Color #87AFEE Color / Colour Code #87AFEE
This page shows the hex color code for color #87afee (#87AFEE). The colour is a blue tone with 75% saturation and 73% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #87AFEE against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#87AFEE paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 187, 217, and 247 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 217, 337, and 97 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #87AFEE
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 217 and saturation at 75%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 217 to 262 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 217 with its complement at 37 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 #87AFEE
Lightness variations at hue 217 and 75% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #87AFEE
Design Use Cases for #87AFEE
Vibrant Brand Color
#87AFEE has a strong 75% 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
#87AFEE 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
#87AFEE sits in the blue range (hue 217). 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 #87AFEE (hue 217) to its complement at hue 37. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 247. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #87afee, #eec687);
CSS Code for #87AFEE
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #87AFEE based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #87AFEE across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #87AFEE (#87AFEE)
#87AFEE is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 135 red, 175 green, and 238 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 217 degrees with 75% saturation and 73% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #87AFEE is 170/255 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, 26% magenta, 0% yellow, and 7% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #87AFEE against white is 2.23:1 and against black is 9.40:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 9.40:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #EEC687 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #87AFEE. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #87E2EE and #9387EE, 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 #87AFEE
- 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 #87AFEE?
- #87AFEE is Color #87AFEE, a blue color (colour) with RGB(135, 175, 238), HSL(217, 75%, 73%), and CMYK(43%, 26%, 0%, 7%). Its perceived brightness is 170/255.
- Is #87AFEE accessible for text?
- Against white, #87AFEE has a contrast ratio of 2.23:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 9.40:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #87AFEE?
- The complementary colour is #EEC687 (hue 37). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #87E2EE and #9387EE. The triadic palette adds #EE87AE and #AEEE87 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #87AFEE in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #87afee; or rgb(135, 175, 238); or hsl(217, 75%, 73%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 217 75% 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.