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#dfe2ef

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

RGB
223, 226, 239
HSL
229°, 33%, 91%
CMYK
7, 5, 0, 6
Luminance
0.7631

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfe2ef is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfe2ef
Hue
229°
blue
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
91%
pale
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
89%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7631
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
88/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
16.26:1
Closest name
Lavender
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue229° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness91%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool88% 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#dfe2ef
RGBrgb(223, 226, 239)
HSLhsl(229, 33%, 91%)
CMYKcmyk(7%, 5%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(90.0 1.4 -6.7)
LCHlch(90.0 6.8 281.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.914 0.018 275.6)
Decimal14672623
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.886 0.937)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #dfe2ef;
background-color: #dfe2ef;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfe2ef] bg-[#dfe2ef]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfe2ef;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.886, blue: 0.937)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfe2ef")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFE2EF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(239, 226, 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 #dfe2ef · 16.26:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.29:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.26:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfe2ef as text scores 1.29:1 on white and 16.26:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfe2ef on white: 1.29:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfe2ef on black: 16.26:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #DFE3F0
deuteranopia · #DEE2EF
tritanopia · #DCE4E6

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfe2ef is pinned to step 100; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F5F6F9
#dfe2ef
#D4D8E8
#B4BBDA
#8F99C7
#6977B4
#5261A3
#445188
#36416D
#2A3150
#1B1F32
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #F5F6F9Darkest = 950 · #1B1F32
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5F6F9;
  --brand-100: #dfe2ef;
  --brand-200: #D4D8E8;
  --brand-300: #B4BBDA;
  --brand-400: #8F99C7;
  --brand-500: #6977B4;
  --brand-600: #5261A3;
  --brand-700: #445188;
  --brand-800: #36416D;
  --brand-900: #2A3150;
  --brand-950: #1B1F32;
  --brand: #dfe2ef;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #dfe2ef

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#F5F6FA
Tinted page background
Border#C9CEE4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4D5B99
Captions on the surface
Accent#8C6A40
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2B3255
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF0F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141724
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 #dfe2ef

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#EFECDF
Analogous left#DFEAEF
Analogous right#E4DFEF
Split-complement 1#EFE4DF
Split-complement 2#EAEFDF
Triadic 1#EFDFE2
Triadic 2#E2EFDF
Tetradic#EFDFEA

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green88.6%
Blue93.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan6.7%
Magenta5.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)6.3%

Color previews

#dfe2ef text on a black background

contrast 16.26:1

Card sample

#dfe2ef text on a white background

contrast 1.29:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfe2ef;
Background color
Panel with #dfe2ef background
background-color: #dfe2ef;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfe2ef;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 226, 239, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 226, 239, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfe2ef;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfe2ef, #E7DFEF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfe2ef

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.

#dfe2ef 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.

#dfe2ef, answered

What color is #dfe2ef?

#dfe2ef is a pale soft blue, closest to Lavender (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 229° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 91% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #dfe2ef?

rgb(223, 226, 239) — 223 red, 226 green and 239 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 88.6% / 93.7% by channel.

Is #dfe2ef a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7631 and perceived brightness is 89%, so black text on it reaches 16.26:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfe2ef?

Black. It scores 16.26:1 against #dfe2ef, versus 1.29:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #dfe2ef?

#EFECDF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EFE4DF and #EAEFDF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfe2ef?

For interface work: #F5F6FA as the surface, #C9CEE4 for borders, #4D5B99 for secondary text, #8C6A40 as an accent and #2B3255 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DFEAEF and #E4DFEF stays calm, while #EFECDF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfe2ef in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(7%, 5%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfe2ef warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 88 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E2DFEF; nudged cooler, #DFE6EF.

Work with #dfe2ef in the Color Lab