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blue · cool

#ccd9eb

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

Token name suggestion: Mist Cobalt

RGB
204, 217, 235
HSL
215°, 44%, 86%
CMYK
13, 8, 0, 8
Luminance
0.6846

#ccd9eb is a pale soft blue, 215° on the wheel and 97/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.69:1). As text it scores 1.43:1 on white — use #4877B7 instead. Nearest name is Light Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(215 44% 86%)rgb(204 217 235)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ccd9eb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ccd9eb
Hue
215°
blue
Saturation
44%
soft
Lightness
86%
pale
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
84%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6846
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
97/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.69:1
Closest name
Light Steel Blue
ΔE2000 6.1
Chroma
10.3
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.881
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 22.6
Web-safe
#CCCCFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue215° of 360°
Saturation44%
Lightness86%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #ccd9eb.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool97% 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%
Green72%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#ccd9eb
HEX (8-digit)#ccd9ebff
RGBrgb(204, 217, 235)
RGBArgba(204, 217, 235, 1)
HSLhsl(215, 44%, 86%)
HSV / HSBhsv(215, 13%, 92%)
HWBhwb(215 80% 8%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(86.2 -0.8 -10.3)
LCHlch(86.2 10.3 265.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.881 0.029 256.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(64.71, 68.46, 88.39)
Decimal13425131
Display P3color(display-p3 0.800 0.851 0.922)
Web-safe#CCCCFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #ccd9eb;
background-color: #ccd9eb;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #ccd9eb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ccd9eb] bg-[#ccd9eb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ccd9eb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.800, green: 0.851, blue: 0.922)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.800, green: 0.851, blue: 0.922, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CCD9EB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCCD9EB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCCD9EB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 217, 204)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(204, 217, 235)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(204, 217, 235)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 204, 217, 235)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8000f, 0.8510f, 0.9216f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{204,217,235}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #ccd9eb 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #ccd9eb 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#243B5C, #D3DEEE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #ccd9eb 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: #F5F7FA;
  --brand-100: #EAEFF5;
  --brand-200: #ccd9eb;
  --brand-300: #AEC3DF;
  --brand-400: #86A5D0;
  --brand-500: #5E87C0;
  --brand-600: #4572B0;
  --brand-700: #395F93;
  --brand-800: #2E4C75;
  --brand-900: #253956;
  --brand-950: #172436;
  --brand: #ccd9eb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F7FA;
  --brand-border: #C4D3E8;
  --brand-hover: #B2C6E1;
  --brand-pressed: #99B3D7;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141B24;
    --brand-ink: #D3DEEE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F5F7FA',
        100: '#EAEFF5',
        200: '#ccd9eb',
        300: '#AEC3DF',
        400: '#86A5D0',
        500: '#5E87C0',
        600: '#4572B0',
        700: '#395F93',
        800: '#2E4C75',
        900: '#253956',
        950: '#172436',
        DEFAULT: '#ccd9eb',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F5F7FA,
  '100': #EAEFF5,
  '200': #ccd9eb,
  '300': #AEC3DF,
  '400': #86A5D0,
  '500': #5E87C0,
  '600': #4572B0,
  '700': #395F93,
  '800': #2E4C75,
  '900': #253956,
  '950': #172436,
);
$brand-base: #ccd9eb;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F5F7FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EAEFF5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#ccd9eb", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#AEC3DF", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#86A5D0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#5E87C0", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#4572B0", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#395F93", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#2E4C75", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#253956", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#172436", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #ccd9eb · 14.69:1
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 · 14.69:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ccd9eb as text scores 1.43:1 on white and 14.69:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #243B5C at 7.92:1.

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
#4877B7 · 4.57:1
AA on white−36% L
#4877B7
The quick fox
#355888 · 7.23:1
AAA on white−49% L
#355888
The quick fox
#ccd9eb · 14.69:1
AA on blackalready passes
#ccd9eb
The quick fox
#ccd9eb · 14.69:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#ccd9eb

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7095C7 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
#ccd9eb on white: 1.43:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ccd9eb on black: 14.69:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #ccd9eb as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #ccd9eb.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.43:1AaAa
Slate 501.37:1AaAa
Slate 1001.30:1AaAa
Slate 2001.16:1AaAa
Slate 3001.04:1AaAa
Slate 4001.79:1AaAa
Slate 5003.33:1AaAa
Slate 6005.30:1AaAa
Slate 7007.24:1AaAa
Slate 80010.23:1AaAa
Slate 90012.49:1AaAa
Black14.69:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D3D9EC
deuteranopia · #D0D6EB
tritanopia · #C5DDDF

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. #ccd9eb 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.

#F5F7FA
#EAEFF5
#ccd9eb
#AEC3DF
#86A5D0
#5E87C0
#4572B0
#395F93
#2E4C75
#253956
#172436
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F5F7FADarkest = 950 · #172436Text step on white = 600
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 0.007 256.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.011 256.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.017 256.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.022 256.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.026 256.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.029 256.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.029 256.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.027 256.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.024 256.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.020 256.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.016 256.5);
}

Colors that work with #ccd9eb

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#C4D3E8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B6C9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#955637
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#243B5C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDF1F8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141B24
Dark-mode background
Hover#B2C6E1
One step down in lightness
Pressed#99B3D7
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F4F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D8E4F3
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 #ccd9eb

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 #243B5C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7095C7

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 high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight14/100
  • 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#EBDECC
Analogous left#CCE9EB
Analogous right#CFCCEB
Split-complement 1#EBCFCC
Split-complement 2#E9EBCC
Triadic 1#EBCCD9
Triadic 2#D9EBCC
Tetradic#EBCCE9
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°215°

#ccd9eb sits at 215°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.0%
Green85.1%
Blue92.2%
R · 0–255
204
0xcc
G · 0–255
217
0xd9
B · 0–255
235
0xeb

CMYK percentages

Cyan13.2%
Magenta7.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Total ink coverage is 29%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#ccd9eb text on a black background

contrast 14.69:1

Card sample

#ccd9eb text on a white background

contrast 1.43:1

Card sample

#ccd9eb on grey

1.30:1

#ccd9eb on its own surface

1.33:1

#ccd9eb on its dark surface

12.12:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ccd9eb;
Background color
Panel with #ccd9eb background
background-color: #ccd9eb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ccd9eb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(204, 217, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(204, 217, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ccd9eb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ccd9eb, #D4CCEB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ccd9eb, #DBCCEB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #ccd9eb;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #ccd9eb;
caret-color: #ccd9eb;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #ccd9eb;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EDF1F8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #ccd9eb;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#ccd9eb 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #ccd9eb 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(204, 217, 235, 0.5)
rgb(204 217 235 / 50%)
#ccd9eb80
hsl(215 44% 86% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #ccd9eb 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#ccd9eb1a#FAFBFD
20%#ccd9eb33#F5F7FB
40%#ccd9eb66#EBF0F7
60%#ccd9eb99#E0E8F3
80%#ccd9ebcc#D6E1EF

Gradients from #ccd9eb

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, #F0F4F9, #ccd9eb 45%, #243B5C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #ccd9eb, #C5B6E2);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #ccd9eb, #EBDECC);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F4F7FB 0%, #ccd9eb 45%, #243B5C 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F7FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #F1F9F9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #E5E2F4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #243B5C 0%, transparent 65%), #ccd9eb;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ccd9eb

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.

#ccd9eb 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.

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 14.69:1.

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.

#ccd9eb, answered

What color is #ccd9eb?

#ccd9eb is a pale soft blue, closest to Light Steel Blue (ΔE2000 6.1). It sits at 215° on the hue wheel with 44% saturation and 86% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #ccd9eb?

rgb(204, 217, 235) — 204 red, 217 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 80% / 85.1% / 92.2% by channel.

What is #ccd9eb in HSL and HSV?

hsl(215, 44%, 86%) and hsv(215, 13%, 92%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #ccd9eb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6846 and perceived brightness is 84%, so black text on it reaches 14.69:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ccd9eb?

Black. It scores 14.69:1 against #ccd9eb, versus 1.43:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #ccd9eb accessible on a white background?

#ccd9eb on white scores 1.43:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #4877B7 to reach 4.5:1, or #355888 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #ccd9eb?

#EBDECC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EBCFCC and #E9EBCC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ccd9eb?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C4D3E8 for borders, #4B6C9B for secondary text, #955637 as an accent and #243B5C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CCE9EB and #CFCCEB stays calm, while #EBDECC is the loudest partner.

What is #ccd9eb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ccd9eb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 97 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CCCEEB; nudged cooler, #B9CDE5.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #ccd9eb?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 22.6 away. That is a visible difference, so define #ccd9eb as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #ccd9eb in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#ccd9eb] or text-[#ccd9eb], 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 #ccd9eb with 50% opacity?

rgba(204, 217, 235, 0.5), or #ccd9eb80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6ECF5; over black, #666D76.

Is #ccd9eb a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCFF, ΔE2000 11.1 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #ccd9eb 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 #ccd9eb?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F0F4F9, #ccd9eb 45%, #243B5C). For more colour, a short hue run to #C5B6E2 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #ccd9eb in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #ccd9eb at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.