Palettes / Colors / #BDB8EA

#BDB8EA — Pale Muted Blue

#BDB8EA is a blue color we call Pale Muted Blue, closest to the named color Thistle (#D8BFD8). It belongs to the blue family.

Color name

Closest CSS keyword: thistle (#D8BFD8) — not an exact match. CSS thistle gives you #D8BFD8, a different color; use #BDB8EA 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.

#BDB8EA is a cool blue color associated with trust, calm and professionalism. It is light enough to work as a background or base color, with darker text on top.

Its strongest partner is its complement #E5EAB8; it also sits naturally between #B8CCEA and #D6B8EA. 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 74% · Green 72% · Blue 92%

Cyan 19% · Magenta 21% · Yellow 0% · Key 8%

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

Previews

CSS code for #BDB8EA

.text { color: #BDB8EA; }
.background { background-color: #BDB8EA; }
.border { border: 3px solid #BDB8EA; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(189, 184, 234); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(246, 54%, 82%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #BDB8EA; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(189, 184, 234, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #BDB8EA; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(189, 184, 234, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#BDB8EA">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#BDB8EA">Div content here</div>

Shades of #BDB8EA

Tints of #BDB8EA

Tones of #BDB8EA

Color harmonies

Complementary — #E5EAB8:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #BDB8EA: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #BDB8EA

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 #BDB8EA 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 #BDB8EA 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

← #BDB8E9  ·  #BDB8EB →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #BDB8EA?

#BDB8EA is Pale Muted Blue, a blue color (RGB 189, 184, 234). Its closest standard named color is Thistle.

What is the RGB and HSL of #BDB8EA?

#BDB8EA is RGB 189, 184, 234 — HSL 246°, 54%, 82% — CMYK 19%, 21%, 0%, 8%.

What colors go with #BDB8EA?

Its complement is #E5EAB8; analogous partners are #B8CCEA and #D6B8EA. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #BDB8EA for text?

Black text on #BDB8EA has a contrast ratio of 11.21:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 1.87:1.