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#cbe3df

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

RGB
203, 227, 223
HSL
170°, 30%, 84%
CMYK
11, 0, 2, 11
Luminance
0.7296

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cbe3df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cbe3df
Hue
170°
cyan
Saturation
30%
soft
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
89%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7296
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
79/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
15.59:1
Closest name
Light Cyan
ΔE2000 6.2
Where it sits
Hue170° of 360°
Saturation30%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool79% 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#cbe3df
RGBrgb(203, 227, 223)
HSLhsl(170, 30%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(11%, 0%, 2%, 11%)
LABlab(88.4 -8.7 -0.8)
LCHlch(88.4 8.7 184.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.897 0.026 184.7)
Decimal13362143
Display P3color(display-p3 0.796 0.890 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #cbe3df;
background-color: #cbe3df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cbe3df] bg-[#cbe3df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cbe3df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.796, green: 0.890, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#cbe3df")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCBE3DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 227, 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 #cbe3df · 15.59:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.35:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.59:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cbe3df as text scores 1.35:1 on white and 15.59:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#cbe3df on white: 1.35:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cbe3df on black: 15.59:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E0E0DF
deuteranopia · #DCDCDF
tritanopia · #C5E4E2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #cbe3df 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.

#F6F9F9
#ECF3F2
#cbe3df
#B6D8D2
#92C4BC
#6DB0A5
#569F93
#47857A
#396A62
#2C4E48
#1C312D
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F9Darkest = 950 · #1C312D
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F9F9;
  --brand-100: #ECF3F2;
  --brand-200: #cbe3df;
  --brand-300: #B6D8D2;
  --brand-400: #92C4BC;
  --brand-500: #6DB0A5;
  --brand-600: #569F93;
  --brand-700: #47857A;
  --brand-800: #396A62;
  --brand-900: #2C4E48;
  --brand-950: #1C312D;
  --brand: #cbe3df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #cbe3df

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#F5FAF9
Tinted page background
Border#CAE2DE
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#50958A
Captions on the surface
Accent#8A4261
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2D534D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF6F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142422
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 #cbe3df

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

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#E3CBCF
Analogous left#CBE3D3
Analogous right#CBDBE3
Split-complement 1#E3CBDB
Split-complement 2#E3D3CB
Triadic 1#DFCBE3
Triadic 2#E3DFCB
Tetradic#D3CBE3

RGB percentages

Red79.6%
Green89.0%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan10.6%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow1.8%
Key (black)11.0%

Color previews

#cbe3df text on a black background

contrast 15.59:1

Card sample

#cbe3df text on a white background

contrast 1.35:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cbe3df;
Background color
Panel with #cbe3df background
background-color: #cbe3df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cbe3df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(203, 227, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(203, 227, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cbe3df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cbe3df, #CBD7E3);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cbe3df

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.

#cbe3df 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.

#cbe3df, answered

What color is #cbe3df?

#cbe3df is a light soft cyan, closest to Light Cyan (ΔE2000 6.2). It sits at 170° on the hue wheel with 30% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cbe3df?

rgb(203, 227, 223) — 203 red, 227 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 79.6% / 89% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #cbe3df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7296 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.59:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cbe3df?

Black. It scores 15.59:1 against #cbe3df, versus 1.35:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #cbe3df?

#E3CBCF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E3CBDB and #E3D3CB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cbe3df?

For interface work: #F5FAF9 as the surface, #CAE2DE for borders, #50958A for secondary text, #8A4261 as an accent and #2D534D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBE3D3 and #CBDBE3 stays calm, while #E3CBCF is the loudest partner.

What is #cbe3df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(11%, 0%, 2%, 11%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cbe3df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 79 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CBE3D6; nudged cooler, #CADFE4.

Work with #cbe3df in the Color Lab