Color #87ABED Color / Colour Code #87ABED
This page shows the hex color code for color #87abed (#87ABED). The colour is a blue tone with 74% saturation and 73% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #87ABED against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#87ABED paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 189, 219, and 249 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 219, 339, and 99 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #87ABED
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 219 and saturation at 74%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 219 to 264 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 219 with its complement at 39 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #87ABED
Lightness variations at hue 219 and 74% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #87ABED
Design Use Cases for #87ABED
Vibrant Brand Color
#87ABED has a strong 74% saturation that makes it ideal for brand identity elements. Use it for logos, primary call-to-action buttons, hero section accents, and marketing materials where visual impact matters. This saturation level is eye-catching without being harsh.
Light Background Tint
#87ABED at 73% lightness creates a gentle tinted background. Use it for section backgrounds, alert banners, or card surfaces that need to stand out from a white page without strong contrast. It adds color personality while keeping the design light and open.
Trust & Professional Identity
#87ABED sits in the blue range (hue 219). Blue is the world's most popular color for corporate identities because it conveys trust, stability, and competence. Use it for navigation bars, link text, form focus states, and any element where user confidence matters. Financial, healthcare, and technology brands rely heavily on this hue range.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #87ABED (hue 219) to its complement at hue 39. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 249. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #87abed, #edc987);
CSS Code for #87ABED
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #87ABED based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #87ABED across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #87ABED (#87ABED)
#87ABED is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 135 red, 171 green, and 237 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 219 degrees with 74% saturation and 73% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #87ABED is 168/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This is a medium-brightness color that can work with either dark or light text depending on font weight and size. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 43% cyan, 28% magenta, 0% yellow, and 7% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #87ABED against white is 2.31:1 and against black is 9.08:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 9.08:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #EDC987 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #87ABED. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #87DEED and #9687ED, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #87ABED
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #87ABED?
- #87ABED is Color #87ABED, a blue color (colour) with RGB(135, 171, 237), HSL(219, 74%, 73%), and CMYK(43%, 28%, 0%, 7%). Its perceived brightness is 168/255.
- Is #87ABED accessible for text?
- Against white, #87ABED has a contrast ratio of 2.31:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 9.08:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #87ABED?
- The complementary colour is #EDC987 (hue 39). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #87DEED and #9687ED. The triadic palette adds #ED87AB and #ABED87 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #87ABED in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #87abed; or rgb(135, 171, 237); or hsl(219, 74%, 73%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 219 74% 73%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.