Color #888CAF Color / Colour Code #888CAF
This page shows the hex color code for color #888caf (#888CAF). The colour is a blue tone with 20% saturation and 61% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #888CAF against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#888CAF paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 204, 234, and 264 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 234, 354, and 114 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #888CAF
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 234 and saturation at 20%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 234 to 279 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 234 with its complement at 54 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 #888CAF
Lightness variations at hue 234 and 20% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #888CAF
Design Use Cases for #888CAF
Muted Accent Color
With 20% saturation, #888CAF has a subtle, sophisticated quality. This level of desaturation works well for secondary buttons, inactive states, subtle borders, and backgrounds that need a hint of color without being distracting. Muted colors communicate restraint and professionalism.
Soft Accent & Highlight
With 61% lightness, #888CAF has a softer, more approachable quality. It works well for hover states, subtle highlights, progress indicators, and secondary UI elements. This lightness range is particularly effective for tag backgrounds and status indicators.
Trust & Professional Identity
#888CAF sits in the blue range (hue 234). 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 #888CAF (hue 234) to its complement at hue 54. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 264. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #888caf, #afab88);
CSS Code for #888CAF
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #888CAF based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #888CAF across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #888CAF (#888CAF)
#888CAF is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 136 red, 140 green, and 175 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 234 degrees with 20% saturation and 61% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #888CAF is 143/255 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 22% cyan, 20% magenta, 0% yellow, and 31% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #888CAF against white is 3.27:1 and against black is 6.42:1. This only passes AA for large text (18pt+) on white. For normal body text on white, darken the color or use it on a dark background where it achieves 6.42:1.
The complementary colour #AFAB88 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #888CAF. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #88A0AF and #9888AF, 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 #888CAF
- 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 #888CAF?
- #888CAF is Color #888CAF, a blue color (colour) with RGB(136, 140, 175), HSL(234, 20%, 61%), and CMYK(22%, 20%, 0%, 31%). Its perceived brightness is 143/255.
- Is #888CAF accessible for text?
- Against white, #888CAF has a contrast ratio of 3.27:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 6.42:1 (passes AA). It passes AA for large text (18pt+) on white. Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #888CAF?
- The complementary colour is #AFAB88 (hue 54). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #88A0AF and #9888AF. The triadic palette adds #AF888C and #8CAF88 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #888CAF in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #888caf; or rgb(136, 140, 175); or hsl(234, 20%, 61%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 234 20% 61%; 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.