#B9BCED
Closest named color: Light Periwinkle (#C1C6FC). oklch(81% 0.069 282), rgb(185, 188, 237).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (11.47:1).
About this color
#B9BCED is a light, muted purple. In OKLCH its lightness is 81%, its chroma 0.069 and its hue 282°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. The nearest named color is Light Periwinkle (#C1C6FC), ΔE 0.032 away. Black text reads best on it, at 11.47:1.
| Hue family | Purples |
| Lightness | light (81%) |
| Chroma | muted (0.069) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Light Periwinkle (#C1C6FC) |
| Black text | 11.47:1 |
| White text | 1.82:1 |
Values
| HEX | #B9BCED |
| RGB | rgb(185, 188, 237) |
| HSL | hsl(237, 59%, 83%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(81% 0.069 282) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #B9BCED | 1.82:1 | Fails | Lc -38.4 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| Black text on #B9BCED | 11.47:1 | AAA | Lc 69.6 | Content text, not long reading |
| #B9BCED text on white | 1.82:1 | Fails | Lc 34.2 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #B9BCED text on black | 11.47:1 | AAA | Lc -68.3 | Content text, not long reading |
Tints and shades
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 300.
-
Step 50
50
#F4F5FC
oklch(97.1% 0.009 279.7)
-
Step 100
100
#E7E9F7
oklch(93.7% 0.019 279.5)
-
Step 200
200
#D4D7F3
oklch(88.6% 0.039 280.7)
-
Step 300
300 (this color)
#B9BCED
oklch(81% 0.069 282)
-
Step 400
400
#9698E4
oklch(70.8% 0.11 282)
-
Step 500
500
#7D7CDC
oklch(63% 0.142 282)
-
Step 600
600
#6863C9
oklch(55.5% 0.154 282.4)
-
Step 700
700
#5652AE
oklch(49.1% 0.142 281.7)
-
Step 800
800
#46448D
oklch(42.8% 0.118 281.4)
-
Step 900
900
#3B3A71
oklch(37.8% 0.092 281.9)
-
Step 950
950
#222242
oklch(27% 0.059 281.7)
#B9BCED with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #AFC1EF | 0.017 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #ADBEEC | 0.016 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #ADC4CD | 0.060 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #BFBFBF | 0.069 |
Harmonies
Hue rotations in OKLCH that keep this color's lightness and chroma.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
- #B9BCED
#B9BCED
oklch(81% 0.069 282)
- #C9C38F
#C9C38F
oklch(80.9% 0.069 102.3)
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Split complementary
The two hues beside the complement (150° and 210°).
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Palettes with this color
Curated palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.04 (OKLab) of #B9BCED, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Light Periwinkle #C1C6FC ΔE 0.032
- Pastel Blue #A2BFFE ΔE 0.035
- Light Steel Blue #B0C4DE ΔE 0.037
- Cloudy Blue #ACC2D9 ΔE 0.041
- Light Blue Grey #B7C9E2 ΔE 0.042
- Light Violet #D6B4FC ΔE 0.052
- Pale Violet #CEAEFA ΔE 0.052
- Baby Blue #A2CFFE ΔE 0.052
Use #B9BCED in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.