Color #B0BEC4 Color / Colour Code #B0BEC4
This page shows the hex color code for color #b0bec4 (#B0BEC4). The colour is a blue tone with 14% saturation and 73% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #B0BEC4 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#B0BEC4 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 168, 198, and 228 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 198, 318, and 78 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #B0BEC4
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 198 and saturation at 14%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 198 to 243 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 198 with its complement at 18 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 #B0BEC4
Lightness variations at hue 198 and 14% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #B0BEC4
Design Use Cases for #B0BEC4
Muted Accent Color
With 14% saturation, #B0BEC4 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.
Light Background Tint
#B0BEC4 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
#B0BEC4 sits in the blue range (hue 198). 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 #B0BEC4 (hue 198) to its complement at hue 18. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 228. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b0bec4, #c4b6b1);
CSS Code for #B0BEC4
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #B0BEC4 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #B0BEC4 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #B0BEC4 (#B0BEC4)
#B0BEC4 is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 176 red, 190 green, and 196 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 198 degrees with 14% saturation and 73% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #B0BEC4 is 186/255 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 10% cyan, 3% magenta, 0% yellow, and 23% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #B0BEC4 against white is 1.91:1 and against black is 11.01:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 11.01:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #C4B6B1 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #B0BEC4. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #B1C4C0 and #B1B4C4, 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 #B0BEC4
- 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 #B0BEC4?
- #B0BEC4 is Color #B0BEC4, a blue color (colour) with RGB(176, 190, 196), HSL(198, 14%, 73%), and CMYK(10%, 3%, 0%, 23%). Its perceived brightness is 186/255.
- Is #B0BEC4 accessible for text?
- Against white, #B0BEC4 has a contrast ratio of 1.91:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 11.01:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #B0BEC4?
- The complementary colour is #C4B6B1 (hue 18). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #B1C4C0 and #B1B4C4. The triadic palette adds #C4B1BE and #BEC4B1 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #B0BEC4 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #b0bec4; or rgb(176, 190, 196); or hsl(198, 14%, 73%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 198 14% 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.