cbdbd780 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E5EDEB; over black, #666E6C.

Is #cbdbd7 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 8.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cbdbd7 mean?

As a cyan, it reads clean, technical, fresh. Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #cbdbd7?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EFF4F3, #cbdbd7 45%, #344B46). For more colour, a short hue run to #B9C4CE keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cbdbd7 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cbdbd7 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.