ColorXprez

#BCBFDB

Thistle · light cool blue

About #BCBFDB

#BCBFDB is a light, muted blue colour. Digitally that works out to 74% red, 75% green and 86% blue. In CMYK print terms it is 14% cyan, 13% magenta, 0% yellow and 14% black. Most people will perceive it as cool.

Visually it is similar to Thistle (ΔE 10.3), with Periwinkle the next nearest named colour. Across the colour wheel sits #DBD8BC (oat), its complementary partner.

Because it is light, it is most useful for large surfaces, cards and soft highlights. Put black text on top of it — 11.61:1, a WCAG AAA pass.

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red188
Green191
Blue219

Closest named colours

Thistle
#D8BFD8 · ΔE 10.3
Periwinkle
#CCCCFF · ΔE 13.3
Dusty Blue
#8CA3B8 · ΔE 14.3

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

Text on #BCBFDB

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on thistle #BCBFDB.
1.81:1Fail
Black heading text
Body copy set on thistle #BCBFDB.
11.61:1AAA

Colour-blindness preview

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

Normal vision
#BCBFDB
Protanopia (no red cones)
#B8C2DC
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#B7C0DA
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#B5C4C8

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #BCBFDB?

#BCBFDB is a light, muted blue colour. Digitally that works out to 74% red, 75% green and 86% blue. In CMYK print terms it is 14% cyan, 13% magenta, 0% yellow and 14% black. Most people will perceive it as cool.

›What text colour should I use on #BCBFDB?

Use black text. Black on #BCBFDB has a contrast ratio of 11.61:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #BCBFDB?

Its complementary colour is #DBD8BC, and analogous partners are #BCCEDB and #C9BCDB.