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#dfdcef

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

RGB
223, 220, 239
HSL
250°, 37%, 90%
CMYK
7, 8, 0, 6
Luminance
0.7311

At a glance

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

Hex
#dfdcef
Hue
250°
blue
Saturation
37%
soft
Lightness
90%
pale
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
88%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7311
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
78/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
15.62:1
Closest name
Lavender
ΔE2000 2.5
Where it sits
Hue250° of 360°
Saturation37%
Lightness90%
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.

Every format

HEX#dfdcef
RGBrgb(223, 220, 239)
HSLhsl(250, 37%, 90%)
CMYKcmyk(7%, 8%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(88.5 4.5 -8.9)
LCHlch(88.5 10.0 297.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.902 0.026 293.1)
Decimal14671087
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.863 0.937)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfdcef;
background-color: #dfdcef;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfdcef] bg-[#dfdcef]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfdcef;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.863, blue: 0.937)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfdcef")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFDCEF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(239, 220, 223)

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 #dfdcef · 15.62:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.34:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.62:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfdcef as text scores 1.34:1 on white and 15.62:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfdcef on white: 1.34:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfdcef on black: 15.62:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D8DEF0
deuteranopia · #D8DEEE
tritanopia · #DCDFE2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfdcef 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
#EDEBF4
#dfdcef
#B9B2DC
#958BCA
#7265B9
#5B4DA8
#4C408C
#3D3370
#2F2852
#1D1933
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F6F5FADarkest = 950 · #1D1933
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F5FA;
  --brand-100: #EDEBF4;
  --brand-200: #dfdcef;
  --brand-300: #B9B2DC;
  --brand-400: #958BCA;
  --brand-500: #7265B9;
  --brand-600: #5B4DA8;
  --brand-700: #4C408C;
  --brand-800: #3D3370;
  --brand-900: #2F2852;
  --brand-950: #1D1933;
  --brand: #dfdcef;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfdcef

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#CCC7E5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#574B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#90883C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#302858
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFEDF7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#161424
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 #dfdcef

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

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#ECEFDC
Analogous left#DCE2EF
Analogous right#E9DCEF
Split-complement 1#EFE9DC
Split-complement 2#E2EFDC
Triadic 1#EFDFDC
Triadic 2#DCEFDF
Tetradic#EFDCE2

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green86.3%
Blue93.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan6.7%
Magenta7.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#dfdcef text on a black background

contrast 15.62:1

Card sample

#dfdcef text on a white background

contrast 1.34:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 220, 239, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 220, 239, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfdcef;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfdcef, #ECDCEF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfdcef

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.

#dfdcef 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.

#dfdcef, answered

What color is #dfdcef?

#dfdcef is a pale soft blue, closest to Lavender (ΔE2000 2.5). It sits at 250° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 90% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #dfdcef?

rgb(223, 220, 239) — 223 red, 220 green and 239 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 86.3% / 93.7% by channel.

Is #dfdcef a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7311 and perceived brightness is 88%, so black text on it reaches 15.62:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfdcef?

Black. It scores 15.62:1 against #dfdcef, versus 1.34:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfdcef?

#ECEFDC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EFE9DC and #E2EFDC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfdcef?

For interface work: #F5F4FA as the surface, #CCC7E5 for borders, #574B9B for secondary text, #90883C as an accent and #302858 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DCE2EF and #E9DCEF stays calm, while #ECEFDC is the loudest partner.

What is #dfdcef in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(7%, 8%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfdcef 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 #E6DCEF; nudged cooler, #DBE0F0.

Work with #dfdcef in the Color Lab