ColorXprez

#9CA3CB

Dusty Blue · light cool blue

About #9CA3CB

With the hex code #9CA3CB, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 61% red, 64% green and 80% blue, while a printer would mix 23% cyan, 20% 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 12.4 — followed by Lilac. For maximum hue contrast, pair it with its complement #CBC49C, a sand shade.

In design, a light colour like this works best for large surfaces, cards and soft highlights. Put black text on top of it — 8.51:1, a WCAG AAA pass.

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red156
Green163
Blue203

Closest named colours

Dusty Blue
#8CA3B8 · ΔE 12.4
Lilac
#C8A2C8 · ΔE 16.4
Periwinkle
#CCCCFF · ΔE 16.8

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

Text on #9CA3CB

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on dusty blue #9CA3CB.
2.47:1Fail
Black heading text
Body copy set on dusty blue #9CA3CB.
8.51:1AAA

Colour-blindness preview

How #9CA3CB appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#9CA3CB
Protanopia (no red cones)
#98A7CD
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#95A3CA
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#91AAB0

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #9CA3CB?

With the hex code #9CA3CB, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 61% red, 64% green and 80% blue, while a printer would mix 23% cyan, 20% magenta, 0% yellow and 20% black. It reads as a cool colour.

›What text colour should I use on #9CA3CB?

Use black text. Black on #9CA3CB has a contrast ratio of 8.51:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #9CA3CB?

Its complementary colour is #CBC49C, and analogous partners are #9CBBCB and #AC9CCB.