Color #9E9EBC Color / Colour Code #9E9EBC
This page shows the hex color code for color #9e9ebc (#9E9EBC). The colour is a blue tone with 18% saturation and 68% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #9E9EBC against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#9E9EBC paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 210, 240, and 270 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 240, 0, and 120 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #9E9EBC
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 240 and saturation at 18%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 240 to 285 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 240 with its complement at 60 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 #9E9EBC
Lightness variations at hue 240 and 18% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #9E9EBC
Design Use Cases for #9E9EBC
Muted Accent Color
With 18% saturation, #9E9EBC 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 68% lightness, #9E9EBC 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
#9E9EBC sits in the blue range (hue 240). 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 #9E9EBC (hue 240) to its complement at hue 60. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 270. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #9e9ebc, #bcbc9f);
CSS Code for #9E9EBC
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #9E9EBC based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #9E9EBC across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #9E9EBC (#9E9EBC)
#9E9EBC is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 158 red, 158 green, and 188 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 240 degrees with 18% saturation and 68% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #9E9EBC is 161/255 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 16% cyan, 16% magenta, 0% yellow, and 26% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #9E9EBC against white is 2.60:1 and against black is 8.07:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 8.07:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #BCBC9F creates maximum visual tension when paired with #9E9EBC. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #9FADBC and #AD9FBC, 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 #9E9EBC
- 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 #9E9EBC?
- #9E9EBC is Color #9E9EBC, a blue color (colour) with RGB(158, 158, 188), HSL(240, 18%, 68%), and CMYK(16%, 16%, 0%, 26%). Its perceived brightness is 161/255.
- Is #9E9EBC accessible for text?
- Against white, #9E9EBC has a contrast ratio of 2.60:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 8.07:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #9E9EBC?
- The complementary colour is #BCBC9F (hue 60). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #9FADBC and #AD9FBC. The triadic palette adds #BC9F9F and #9FBC9F for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #9E9EBC in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #9e9ebc; or rgb(158, 158, 188); or hsl(240, 18%, 68%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 240 18% 68%; 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.