Color #8A97DB Color / Colour Code #8A97DB
This page shows the hex color code for color #8a97db (#8A97DB). The colour is a blue tone with 53% saturation and 70% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #8A97DB against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#8A97DB paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 200, 230, and 260 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 230, 350, and 110 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #8A97DB
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 230 and saturation at 53%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 230 to 275 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 230 with its complement at 50 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 #8A97DB
Lightness variations at hue 230 and 53% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #8A97DB
Design Use Cases for #8A97DB
Balanced UI Color
At 53% saturation, #8A97DB strikes a balance between vibrancy and restraint. This makes it versatile for primary UI elements like navigation bars, card headers, and form accents. It draws attention without overwhelming adjacent content.
Light Background Tint
#8A97DB at 70% 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
#8A97DB sits in the blue range (hue 230). 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 #8A97DB (hue 230) to its complement at hue 50. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 260. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8a97db, #dbce8a);
CSS Code for #8A97DB
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #8A97DB based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #8A97DB across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #8A97DB (#8A97DB)
#8A97DB is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 138 red, 151 green, and 219 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 230 degrees with 53% saturation and 70% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #8A97DB is 155/255 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 37% cyan, 31% magenta, 0% yellow, and 14% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #8A97DB against white is 2.79:1 and against black is 7.53:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 7.53:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #DBCE8A creates maximum visual tension when paired with #8A97DB. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #8AC0DB and #A58ADB, 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 #8A97DB
- 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 #8A97DB?
- #8A97DB is Color #8A97DB, a blue color (colour) with RGB(138, 151, 219), HSL(230, 53%, 70%), and CMYK(37%, 31%, 0%, 14%). Its perceived brightness is 155/255.
- Is #8A97DB accessible for text?
- Against white, #8A97DB has a contrast ratio of 2.79:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 7.53:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #8A97DB?
- The complementary colour is #DBCE8A (hue 50). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #8AC0DB and #A58ADB. The triadic palette adds #DB8A97 and #97DB8A for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #8A97DB in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #8a97db; or rgb(138, 151, 219); or hsl(230, 53%, 70%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 230 53% 70%; 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.