Color reference

#9CB5DE color reference

Soft Light Blue

This is a soft, light blue under the deterministic OKLCH hue, lightness, and chroma ranges. Its closest standardized CSS named color is Light Steel Blue (#B0C4DE), measured with straight-line OKLab distance.

Descriptive label
Soft Light Blue
Recommended text
Black · 10.08:1
Relative luminance
0.453896
Build a palette from #9CB5DE in Palette Generator Convert #9CB5DE in Color Converter
Formats UI preview Contrast 50–900 scale Harmonies Matches Related colors Color vision Exports

Copyable values

#9CB5DE in common color formats

Values are calculated from the same opaque sRGB color. Display rounding does not alter the internal calculations.

Color conversions for #9CB5DE
Format Value Action
HEX #9CB5DE
RGB rgb(156 181 222)
HSL hsl(217 50% 74.12%)
HSV hsv(217 29.73% 87.06%)
HWB hwb(217 61.18% 12.94%)
XYZ D65 color(xyz-d65 0.434166 0.453889 0.75583)
LAB lab(72.8593% -1.7763 -23.7101)
LCH lch(72.8593% 23.7766 265.7156)
OKLAB oklab(76.8589% -0.011055 -0.064258)
OKLCH oklch(76.8589% 0.065202 260.238)

Real-world test

Try #9CB5DE on interface components

Preview the source as a primary action, subtle status, form treatment, and card surface. Persistent state controls help touch and keyboard users inspect the same normal, hover, and active colors.

Normal state uses #9CB5DE with black text at 10.08:1.

Action

Primary button

Use the controls above or point to and press the button to inspect its visual states.

Status

Subtle alert badge

A 12% source tint over white provides the background; readable text is selected separately.

Ready for review

Form

Border and focus ring

Source ring on white: 2.08:1 · does not meet the 3:1 non-text threshold where applicable.

Surface

Card component

The selected state becomes the card surface with its strongest black-or-white text pairing.

Design system Color decision ready Review states and surrounding surfaces before shipping.

Accessibility diagnostics

WCAG contrast for exact color pairs

Each result applies only to the named foreground, background, text size, and requirement. It is not a complete accessibility or component-conformance claim.

Source #9CB5DE Exact pair assessment Results for source text on white appear below.

On white

2.08:1

  • Fail AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Fail AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Fail AA large text · 3:1
  • Fail UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1
Source #9CB5DE Exact pair assessment Results for source text on black appear below.

On black

10.08:1

  • Pass AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Pass AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Pass AA large text · 3:1
  • Pass UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1

Use guidance

What this color may be suitable for

Not recommended

Normal-sized text

#9CB5DE does not reach 4.5:1 on white or Hue Codex paper, so it should not be used there for normal-sized text.

Needs a boundary

Controls and interface graphics

Against Hue Codex paper, the color reaches only 1.99:1. Use a contrasting border or another non-color boundary for meaningful controls and graphics.

Readable pairing available

Colored surface or button fill

Black text provides the stronger black/white pairing on #9CB5DE at 10.08:1. This validates only that text pair, not hover, focus, disabled, or adjacent-color states.

Restrained neutral

Palette role

Its OKLCH chroma of 0.0652 is restrained, which is generally more suitable for surfaces, borders, or neutral system roles than for a vivid accent.

Pair available

Color used as foreground

The stronger black/white background is black at 10.08:1. Always retest against the actual rendered background and text size.

Tested backgrounds

Foreground pairing comparison

#9CB5DE foreground contrast on tested backgrounds
Pair Background Contrast ratio
Black#000000 10.08:1
Hue Codex ink#10212B 7.91:1
White#FFFFFF 2.08:1
Hue Codex paper#FBFAF5 1.99:1
Soft neutral#F2EFE6 1.81:1
Check #9CB5DE on another background in Contrast Checker

Design-system starting point

A perceptual 50–900 reference scale

The source color is preserved at the nearest lightness step. Other swatches keep its OKLCH hue, moderate chroma toward the extremes, and reduce chroma only when needed to remain in sRGB.

50
100
200
300 #9CB5DE Source
400
500
600
700
800
900

This is a Hue Codex reference scale, not a claim that the values match Tailwind, Material, or another framework’s named palette.

Adjust the #9CB5DE scale in Tints, Shades & Tones

Color relationships

Complementary, analogous, and triadic colors

Hue rotations use OKLCH while preserving lightness and requested chroma. When a rotated result falls outside sRGB, chroma is reduced deterministically and disclosed.

Complementary

Source #9CB5DE
Complement

Analogous

Source #9CB5DE
Analogous −30°
Analogous +30°

Triadic

Source #9CB5DE
Triad +120°
Triad +240°

Applied pairing

A small interface check

The source anchors the main action while the complement marks a secondary status. Contrast is selected separately for each fill.

Project color Soft Light Blue
Complement
Explore #9CB5DE in Color Harmonies

Distance matching

Closest standardized and framework colors

Matches use straight-line OKLab distance ×100. A smaller value means the coordinates are closer in this model; it is not a claim that two tokens are interchangeable in a design system.

CSS named color

Light Steel Blue

#B0C4DE

OKLab distance ×100: 5.05

Tailwind v4 default

indigo-300

oklch(78.5% 0.115 274.713)

OKLab distance ×100: 5.68 · sRGB preview #A3B3FF

Print boundary

Pantone match not estimated

Reliable print matching needs licensed reference data plus a defined ink, paper, profile, and viewing condition.

Read the print methodology

Color-vision screening

Approximate color-vision-deficiency views

These encoded-sRGB matrix previews are screening approximations. They help reveal possible color-only distinctions but do not reproduce every person’s vision or establish accessibility conformance.

Original#9CB5DE
Approx.

Protanopia

Red-vision deficiency approximation

Original#9CB5DE
Approx.

Deuteranopia

Green-vision deficiency approximation

Original#9CB5DE
Approx.

Tritanopia

Blue-yellow deficiency approximation

Original#9CB5DE
Approx.

Achromatopsia

Monochromatic-vision approximation

Test #9CB5DE with a complete palette in the CVD Simulator

Ready to use

Copy framework-ready color tokens

Exports preserve the source, readable foreground, and generated 50–900 scale. Tailwind v4 CSS-first and Tailwind v3 JavaScript-config formats are labeled separately.

CSS custom properties

Semantic aliases and the complete 50–900 scale.

:root {
  --color-primary: #9CB5DE;
  --color-on-primary: #000000;
  --color-primary-oklch: oklch(76.8589% 0.065202 260.238);
  --color-primary-50: #F0F6FF;
  --color-primary-100: #CCDFFF;
  --color-primary-200: #AFC5EB;
  --color-primary-300: #9CB5DE;
  --color-primary-400: #7C93B9;
  --color-primary-500: #667B9F;
  --color-primary-600: #506485;
  --color-primary-700: #3B4D6C;
  --color-primary-800: #273854;
  --color-primary-900: #14243D;
}

Tailwind v4 CSS-first theme

Current @theme syntax for bg-brand, text-brand, and scale utilities.

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-brand: #9CB5DE;
  --color-brand-foreground: #000000;
  --color-brand-50: #F0F6FF;
  --color-brand-100: #CCDFFF;
  --color-brand-200: #AFC5EB;
  --color-brand-300: #9CB5DE;
  --color-brand-400: #7C93B9;
  --color-brand-500: #667B9F;
  --color-brand-600: #506485;
  --color-brand-700: #3B4D6C;
  --color-brand-800: #273854;
  --color-brand-900: #14243D;
}

Tailwind v3 / legacy config

CommonJS theme.extend.colors for JavaScript-config projects.

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        brand: {
          '50': '#F0F6FF',
          '100': '#CCDFFF',
          '200': '#AFC5EB',
          '300': '#9CB5DE',
          '400': '#7C93B9',
          '500': '#667B9F',
          '600': '#506485',
          '700': '#3B4D6C',
          '800': '#273854',
          '900': '#14243D',
          DEFAULT: '#9CB5DE',
          foreground: '#000000',
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Sass variables

Semantic source, foreground, OKLCH, and scale variables.

$color-primary: #9CB5DE;
$color-on-primary: #000000;
$color-primary-oklch: oklch(76.8589% 0.065202 260.238);
$color-primary-50: #F0F6FF;
$color-primary-100: #CCDFFF;
$color-primary-200: #AFC5EB;
$color-primary-300: #9CB5DE;
$color-primary-400: #7C93B9;
$color-primary-500: #667B9F;
$color-primary-600: #506485;
$color-primary-700: #3B4D6C;
$color-primary-800: #273854;
$color-primary-900: #14243D;

Modern color-mix()

Static fallbacks followed by OKLab tint and shade declarations.

:root {
  --color-primary: #9CB5DE;
  --color-primary-tint: #AFC5EB;
  --color-primary-tint: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 72%, white);
  --color-primary-shade: #3B4D6C;
  --color-primary-shade: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 82%, black);
}

JSON design data

Source formats, readable text, and the generated scale.

{
    "name": "Soft Light Blue",
    "hex": "#9CB5DE",
    "rgb": "rgb(156 181 222)",
    "oklch": "oklch(76.8589% 0.065202 260.238)",
    "recommendedText": "#000000",
    "scale": {
        "50": "#F0F6FF",
        "100": "#CCDFFF",
        "200": "#AFC5EB",
        "300": "#9CB5DE",
        "400": "#7C93B9",
        "500": "#667B9F",
        "600": "#506485",
        "700": "#3B4D6C",
        "800": "#273854",
        "900": "#14243D"
    }
}

Continue the decision

Use #9CB5DE in a complete workflow

Reference values are a starting point. Test the color in its real role, background, states, typography, and surrounding palette before shipping.

Adjust #9CB5DE in Color PickerStart with this exact color and white as the working background for role and accessibility decisions. Build a palette from #9CB5DE in Palette GeneratorUse this exact HEX as the seed for a deterministic, role-based palette. Check #9CB5DE on white in Contrast CheckerStart with this color as the foreground and white as the background, then test the real pair.