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#B9BBD5 Color

#B9BBD5 is rgb(185, 187, 213) in RGB, hsl(236, 25%, 78%) in HSL, and about cmyk(13%, 12%, 0%, 16%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Light Periwinkle (#C5CBE1), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.99. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#B9BBD5
HEX#B9BBD5
RGBrgb(185, 187, 213)
HSLhsl(236, 25%, 78%)
HSVhsv(236, 13%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 12%, 0%, 16%)
OKLCHoklch(79.9% 0.037 282)
LABlab(76.35% 3.15 -13.36)
LCHlch(76.35% 13.73 283.27)

What #B9BBD5 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 #B9BBD5, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Light Periwinkle#C5CBE1ΔE 5.99Periwinkle (Crayola)#C3CDE6ΔE 6.57Light Steel Blue#B0C4DEΔE 6.68Lavender Gray#C4C3D0ΔE 7.58Wild Blue Yonder#A2ADD0ΔE 8.24Digital Lavender#C8B7C9ΔE 8.55

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

#B9BBD5 Channel Values

How #B9BBD5 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 185 · G 187 · B 2138-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 236° · S 25% · L 78%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 236° · S 13% · V 84%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 13% · M 12% · Y 0% · K 16%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance1.89:1 vs white · 11.13:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #B9BBD5 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 text1.89:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text11.13:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #B9BBD5 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #B9BBD5

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #B9BBD5; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#B9BBD5
Complementary
#D5D3B9
Analogous
#B9C9D5
Analogous
#C5B9D5
Triadic
#D5B9BB
Triadic
#BBD5B9
Split comp.
#D5C5B9
Split comp.
#C9D5B9

Tints & Shades of #B9BBD5

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

#C2C4DB
#CCCDE0
#D6D7E6
#DCDDEA
#E6E6F0
#EFEFF5

Shades

#9699C0
#767AAD
#585C93
#454873
#303250
#1D1E30

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #B9BBD5.

How #B9BBD5 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#B9BBD5
Protanopia#BBBBD5
Protanomaly#BABBD5
Deuteranopia#BABAD5
Deuteranomaly#BABBD5
Tritanopia#B5BFBF
Tritanomaly#B7BDC8
Achromatopsia#BDBDBD

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #B9BBD5 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-b9bbd5: #B9BBD5;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #B9BBD5;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-b9bbd5': '#B9BBD5' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.725, green: 0.733, blue: 0.835)
Android XML<color name="color_b9bbd5">#B9BBD5</color>
SVG fillfill="#B9BBD5"

More Blue Colors

#B9BBD5 sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024fafaff00002ef9fafb000033f8fafc000038f8f8ff000042f5faff000047f5f5ff002147007dfa0f52ba1c39bb2a3439372aac4e3cc364609a7abdff979aaab8dbffd6d6ff

#B9BBD5 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #B9BBD5?

#B9BBD5 is a light blue — rgb(185, 187, 213) in RGB and hsl(236, 25%, 78%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Light Periwinkle (#C5CBE1), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.99.

What is the RGB value of #B9BBD5?

#B9BBD5 is rgb(185, 187, 213) — red 185, green 187, and blue 213 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #B9BBD5?

#B9BBD5 converts to approximately cmyk(13%, 12%, 0%, 16%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #B9BBD5 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #B9BBD5 scores 1.89:1 against white and 11.13:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #B9BBD5 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #B9BBD5 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 6.68, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #B9BBD5 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.