ColorXprez

#9BB9CB

Dusty Blue · light cool blue

About #9BB9CB

With the hex code #9BB9CB, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 61% red, 73% green and 80% blue, while a printer would mix 24% cyan, 9% magenta, 0% yellow and 20% black. It reads as a cool colour.

If you had to name it, it is similar to Dusty Blue — a ΔE of 8.2 — followed by Light Blue. For maximum hue contrast, pair it with its complement #CBAD9B, a dusty rose shade.

In design, a light colour like this works best for large surfaces, cards and soft highlights. Put black text on top of it — 10.20:1, a WCAG AAA pass.

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red155
Green185
Blue203

Closest named colours

Dusty Blue
#8CA3B8 · ΔE 8.2
Light Blue
#ADD8E6 · ΔE 11.4
Sky Blue
#87CEEB · ΔE 13.6

ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.

Text on #9BB9CB

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on dusty blue #9BB9CB.
2.06:1Fail
Black heading text
Body copy set on dusty blue #9BB9CB.
10.20:1AAA

Colour-blindness preview

How #9BB9CB appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#9BB9CB
Protanopia (no red cones)
#B1B8CC
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#AAB2CB
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#8DBEBF

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #9BB9CB?

With the hex code #9BB9CB, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 61% red, 73% green and 80% blue, while a printer would mix 24% cyan, 9% magenta, 0% yellow and 20% black. It reads as a cool colour.

›What text colour should I use on #9BB9CB?

Use black text. Black on #9BB9CB has a contrast ratio of 10.20:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #9BB9CB?

Its complementary colour is #CBAD9B, and analogous partners are #9BCBC5 and #9BA1CB.