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#9CB5C9 Color

#9CB5C9 is rgb(156, 181, 201) in RGB, hsl(207, 29%, 70%) in HSL, and about cmyk(22%, 10%, 0%, 21%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Pewter Blue (#8BA8B7), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 6.01. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#9CB5C9
HEX#9CB5C9
RGBrgb(156, 181, 201)
HSLhsl(207, 29%, 70%)
HSVhsv(207, 22%, 79%)
CMYKcmyk(22%, 10%, 0%, 21%)
OKLCHoklch(76.1% 0.04 242.3)
LABlab(72.27% -5.57 -13.20)
LCHlch(72.27% 14.32 247.11)

What #9CB5C9 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #9CB5C9, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Pewter Blue#8BA8B7ΔE 6.01Light Steel Blue#B0C4DEΔE 6.93Cadet Gray#91A3B0ΔE 7.71Pastel Blue#AEC6CFΔE 8.47Dark Sky Blue#8CBED6ΔE 8.55Pale Cerulean#9BC4E2ΔE 8.64

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

#9CB5C9 Channel Values

How #9CB5C9 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 156 · G 181 · B 2018-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 207° · S 29% · L 70%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 207° · S 22% · V 79%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 22% · M 10% · Y 0% · K 21%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.13:1 vs white · 9.87:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #9CB5C9 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.

Fails AAWhite text2.13:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text9.87:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #9CB5C9 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #9CB5C9

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #9CB5C9; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#9CB5C9
Complementary
#C9B09C
Analogous
#9CC9C6
Analogous
#9C9FC9
Triadic
#C99CB5
Triadic
#B5C99C
Split comp.
#C99C9F
Split comp.
#C9C69C

Tints & Shades of #9CB5C9

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

#A9BFD0
#B7C9D7
#C4D2DE
#D1DCE6
#DEE6ED
#EBF0F4

Shades

#7F9EB8
#5E86A6
#4C6E8A
#3A5469
#2A3C4C
#18222B

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #9CB5C9.

How #9CB5C9 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#9CB5C9
Protanopia#B1B1C9
Protanomaly#A9B3C9
Deuteranopia#ADADCA
Deuteranomaly#A7B0C9
Tritanopia#99B8B8
Tritanomaly#9AB7BF
Achromatopsia#B2B2B2

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #9CB5C9 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-9cb5c9: #9CB5C9;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #9CB5C9;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-9cb5c9': '#9CB5C9' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.612, green: 0.710, blue: 0.788)
Android XML<color name="color_9cb5c9">#9CB5C9</color>
SVG fillfill="#9CB5C9"

More Blue Colors

#9CB5C9 sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024fafaff00002ef9fafb000033f8fafc000038f8f8ff000042f5faff000047f5f5ff002147007dfa0f52ba1c39bb2a3439372aac4e3cc364609a7abdff979aaab8dbffd6d6ff

#9CB5C9 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #9CB5C9?

#9CB5C9 is a light blue — rgb(156, 181, 201) in RGB and hsl(207, 29%, 70%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Pewter Blue (#8BA8B7), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 6.01.

What is the RGB value of #9CB5C9?

#9CB5C9 is rgb(156, 181, 201) — red 156, green 181, and blue 201 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #9CB5C9?

#9CB5C9 converts to approximately cmyk(22%, 10%, 0%, 21%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #9CB5C9 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #9CB5C9 scores 2.13:1 against white and 9.87:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #9CB5C9 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #9CB5C9 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 6.93, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #9CB5C9 in a Tool

Hex to RGBHex to HSLHex to CMYKHex to OKLCHHex to PantoneBuild a paletteMake a gradient

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