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blue · cool

#dcd8f0

a pale, soft blue · cool · closest name: Lavender

Token name suggestion: Whisper Harbour

RGB
220, 216, 240
HSL
250°, 44%, 89%
CMYK
8, 10, 0, 6
Luminance
0.7062

#dcd8f0 is a pale soft blue, 250° on the wheel and 78/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (15.12:1). As text it scores 1.39:1 on white — use #7666C4 instead. Nearest name is Lavender, nearest Tailwind family is sky.

hsl(250 44% 89%)rgb(220 216 240)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dcd8f0 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dcd8f0
Hue
250°
blue
Saturation
44%
soft
Lightness
89%
pale
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
86%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7062
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
78/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
15.12:1
Closest name
Lavender
ΔE2000 3.8
Chroma
12.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.893
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
sky
500 · ΔE 31.8
Web-safe
#CCCCFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue250° of 360°
Saturation44%
Lightness89%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dcd8f0.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool78% 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
Red22%
Green70%
Blue9%

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

Every format

HEX#dcd8f0
HEX (8-digit)#dcd8f0ff
RGBrgb(220, 216, 240)
RGBArgba(220, 216, 240, 1)
HSLhsl(250, 44%, 89%)
HSV / HSBhsv(250, 10%, 94%)
HWBhwb(250 85% 6%)
CMYKcmyk(8%, 10%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(87.3 5.8 -11.2)
LCHlch(87.3 12.7 297.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.893 0.033 293.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(69.80, 70.62, 92.37)
Decimal14473456
Display P3color(display-p3 0.863 0.847 0.941)
Web-safe#CCCCFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dcd8f0;
background-color: #dcd8f0;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dcd8f0;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dcd8f0] bg-[#dcd8f0]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dcd8f0;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.863, green: 0.847, blue: 0.941)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.863, green: 0.847, blue: 0.941, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DCD8F0</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDCD8F0)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDCD8F0)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(240, 216, 220)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(220, 216, 240)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(220, 216, 240)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 220, 216, 240)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8627f, 0.8471f, 0.9412f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{220,216,240}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dcd8f0 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dcd8f0 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2D235C, #D7D3EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dcd8f0 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: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-100: #ECEAF5;
  --brand-200: #dcd8f0;
  --brand-300: #B6AEE0;
  --brand-400: #9285D0;
  --brand-500: #6E5DC1;
  --brand-600: #5644B1;
  --brand-700: #483993;
  --brand-800: #392D76;
  --brand-900: #2D2456;
  --brand-950: #1C1736;
  --brand: #dcd8f0;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F4FA;
  --brand-border: #CAC4E8;
  --brand-hover: #C5BEE6;
  --brand-pressed: #AEA4DC;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #161424;
    --brand-ink: #D7D3EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F5FA',
        100: '#ECEAF5',
        200: '#dcd8f0',
        300: '#B6AEE0',
        400: '#9285D0',
        500: '#6E5DC1',
        600: '#5644B1',
        700: '#483993',
        800: '#392D76',
        900: '#2D2456',
        950: '#1C1736',
        DEFAULT: '#dcd8f0',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F5FA,
  '100': #ECEAF5,
  '200': #dcd8f0,
  '300': #B6AEE0,
  '400': #9285D0,
  '500': #6E5DC1,
  '600': #5644B1,
  '700': #483993,
  '800': #392D76,
  '900': #2D2456,
  '950': #1C1736,
);
$brand-base: #dcd8f0;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F5FA", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECEAF5", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#dcd8f0", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B6AEE0", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#9285D0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6E5DC1", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5644B1", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#483993", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#392D76", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2D2456", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1C1736", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #dcd8f0 · 15.12:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.39:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.12:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dcd8f0 as text scores 1.39:1 on white and 15.12:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2D235C at 10.04:1.

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
#7666C4 · 4.70:1
AA on white−31% L
#7666C4
The quick fox
#5946B6 · 7.06:1
AAA on white−40% L
#5946B6
The quick fox
#dcd8f0 · 15.12:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dcd8f0
The quick fox
#dcd8f0 · 15.12:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dcd8f0

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #978BD2 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
#dcd8f0 on white: 1.39:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dcd8f0 on black: 15.12:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dcd8f0 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dcd8f0.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.39:1AaAa
Slate 501.33:1AaAa
Slate 1001.27:1AaAa
Slate 2001.13:1AaAa
Slate 3001.07:1AaAa
Slate 4001.85:1AaAa
Slate 5003.43:1AaAa
Slate 6005.46:1AaAa
Slate 7007.46:1AaAa
Slate 80010.54:1AaAa
Slate 90012.86:1AaAa
Black15.12:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #D3DBF1
deuteranopia · #D4DAEF
tritanopia · #D8DBE0

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. #dcd8f0 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.

#F6F5FA
#ECEAF5
#dcd8f0
#B6AEE0
#9285D0
#6E5DC1
#5644B1
#483993
#392D76
#2D2456
#1C1736
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F6F5FADarkest = 950 · #1C1736Text step on white = 500
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 0.008 293.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.013 293.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.020 293.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.026 293.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.030 293.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.033 293.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.033 293.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.031 293.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.028 293.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.023 293.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.018 293.4);
}

Colors that work with #dcd8f0

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#F5F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#CAC4E8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#584B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#979035
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2D235C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEEDF8
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161424
Dark-mode background
Hover#C5BEE6
One step down in lightness
Pressed#AEA4DC
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F3F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E3E0F6
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 #dcd8f0

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 #2D235C
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #978BD2

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
  • Weight11/100
  • 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#ECF0D8
Analogous left#D8E0F0
Analogous right#E8D8F0
Split-complement 1#F0E8D8
Split-complement 2#E0F0D8
Triadic 1#F0DCD8
Triadic 2#D8F0DC
Tetradic#F0D8E0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°250°

#dcd8f0 sits at 250°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red86.3%
Green84.7%
Blue94.1%
R · 0–255
220
0xdc
G · 0–255
216
0xd8
B · 0–255
240
0xf0

CMYK percentages

Cyan8.3%
Magenta10.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)5.9%

Total ink coverage is 24%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dcd8f0 text on a black background

contrast 15.12:1

Card sample

#dcd8f0 text on a white background

contrast 1.39:1

Card sample

#dcd8f0 on grey

1.27:1

#dcd8f0 on its own surface

1.27:1

#dcd8f0 on its dark surface

13.04:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dcd8f0;
Background color
Panel with #dcd8f0 background
background-color: #dcd8f0;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dcd8f0;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(220, 216, 240, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(220, 216, 240, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dcd8f0;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dcd8f0, #ECD8F0);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dcd8f0, #F0D8EE);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dcd8f0;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dcd8f0;
caret-color: #dcd8f0;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dcd8f0;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEEDF8;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dcd8f0;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dcd8f0 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dcd8f0 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(220, 216, 240, 0.5)
rgb(220 216 240 / 50%)
#dcd8f080
hsl(250 44% 89% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dcd8f0 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dcd8f01a#FCFBFE
20%#dcd8f033#F8F7FC
40%#dcd8f066#F1EFF9
60%#dcd8f099#EAE8F6
80%#dcd8f0cc#E3E0F3

Gradients from #dcd8f0

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, #F2F0F9, #dcd8f0 45%, #2D235C);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dcd8f0, #E4C2E7);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dcd8f0, #ECF0D8);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5F4FB 0%, #dcd8f0 45%, #2D235C 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F4FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FDFDFE 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F6EEF8 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2D235C 0%, transparent 65%), #dcd8f0;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dcd8f0

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.

#dcd8f0 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 15.12:1.

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.

#dcd8f0, answered

What color is #dcd8f0?

#dcd8f0 is a pale soft blue, closest to Lavender (ΔE2000 3.8). It sits at 250° on the hue wheel with 44% saturation and 89% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #dcd8f0?

rgb(220, 216, 240) — 220 red, 216 green and 240 blue out of 255, or 86.3% / 84.7% / 94.1% by channel.

What is #dcd8f0 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(250, 44%, 89%) and hsv(250, 10%, 94%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dcd8f0 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7062 and perceived brightness is 86%, so black text on it reaches 15.12:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dcd8f0?

Black. It scores 15.12:1 against #dcd8f0, versus 1.39:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dcd8f0 accessible on a white background?

#dcd8f0 on white scores 1.39:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #7666C4 to reach 4.5:1, or #5946B6 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dcd8f0?

#ECF0D8 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F0E8D8 and #E0F0D8, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dcd8f0?

For interface work: #F5F4FA as the surface, #CAC4E8 for borders, #584B9B for secondary text, #979035 as an accent and #2D235C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #D8E0F0 and #E8D8F0 stays calm, while #ECF0D8 is the loudest partner.

What is #dcd8f0 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(8%, 10%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dcd8f0 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 78 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E5D8F0; nudged cooler, #D7DCF1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dcd8f0?

The sky family — its 500 step is #0ea5e9, ΔE2000 31.8 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dcd8f0 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dcd8f0 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dcd8f0] or text-[#dcd8f0], 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 #dcd8f0 with 50% opacity?

rgba(220, 216, 240, 0.5), or #dcd8f080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EEECF8; over black, #6E6C78.

Is #dcd8f0 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCFF, ΔE2000 8.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dcd8f0 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 #dcd8f0?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F2F0F9, #dcd8f0 45%, #2D235C). For more colour, a short hue run to #E4C2E7 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dcd8f0 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dcd8f0 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.