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#cbdbf7

a pale, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Light Steel Blue

RGB
203, 219, 247
HSL
218°, 73%, 88%
CMYK
18, 11, 0, 3
Luminance
0.7007

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbdbf7 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbdbf7
Hue
218°
blue
Saturation
73%
vivid
Lightness
88%
pale
Brightness
97%
HSV value
Perceived
85%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7007
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
95/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
15.01:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 6.1
Where it sits
Hue218° of 360°
Saturation73%
Lightness88%
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.

Every format

HEX#cbdbf7
RGBrgb(203, 219, 247)
HSLhsl(218, 73%, 88%)
CMYKcmyk(18%, 11%, 0%, 3%)
LABlab(87.0 0.3 -15.4)
LCHlch(87.0 15.4 271.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.888 0.042 261.7)
Decimal13360119
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.859 0.969)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cbdbf7;
background-color: #cbdbf7;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbdbf7] bg-[#cbdbf7]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbdbf7;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.859, blue: 0.969)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cbdbf7")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBDBF7)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(247, 219, 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 #cbdbf7 · 15.01:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.40:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.01:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbdbf7 as text scores 1.40:1 on white and 15.01:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cbdbf7 on white: 1.40:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbdbf7 on black: 15.01:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D2DCF8
deuteranopia · #CED8F6
tritanopia · #C0E1E4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cbdbf7 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.

#F3F6FC
#E7EDF8
#cbdbf7
#9EBCF0
#6D9AE9
#3D78E1
#2162D4
#1B52B1
#16418D
#143266
#0C1F40
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F3F6FCDarkest = 950 · #0C1F40
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F6FC;
  --brand-100: #E7EDF8;
  --brand-200: #cbdbf7;
  --brand-300: #9EBCF0;
  --brand-400: #6D9AE9;
  --brand-500: #3D78E1;
  --brand-600: #2162D4;
  --brand-700: #1B52B1;
  --brand-800: #16418D;
  --brand-900: #143266;
  --brand-950: #0C1F40;
  --brand: #cbdbf7;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cbdbf7

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#F4F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0D0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B689B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B45518
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#11336E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F0FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141A24
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 #cbdbf7

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • 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#F7E7CB
Analogous left#CBF1F7
Analogous right#D1CBF7
Split-complement 1#F7D1CB
Split-complement 2#F1F7CB
Triadic 1#F7CBDB
Triadic 2#DBF7CB
Tetradic#F7CBF1

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green85.9%
Blue96.9%

CMYK percentages

Cyan17.8%
Magenta11.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)3.1%

Color previews

#cbdbf7 text on a black background

contrast 15.01:1

Card sample

#cbdbf7 text on a white background

contrast 1.40:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbdbf7;
Background color
Panel with #cbdbf7 background
background-color: #cbdbf7;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbdbf7;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 219, 247, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 219, 247, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbdbf7;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbdbf7, #D8CBF7);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbdbf7

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.

#cbdbf7 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.

#cbdbf7, answered

What color is #cbdbf7?

#cbdbf7 is a pale vivid blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 6.1). It sits at 218° on the hue wheel with 73% saturation and 88% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cbdbf7?

rgb(203, 219, 247) — 203 red, 219 green and 247 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 85.9% / 96.9% by channel.

Is #cbdbf7 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7007 and perceived brightness is 85%, so black text on it reaches 15.01:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbdbf7?

Black. It scores 15.01:1 against #cbdbf7, versus 1.40:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cbdbf7?

#F7E7CB sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F7D1CB and #F1F7CB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbdbf7?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C0D0ED for borders, #4B689B for secondary text, #B45518 as an accent and #11336E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBF1F7 and #D1CBF7 stays calm, while #F7E7CB is the loudest partner.

What is #cbdbf7 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(18%, 11%, 0%, 3%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbdbf7 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 #CBCBF7; nudged cooler, #B4D1F4.

Work with #cbdbf7 in the Color Lab