Color #87BDFD Color / Colour Code #87BDFD
This page shows the hex color code for color #87bdfd (#87BDFD). The colour is a blue tone with 97% saturation and 76% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #87BDFD against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#87BDFD paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 183, 213, and 243 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 213, 333, and 93 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #87BDFD
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 213 and saturation at 97%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 213 to 258 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 213 with its complement at 33 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 #87BDFD
Lightness variations at hue 213 and 97% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #87BDFD
Design Use Cases for #87BDFD
High-Impact Accent
With 97% saturation, #87BDFD is highly vivid. Reserve this for elements that need maximum attention: primary action buttons, notification badges, error states, or promotional banners. Use sparingly alongside neutral tones to avoid visual fatigue.
Light Background Tint
#87BDFD at 76% 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
#87BDFD sits in the blue range (hue 213). 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 #87BDFD (hue 213) to its complement at hue 33. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 243. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #87bdfd, #fdc886);
CSS Code for #87BDFD
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #87BDFD based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #87BDFD across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #87BDFD (#87BDFD)
#87BDFD is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 135 red, 189 green, and 253 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 213 degrees with 97% saturation and 76% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #87BDFD is 180/255 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 47% cyan, 25% magenta, 0% yellow, and 1% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #87BDFD against white is 1.96:1 and against black is 10.73:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 10.73:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #FDC886 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #87BDFD. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #86F7FD and #8C86FD, 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 #87BDFD
- 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 #87BDFD?
- #87BDFD is Color #87BDFD, a blue color (colour) with RGB(135, 189, 253), HSL(213, 97%, 76%), and CMYK(47%, 25%, 0%, 1%). Its perceived brightness is 180/255.
- Is #87BDFD accessible for text?
- Against white, #87BDFD has a contrast ratio of 1.96:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 10.73:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #87BDFD?
- The complementary colour is #FDC886 (hue 33). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #86F7FD and #8C86FD. The triadic palette adds #FD86BC and #BCFD86 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #87BDFD in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #87bdfd; or rgb(135, 189, 253); or hsl(213, 97%, 76%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 213 97% 76%; 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.