Cool Gray #8D99AE
Cool Gray is a medium-light, muted blue with hex code #8D99AE and RGB rgb(141, 153, 174).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (7.30:1).
About this color
#8D99AE is a medium-light, muted blue. In OKLCH its lightness is 68%, its chroma 0.034 and its hue 262°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. It is the named color Cool Gray. Black text reads best on it, at 7.30:1.
| Hue family | Blues |
| Lightness | medium-light (68%) |
| Chroma | muted (0.034) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Cool Gray |
| Black text | 7.30:1 |
| White text | 2.87:1 |
Colors that go with Cool Gray
Matches found by rotating Cool Gray around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Cool Gray
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Cool Gray, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Cool Gray, with their ΔE distance.
- Bluey Grey #89A0B0 ΔE 0.019
- Bluegrey #85A3B2 ΔE 0.027
- Greyblue #77A1B5 ΔE 0.032
- Cool Grey #95A3A6 ΔE 0.036
- Cool Steel #97A7B3 ΔE 0.042
- Silver Lake Blue #778DA9 ΔE 0.047
- Blue Grey #758DA3 ΔE 0.050
- Pewter #96A8A1 ΔE 0.054
More about Cool Gray
How to make Cool Gray
A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.
- 3 parts pink
- 1 part green
- 1 part blue
Recipe result: #8C97A4, a difference of ΔE 0.015 from Cool Gray. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.
Codes for Cool Gray in every format
| HEX | #8D99AE |
| RGB | rgb(141, 153, 174) |
| HSL | hsl(218, 17%, 62%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(68% 0.034 261.7) |
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 #8D99AE | 2.87:1 | Fails | Lc -60.3 | Content text, not long reading |
| Black text on #8D99AE | 7.30:1 | AAA | Lc 49.0 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #8D99AE text on white | 2.87:1 | Fails | Lc 55.0 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #8D99AE text on black | 7.30:1 | AAA | Lc -46.8 | Large or bold text, headings |
Shades and tints of Cool Gray
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 400.
-
Step 50
50
#F4F5F7
oklch(97% 0.003 264.5)
-
Step 100
100
#E7EAEE
oklch(93.6% 0.006 255.5)
-
Step 200
200
#D5D9E1
oklch(88.5% 0.012 264.5)
-
Step 300
300
#B9C1CF
oklch(80.9% 0.022 261.8)
-
Step 400
400 (this color)
#8D99AE
oklch(68% 0.034 261.7)
-
Step 500
500
#7B8AA4
oklch(63.1% 0.043 261.4)
-
Step 600
600
#647490
oklch(55.6% 0.048 261.5)
-
Step 700
700
#53617A
oklch(49.1% 0.044 261.9)
-
Step 800
800
#444F63
oklch(42.6% 0.036 262.3)
-
Step 900
900
#394251
oklch(37.7% 0.028 260.6)
-
Step 950
950
#22272F
oklch(27.1% 0.017 259.8)
Cool Gray 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) | #929AAF | 0.008 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #8F97AE | 0.006 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #859DA0 | 0.029 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #989898 | 0.034 |
Use Cool Gray 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.