CSS named color

Light Blue #ADD8E6

The CSS keyword lightblue is #ADD8E6. It is a pale grayish blue in the cyan family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.856, chroma 0.049 and hue 219.7°.

Relative luminance
0.6371
OKLCH L · C · h
0.856 · 0.049 · 219.7
Best text
Black 13.74:1
Hue family
Cyan
Inspect this color Check contrast

#ADD8E6 color codes

HEX
#ADD8E6
RGB
rgb(173, 216, 230)
HSL
hsl(195, 53%, 79%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.856 0.049 219.7)
OKLab
oklab(0.856 -0.038 -0.031)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 83.81, a* -10.89, b* -11.48
XYZ (D65)
X 56.07, Y 63.71, Z 84.19
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(25%, 6%, 0%, 10%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #ADD8E6 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 13.74:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 1.52:1.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    13.74:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +79

  • White text on it

    1.52:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −27

  • As text on black

    13.74:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −78

  • As text on white

    1.52:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +24

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #547C89 4.54:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.86 to 0.56 reaches 4.54:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #ADD8E6 13.74:1

    It already reaches 13.74:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #ADD8E6 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #ADD8E6

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #ADD8E6 sits at step 200.

  1. 50#E6F9FF
    White
    1.08
    Black
    19.35
  2. 100#CFF2FE
    White
    1.18
    Black
    17.78
  3. 200This color#ADD8E6
    White
    1.52
    Black
    13.74
  4. 300#9EC5D2
    White
    1.84
    Black
    11.37
  5. 400#80A9B6
    White
    2.53
    Black
    8.26
  6. 500#658E9B
    White
    3.56
    Black
    5.89
  7. 600#4E7682
    White
    4.95
    Black
    4.23
  8. 700#385E6A
    White
    7.05
    Black
    2.97
  9. 800#224550
    White
    10.31
    Black
    2.03
  10. 900#0C2E37
    White
    14.36
    Black
    1.46
  11. 950#001A21
    White
    17.95
    Black
    1.16

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #ADD8E6 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.105; #ADD8E6 uses 47% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.114 there: 9% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.049
sRGB edge
0.105
Display P3 edge
0.114
Rec. 2020 edge
0.115
Dominant wavelength
486 nm
Excitation purity
15%
Chromaticity
x 0.2749, y 0.3123
  • This color#ADD8E6
  • Most vivid in sRGB#79E0FF
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.856 0.114 219.7)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #add8e6;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.5499 0.8734 1); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #ADD8E6

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#D6ECF3
  • OKLab50%#D6ECF3
  • OKLCH50%#D6ECF3

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#576C73
  • OKLab50%#415359
  • OKLCH50%#415359

Its complement #EDC6B8

  • sRGB50%#CDCFCF
  • OKLab50%#CFD0CF
  • OKLCH50%#C5D7B6
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #add8e6, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #add8e6 50%, white);

In use

#ADD8E6 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:113.74:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:11.52:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:11.52:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:11.52:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #547C89 4.54:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:113.74:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:112.25:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:112.25:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:112.25:1 Passes

Color vision

How #ADD8E6 looks with color blindness

Deuteranopia changes it most, ΔE2000 13.8; tritanopia changes it least, 8.7.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #CFD5E7 ΔE2000 13.3

    Distinct

    Reads as pale grayish blue

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #C6CEE6 ΔE2000 13.8

    Distinct

    Reads as pale grayish blue

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #9CDDDC ΔE2000 8.7

    Noticeable

    Reads as pale muted cyan

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #D1D1D1 ΔE2000 13.7

    Distinct

    Reads as light gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #EDC6B8. Their lightness contrast is only 1.02:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#ADD8E6 · #EDC6B833.3Stays distinct
Protanopia#CFD5E7 · #CFCAB717.8Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#C6CEE6 · #D8D1B821.8Stays distinct
Tritanopia#9CDDDC · #F7C0C240.1Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#D1D1D1 · #CECECE0.7Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #ADD8E6

Its complement is #EDC6B8, a pale grayish red, on the warm side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#ADD8E6
  • Complement#EDC6B8

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#ACDBD7
  • Base#ADD8E6
  • +30°#B8D3EF

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#ADD8E6
  • +120°#E7C4DA
  • +240°#D7D1AD

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#ADD8E6
  • +150°#EEC3C9
  • +210°#E5CBAE

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-lightblue: #add8e6;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        lightblue: '#add8e6',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-lightblue: oklch(0.856 0.049 219.7);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "lightblue": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.6784, 0.8471, 0.902],
        "hex": "#add8e6"
      },
      "$description": "CSS named color lightblue"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let lightblue = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.678, green: 0.847, blue: 0.902, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Lightblue = Color(0xFFADD8E6)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #ADD8E6 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.