ColorXprez

#BBB9D2

Thistle · light cool blue

About #BBB9D2

With the hex code #BBB9D2, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 73% red, 73% green and 82% blue, while a printer would mix 11% cyan, 12% magenta, 0% yellow and 18% black. It reads as a cool colour.

If you had to name it, it is similar to Thistle — a ΔE of 9.2 — followed by Dusty Blue. For maximum hue contrast, pair it with its complement #D0D2B9, a light sage shade.

In design, a light colour like this works best for large surfaces, cards and soft highlights. Black text reads best on it at 10.98:1 (a WCAG AAA pass).

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red187
Green185
Blue210

Closest named colours

Thistle
#D8BFD8 · ΔE 9.2
Dusty Blue
#8CA3B8 · ΔE 13.5
Silver
#C0C0C0 · ΔE 13.6

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

Text on #BBB9D2

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on thistle #BBB9D2.
1.91:1Fail
Black heading text
Body copy set on thistle #BBB9D2.
10.98:1AAA

Colour-blindness preview

How #BBB9D2 appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#BBB9D2
Protanopia (no red cones)
#B4BCD3
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#B3BBD1
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#B7BDC1

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #BBB9D2?

With the hex code #BBB9D2, this is a light blue with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 73% red, 73% green and 82% blue, while a printer would mix 11% cyan, 12% magenta, 0% yellow and 18% black. It reads as a cool colour.

›What text colour should I use on #BBB9D2?

Use black text. Black on #BBB9D2 has a contrast ratio of 10.98:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #BBB9D2?

Its complementary colour is #D0D2B9, and analogous partners are #B9C3D2 and #C7B9D2.