Palettes / Colors / #81BCDF

#81BCDF — Light Blue

#81BCDF is a blue color we call Light Blue, closest to the named color SkyBlue (#87CEEB). It belongs to the blue family.

Color name

Closest CSS keyword: skyblue (#87CEEB) — not an exact match. CSS skyblue gives you #87CEEB, a different color; use #81BCDF when you need this exact shade.

Sources: common names follow widely used color-name references; CSS keywords and their hex values follow the CSS Color specification.

#81BCDF is a cool blue color associated with trust, calm and professionalism. It sits comfortably in the middle: usable for large areas in soft schemes, or as a supporting color beside something stronger.

Its strongest partner is its complement #DFA481; it also sits naturally between #81DFD2 and #818EDF. In the palettes below you can see it working alongside real color combinations from our collection.

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Color values

RGB & CMYK percentages

Red 51% · Green 74% · Blue 87%

Cyan 42% · Magenta 16% · Yellow 0% · Key 13%

CMYK values are unprofiled approximations for screen reference — not a print-proofing guarantee.

Previews

CSS code for #81BCDF

.text { color: #81BCDF; }
.background { background-color: #81BCDF; }
.border { border: 3px solid #81BCDF; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(129, 188, 223); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(202, 59%, 69%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #81BCDF; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(129, 188, 223, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #81BCDF; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(129, 188, 223, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#81BCDF">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#81BCDF">Div content here</div>

Shades of #81BCDF

Tints of #81BCDF

Tones of #81BCDF

Color harmonies

Complementary — #DFA481:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #81BCDF: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #81BCDF

Text set with opacity blends into the background, so its real contrast is lower than the solid ratios above. Choose a text color and an opacity to see the blended color and its true ratio:

How #81BCDF looks with color blindness

Simulated with standard Machado color-vision-deficiency matrices — useful when this color carries meaning in charts, maps or interfaces:

Closest design-system colors

The nearest matches in the Tailwind CSS, Material Design and Bootstrap palettes — handy when you need a framework class instead of a raw hex:

Palettes with a similar color

These palettes use a close neighbour of #81BCDF rather than the exact color:

Similar colors

The closest colors that actually appear in our palette collection — click any to open its page:

Browse neighbouring colors

← #81BCDE  ·  #81BCE0 →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #81BCDF?

#81BCDF is Light Blue, a blue color (RGB 129, 188, 223). Its closest standard named color is SkyBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #81BCDF?

#81BCDF is RGB 129, 188, 223 — HSL 202°, 59%, 69% — CMYK 42%, 16%, 0%, 13%.

What colors go with #81BCDF?

Its complement is #DFA481; analogous partners are #81DFD2 and #818EDF. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #81BCDF for text?

Black text on #81BCDF has a contrast ratio of 10.19:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 2.06:1.