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gray · neutral

#cdc8cc

a light, muted gray · neutral · closest name: Light Gray

Token name suggestion: Morning Concrete

RGB
205, 200, 204
HSL
312°, 5%, 79%
CMYK
0, 2, 1, 20
Luminance
0.5865

#cdc8cc is a light muted gray, 312° on the wheel and 49/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (12.73:1). As text it scores 1.65:1 on white — use #7F737C instead. Nearest name is Light Gray, nearest Tailwind family is neutral.

hsl(312 5% 79%)rgb(205 200 204)Base step 300AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdc8cc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdc8cc
Hue
312°
gray
Saturation
5%
muted
Lightness
79%
light
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
79%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5865
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
49/100 cool
Color family
Gray
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
12.73:1
Closest name
Light Gray
ΔE2000 4.3
Chroma
2.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.838
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
neutral
500 · ΔE 27.2
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue312° of 360°
Saturation5%
Lightness79%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdc8cc.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool49% cool

Near-neutral, so temperature is a whisper rather than a statement — the tinted siblings below show which way it can lean.

Luminance by channel
Red22%
Green70%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#cdc8cc
HEX (8-digit)#cdc8ccff
RGBrgb(205, 200, 204)
RGBArgba(205, 200, 204, 1)
HSLhsl(312, 5%, 79%)
HSV / HSBhsv(312, 2%, 80%)
HWBhwb(312 78% 20%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 2%, 1%, 20%)
LABlab(81.1 2.5 -1.4)
LCHlch(81.1 2.8 330.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.838 0.008 332.1)
XYZ (D65)xyz(56.73, 58.65, 65.45)
Decimal13486284
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.784 0.800)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdc8cc;
background-color: #cdc8cc;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdc8cc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdc8cc] bg-[#cdc8cc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdc8cc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.784, blue: 0.800)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.784, blue: 0.800, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDC8CC</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDC8CC)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDC8CC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(204, 200, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 200, 204)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 200, 204)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 200, 204)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.7843f, 0.8000f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,200,204}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc8cc 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdc8cc 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#433D42, #E2DFE1);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdc8cc 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: #F8F7F8;
  --brand-100: #F0EFF0;
  --brand-200: #DFDCDF;
  --brand-300: #cdc8cc;
  --brand-400: #AFA7AD;
  --brand-500: #948992;
  --brand-600: #80757E;
  --brand-700: #6B6169;
  --brand-800: #564E54;
  --brand-900: #403A3F;
  --brand-950: #282527;
  --brand: #cdc8cc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F8F7F8;
  --brand-border: #D8D4D7;
  --brand-hover: #BCB5BB;
  --brand-pressed: #ABA3A9;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1D1B1D;
    --brand-ink: #E2DFE1;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F8F7F8',
        100: '#F0EFF0',
        200: '#DFDCDF',
        300: '#cdc8cc',
        400: '#AFA7AD',
        500: '#948992',
        600: '#80757E',
        700: '#6B6169',
        800: '#564E54',
        900: '#403A3F',
        950: '#282527',
        DEFAULT: '#cdc8cc',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F8F7F8,
  '100': #F0EFF0,
  '200': #DFDCDF,
  '300': #cdc8cc,
  '400': #AFA7AD,
  '500': #948992,
  '600': #80757E,
  '700': #6B6169,
  '800': #564E54,
  '900': #403A3F,
  '950': #282527,
);
$brand-base: #cdc8cc;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F8F7F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F0EFF0", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#DFDCDF", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#cdc8cc", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#AFA7AD", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#948992", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#80757E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#6B6169", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#564E54", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#403A3F", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#282527", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdc8cc · 12.73:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.65:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.73:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdc8cc as text scores 1.65:1 on white and 12.73:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #433D42 at 6.41:1.

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
#7F737C · 4.52:1
AA on white−32% L
#7F737C
The quick fox
#5F565D · 7.06:1
AAA on white−44% L
#5F565D
The quick fox
#cdc8cc · 12.73:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdc8cc
The quick fox
#cdc8cc · 12.73:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdc8cc

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #9A9098 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
#cdc8cc on white: 1.65:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdc8cc on black: 12.73:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdc8cc as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdc8cc.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.65:1AaAa
Slate 501.58:1AaAa
Slate 1001.51:1AaAa
Slate 2001.34:1AaAa
Slate 3001.11:1AaAa
Slate 4001.55:1AaAa
Slate 5002.88:1AaAa
Slate 6004.59:1AaAa
Slate 7006.28:1AaAa
Slate 8008.87:1AaAa
Slate 90010.82:1AaAa
Black12.73:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #C8C9CC
deuteranopia · #C9CACC
tritanopia · #CEC8C9

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. #cdc8cc is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F8F7F8
#F0EFF0
#DFDCDF
#cdc8cc
#AFA7AD
#948992
#80757E
#6B6169
#564E54
#403A3F
#282527
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F8F7F8Darkest = 950 · #282527Text 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 0.002 332.1);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.003 332.1);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.005 332.1);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.006 332.1);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.007 332.1);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.008 332.1);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.008 332.1);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.007 332.1);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.007 332.1);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.005 332.1);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.004 332.1);
}

Colors that work with #cdc8cc

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#F8F7F8
Tinted page background
Border#D8D4D7
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#786D76
Captions on the surface
Accent#5D6F5D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#433D42
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F3F2F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1D1B1D
Dark-mode background
Hover#BCB5BB
One step down in lightness
Pressed#ABA3A9
Two steps down
Disabled#F5F4F5
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#DBCED8
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 #cdc8cc

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Neutral UI chrome and typography
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 #433D42
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #9A9098

Meaning and mood

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

neutralquieteditorialengineered

Grey is the material the rest of the interface is built from: type, rules, surfaces, disabled states.

With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Mid-greys are where accessibility quietly fails — check every step of your ladder, not just the ends.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyLow
  • Weight21/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

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#C8CDC9
Analogous left#CBC8CD
Analogous right#CDC8C9
Split-complement 1#C9CDC8
Split-complement 2#C8CDCB
Triadic 1#CCCDC8
Triadic 2#C8CCCD
Tetradic#CDCBC8
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°312°

#cdc8cc sits at 312°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green78.4%
Blue80.0%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
200
0xc8
B · 0–255
204
0xcc

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta2.4%
Yellow0.5%
Key (black)19.6%

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

Color previews

#cdc8cc text on a black background

contrast 12.73:1

Card sample

#cdc8cc text on a white background

contrast 1.65:1

Card sample

#cdc8cc on grey

1.51:1

#cdc8cc on its own surface

1.54:1

#cdc8cc on its dark surface

10.38:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdc8cc;
Background color
Panel with #cdc8cc background
background-color: #cdc8cc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdc8cc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 200, 204, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 200, 204, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdc8cc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdc8cc, #CDC8C9);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc8cc, #CDC9C8);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdc8cc;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdc8cc;
caret-color: #cdc8cc;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdc8cc;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F3F2F3;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdc8cc;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdc8cc 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdc8cc 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(205, 200, 204, 0.5)
rgb(205 200 204 / 50%)
#cdc8cc80
hsl(312 5% 79% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdc8cc 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdc8cc1a#FAFAFA
20%#cdc8cc33#F5F4F5
40%#cdc8cc66#EBE9EB
60%#cdc8cc99#E1DEE0
80%#cdc8cccc#D7D3D6

Gradients from #cdc8cc

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, #EAE8EA, #cdc8cc 45%, #433D42);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdc8cc, #BEB8B8);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdc8cc, #C8CDC9);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F8F7F8 0%, #cdc8cc 45%, #433D42 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F8F7F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #E4E3E5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DCD8D9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #433D42 0%, transparent 65%), #cdc8cc;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdc8cc

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.

#cdc8cc in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
EditorialArchitectureEnterpriseLuxury goods
Common UI roles
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
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 12.73:1.

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.

#cdc8cc, answered

What color is #cdc8cc?

#cdc8cc is a light muted gray, closest to Light Gray (ΔE2000 4.3). It sits at 312° on the hue wheel with 5% saturation and 79% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #cdc8cc?

rgb(205, 200, 204) — 205 red, 200 green and 204 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 78.4% / 80% by channel.

What is #cdc8cc in HSL and HSV?

hsl(312, 5%, 79%) and hsv(312, 2%, 80%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdc8cc a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5865 and perceived brightness is 79%, so black text on it reaches 12.73:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdc8cc?

Black. It scores 12.73:1 against #cdc8cc, versus 1.65:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdc8cc accessible on a white background?

#cdc8cc on white scores 1.65:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7F737C to reach 4.5:1, or #5F565D for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdc8cc?

#C8CDC9 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C9CDC8 and #C8CDCB, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdc8cc?

For interface work: #F8F7F8 as the surface, #D8D4D7 for borders, #786D76 for secondary text, #5D6F5D as an accent and #433D42 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CBC8CD and #CDC8C9 stays calm, while #C8CDC9 is the loudest partner.

What is #cdc8cc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 2%, 1%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdc8cc warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 49 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #D6CFC9; nudged cooler, #BDC5CD.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdc8cc?

The neutral family — its 500 step is #737373, ΔE2000 27.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdc8cc as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdc8cc in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdc8cc] or text-[#cdc8cc], 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 #cdc8cc with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 200, 204, 0.5), or #cdc8cc80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6E4E6; over black, #676466.

Is #cdc8cc a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 3.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdc8cc mean?

As a gray, it reads neutral, quiet, editorial. Grey is the material the rest of the interface is built from: type, rules, surfaces, disabled states. At this low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.

What gradient works with #cdc8cc?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #EAE8EA, #cdc8cc 45%, #433D42). For more colour, a short hue run to #BEB8B8 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdc8cc in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdc8cc at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.