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cyan · cool

#cdd9db

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

Token name suggestion: Meadow Glacier

RGB
205, 217, 219
HSL
189°, 16%, 83%
CMYK
6, 1, 0, 14
Luminance
0.6772

#cdd9db is a light soft cyan, 189° on the wheel and 69/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (14.54:1). As text it scores 1.44:1 on white — use #5C7B80 instead. Nearest name is Light Gray, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(189 16% 83%)rgb(205 217 219)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #cdd9db is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#cdd9db
Hue
189°
cyan
Saturation
16%
soft
Lightness
83%
light
Brightness
86%
HSV value
Perceived
84%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6772
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
69/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
14.54:1
Closest name
Light Gray
ΔE2000 5.3
Chroma
4.4
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.877
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 22.2
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue189° of 360°
Saturation16%
Lightness83%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #cdd9db.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool69% 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%
Green73%
Blue8%

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

Every format

HEX#cdd9db
HEX (8-digit)#cdd9dbff
RGBrgb(205, 217, 219)
RGBArgba(205, 217, 219, 1)
HSLhsl(189, 16%, 83%)
HSV / HSBhsv(189, 6%, 86%)
HWBhwb(189 80% 14%)
CMYKcmyk(6%, 1%, 0%, 14%)
LABlab(85.9 -3.6 -2.4)
LCHlch(85.9 4.4 213.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.877 0.013 208.8)
XYZ (D65)xyz(62.77, 67.72, 76.77)
Decimal13490651
Display P3color(display-p3 0.804 0.851 0.859)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #cdd9db;
background-color: #cdd9db;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #cdd9db;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#cdd9db] bg-[#cdd9db]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #cdd9db;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.804, green: 0.851, blue: 0.859)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.804, green: 0.851, blue: 0.859, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#CDD9DB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFCDD9DB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFCDD9DB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(219, 217, 205)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(205, 217, 219)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(205, 217, 219)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 205, 217, 219)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8039f, 0.8510f, 0.8588f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{205,217,219}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #cdd9db 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #cdd9db 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#35474A, #DBE4E5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #cdd9db 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: #EEF1F2;
  --brand-200: #cdd9db;
  --brand-300: #BECDD0;
  --brand-400: #9DB5B9;
  --brand-500: #7D9CA1;
  --brand-600: #66898E;
  --brand-700: #557277;
  --brand-800: #445B5F;
  --brand-900: #344446;
  --brand-950: #212A2C;
  --brand: #cdd9db;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F6F8F9;
  --brand-border: #D0DBDD;
  --brand-hover: #B8C9CC;
  --brand-pressed: #A3B9BD;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #171F21;
    --brand-ink: #DBE4E5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F8F8',
        100: '#EEF1F2',
        200: '#cdd9db',
        300: '#BECDD0',
        400: '#9DB5B9',
        500: '#7D9CA1',
        600: '#66898E',
        700: '#557277',
        800: '#445B5F',
        900: '#344446',
        950: '#212A2C',
        DEFAULT: '#cdd9db',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F8F8,
  '100': #EEF1F2,
  '200': #cdd9db,
  '300': #BECDD0,
  '400': #9DB5B9,
  '500': #7D9CA1,
  '600': #66898E,
  '700': #557277,
  '800': #445B5F,
  '900': #344446,
  '950': #212A2C,
);
$brand-base: #cdd9db;
$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": "#EEF1F2", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#cdd9db", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#BECDD0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9DB5B9", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7D9CA1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#66898E", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#557277", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#445B5F", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#344446", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#212A2C", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #cdd9db · 14.54:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.44:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 14.54:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #cdd9db as text scores 1.44:1 on white and 14.54:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #35474A at 6.76:1.

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
#5C7B80 · 4.57:1
AA on white−40% L
#5C7B80
The quick fox
#455B5F · 7.20:1
AAA on white−51% L
#455B5F
The quick fox
#cdd9db · 14.54:1
AA on blackalready passes
#cdd9db
The quick fox
#cdd9db · 14.54:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#cdd9db

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7A9A9F 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
#cdd9db on white: 1.44:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#cdd9db on black: 14.54:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #cdd9db as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #cdd9db.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.44:1AaAa
Slate 501.38:1AaAa
Slate 1001.32:1AaAa
Slate 2001.17:1AaAa
Slate 3001.03:1AaAa
Slate 4001.78:1AaAa
Slate 5003.30:1AaAa
Slate 6005.25:1AaAa
Slate 7007.17:1AaAa
Slate 80010.13:1AaAa
Slate 90012.36:1AaAa
Black14.54:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D7D8DB
deuteranopia · #D4D6DB
tritanopia · #C9DADA

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. #cdd9db 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
#EEF1F2
#cdd9db
#BECDD0
#9DB5B9
#7D9CA1
#66898E
#557277
#445B5F
#344446
#212A2C
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F6F8F8Darkest = 950 · #212A2CText 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 0.003 208.8);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.005 208.8);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.008 208.8);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.010 208.8);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.012 208.8);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.013 208.8);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.013 208.8);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.013 208.8);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.011 208.8);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.009 208.8);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.007 208.8);
}

Colors that work with #cdd9db

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#F6F8F9
Tinted page background
Border#D0DBDD
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#608085
Captions on the surface
Accent#7B5155
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#35474A
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0F4F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#171F21
Dark-mode background
Hover#B8C9CC
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A3B9BD
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F6F6
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#D5E4E7
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 #cdd9db

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 #35474A
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7A9A9F

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#DBCFCD
Analogous left#CDDBD6
Analogous right#CDD2DB
Split-complement 1#DBCDD2
Split-complement 2#DBD6CD
Triadic 1#DBCDD9
Triadic 2#D9DBCD
Tetradic#D6CDDB
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°189°

#cdd9db sits at 189°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red80.4%
Green85.1%
Blue85.9%
R · 0–255
205
0xcd
G · 0–255
217
0xd9
B · 0–255
219
0xdb

CMYK percentages

Cyan6.4%
Magenta0.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)14.1%

Total ink coverage is 21%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#cdd9db text on a black background

contrast 14.54:1

Card sample

#cdd9db text on a white background

contrast 1.44:1

Card sample

#cdd9db on grey

1.32:1

#cdd9db on its own surface

1.36:1

#cdd9db on its dark surface

11.59:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #cdd9db;
Background color
Panel with #cdd9db background
background-color: #cdd9db;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #cdd9db;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(205, 217, 219, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(205, 217, 219, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #cdd9db;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #cdd9db, #CDD0DB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdd9db, #CECDDB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #cdd9db;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #cdd9db;
caret-color: #cdd9db;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #cdd9db;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F0F4F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #cdd9db;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#cdd9db 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #cdd9db 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, 217, 219, 0.5)
rgb(205 217 219 / 50%)
#cdd9db80
hsl(189 16% 83% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #cdd9db 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#cdd9db1a#FAFBFB
20%#cdd9db33#F5F7F8
40%#cdd9db66#EBF0F1
60%#cdd9db99#E1E8E9
80%#cdd9dbcc#D7E1E2

Gradients from #cdd9db

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, #F0F4F5, #cdd9db 45%, #35474A);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #cdd9db, #BBBDCE);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #cdd9db, #DBCFCD);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F6F8F9 0%, #cdd9db 45%, #35474A 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F6F8F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #EBF0EE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #DFE1E8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #35474A 0%, transparent 65%), #cdd9db;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #cdd9db

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.

#cdd9db 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 14.54:1.

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.

#cdd9db, answered

What color is #cdd9db?

#cdd9db is a light soft cyan, closest to Light Gray (ΔE2000 5.3). It sits at 189° on the hue wheel with 16% saturation and 83% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #cdd9db?

rgb(205, 217, 219) — 205 red, 217 green and 219 blue out of 255, or 80.4% / 85.1% / 85.9% by channel.

What is #cdd9db in HSL and HSV?

hsl(189, 16%, 83%) and hsv(189, 6%, 86%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #cdd9db a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6772 and perceived brightness is 84%, so black text on it reaches 14.54:1.

Should I use black or white text on #cdd9db?

Black. It scores 14.54:1 against #cdd9db, versus 1.44:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #cdd9db accessible on a white background?

#cdd9db on white scores 1.44:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #5C7B80 to reach 4.5:1, or #455B5F for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #cdd9db?

#DBCFCD sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DBCDD2 and #DBD6CD, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #cdd9db?

For interface work: #F6F8F9 as the surface, #D0DBDD for borders, #608085 for secondary text, #7B5155 as an accent and #35474A for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #CDDBD6 and #CDD2DB stays calm, while #DBCFCD is the loudest partner.

What is #cdd9db in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(6%, 1%, 0%, 14%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #cdd9db warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 69 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #CDDBD8; nudged cooler, #CCD4DC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #cdd9db?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 22.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #cdd9db as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #cdd9db in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#cdd9db] or text-[#cdd9db], 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 #cdd9db with 50% opacity?

rgba(205, 217, 219, 0.5), or #cdd9db80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #E6ECED; over black, #676D6E.

Is #cdd9db a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 5.8 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #cdd9db 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 #cdd9db?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F0F4F5, #cdd9db 45%, #35474A). For more colour, a short hue run to #BBBDCE keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #cdd9db in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #cdd9db at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.