Pale Cerulean (#9BC4E2)

The hex code for Pale Cerulean is #9BC4E2. It is rgb(155, 196, 226) in RGB, hsl(205, 55%, 75%) in HSL, and about cmyk(31%, 13%, 0%, 11%) in CMYK — a light blue. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#9BC4E2

HEX#9BC4E2

RGBrgb(155, 196, 226)

HSLhsl(205, 55%, 75%)

HSVhsv(205, 31%, 89%)

CMYKcmyk(31%, 13%, 0%, 11%)

OKLCHoklch(80.1% 0.061 240.2)

LABlab(76.97% -8.81 -19.69)

LCHlch(76.97% 21.57 245.89)

Colors Closest to Pale Cerulean

Pale Cerulean is a registered color name. These are the named colors nearest to it, measured as CIE76 distance in CIELAB — a perceptual scale, so the ordering matches what the eye sees rather than how close the raw RGB numbers happen to sit.

Pale Cornflower Blue#ABCDEFΔE 4.88 Dark Sky Blue#8CBED6ΔE 5.19 Baby Blue Eyes#A1CAF1ΔE 5.23 Cornflower Blue (Crayola)#93CCEAΔE 5.27 Light Steel Blue#B0C4DEΔE 7.39 Baby Blue#89CFF0ΔE 8.95

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every blue in the library.

#9BC4E2 Channel Values

How Pale Cerulean breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 155 · G 196 · B 226	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 205° · S 55% · L 75%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 205° · S 31% · V 89%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 31% · M 13% · Y 0% · K 11%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	1.84:1 vs white · 11.39:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a Pale Cerulean background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text1.84:1AA normal ✗AA large ✗AAA normal ✗

TextBlack text11.39:1AA normal ✓AA large ✓AAA normal ✓

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #9BC4E2 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With Pale Cerulean

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite Pale Cerulean; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of Pale Cerulean

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #9BC4E2.

How Pale Cerulean Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#9BC4E2

Protanopia#BEBEE2

Protanomaly#B1C0E2

Deuteranopia#B8B8E3

Deuteranomaly#ADBDE2

Tritanopia#95C8C8

Tritanomaly#98C6D3

Achromatopsia#BFBFBF

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #9BC4E2 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--pale-cerulean: #9BC4E2;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #9BC4E2;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'pale-cerulean': '#9BC4E2' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.608, green: 0.769, blue: 0.886)

Android XML<color name="pale_cerulean">#9BC4E2</color>

SVG fillfill="#9BC4E2"

More Blue Colors

Pale Cerulean sits in the bluefamily. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

9bddff 99ccff 9ca8b4 99a1af 9e9eff 9999ff a091f3 9999eb a1caf1 9999cc a2a2d0 97a3af bdc4cc dce3f9 f9fafb 0018a8 0077be 0e518d 1a5ddb 2887c8 365781 4c516d 62748e 7979e2

#9BC4E2 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hex code for Pale Cerulean?

The hex code for Pale Cerulean is #9BC4E2. That is rgb(155, 196, 226) in RGB, hsl(205, 55%, 75%) in HSL, and approximately cmyk(31%, 13%, 0%, 11%) in CMYK.

What is the RGB value of #9BC4E2?

#9BC4E2 is rgb(155, 196, 226) — red 155, green 196, and blue 226 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #9BC4E2?

#9BC4E2 converts to approximately cmyk(31%, 13%, 0%, 11%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #9BC4E2 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #9BC4E2 scores 1.84:1 against white and 11.39:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #9BC4E2 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #9BC4E2 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is lightsteelblue (#B0C4DE) at a CIE76 distance of 7.39, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open Pale Cerulean in a Tool

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Keep exploring: every blue in the color library, the guide to shades of blue, or the full color library.