ColorXprez

#B6BCDA

Thistle · light cool blue

About #B6BCDA

With the hex code #B6BCDA, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 71% red, 74% green and 85% blue, while a printer would mix 17% cyan, 14% magenta, 0% yellow and 15% black. It reads as a cool colour.

If you had to name it, it is similar to Thistle — a ΔE of 11.8 — followed by Periwinkle. For maximum hue contrast, pair it with its complement #DAD4B6, a oat shade.

In design, a light colour like this works best for large surfaces, cards and soft highlights. Black text reads best on it at 11.19:1 (a WCAG AAA pass).

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red182
Green188
Blue218

Closest named colours

Thistle
#D8BFD8 · ΔE 11.8
Periwinkle
#CCCCFF · ΔE 13.1
Dusty Blue
#8CA3B8 · ΔE 13.2

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

Text on #B6BCDA

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on thistle #B6BCDA.
1.88:1Fail
Black heading text
Body copy set on thistle #B6BCDA.
11.19:1AAA

Colour-blindness preview

How #B6BCDA appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#B6BCDA
Protanopia (no red cones)
#B4BFDB
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#B2BCD9
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#AEC1C6

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #B6BCDA?

With the hex code #B6BCDA, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 71% red, 74% green and 85% blue, while a printer would mix 17% cyan, 14% magenta, 0% yellow and 15% black. It reads as a cool colour.

›What text colour should I use on #B6BCDA?

Use black text. Black on #B6BCDA has a contrast ratio of 11.19:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #B6BCDA?

Its complementary colour is #DAD4B6, and analogous partners are #B6CEDA and #C2B6DA.