Light Bluish Color Palette – HEX, RGB & Design Inspiration
Color Details
HEX: #87CEFF
RGB: 135, 206, 255
HEX: #33A1C9
RGB: 51, 161, 201
HEX: #5CACEE
RGB: 92, 172, 238
HEX: #87CEFF
RGB: 135, 206, 255
HEX: #AAAAAA
RGB: 170, 170, 170
Text on White/Black Backgrounds
Color Pair Combinations (10 total)
WCAG Contrast Standards:
- AAA (7:1): Enhanced contrast for maximum readability
- AA (4.5:1): Minimum for normal text (under 18pt)
- AA Large (3:1): Acceptable for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold)
- Fail: Below WCAG standards, not recommended for text
Recommended Text Colors
Horizontal (Left to Right)
background: linear-gradient(to right, #87CEFF 0%, #33A1C9 25%, #5CACEE 50%, #87CEFF 75%, #AAAAAA 100%);Vertical (Top to Bottom)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #87CEFF 0%, #33A1C9 25%, #5CACEE 50%, #87CEFF 75%, #AAAAAA 100%);Diagonal (Top Left to Bottom Right)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #87CEFF 0%, #33A1C9 25%, #5CACEE 50%, #87CEFF 75%, #AAAAAA 100%);Usage Tips:
- Copy the CSS code and paste directly into your stylesheets
- Linear gradients work great for backgrounds and hero sections
- Radial gradients are perfect for spotlights and focus effects
- Conic gradients create eye-catching loading spinners and progress indicators
- Smooth transitions ensure seamless color blending
Normal Vision
No color vision deficiency
Color Swatches
#87CEFF
#33A1C9
#5CACEE
#87CEFF
#AAAAAA
Full Palette View
How people with Normal Vision see it:
Overall Mood & Feel
Calm, professional, and trustworthy, with an airy and optimistic feel
Emotional Impact
Calming and contemplative, promoting feelings of trust, stability, and peace. The light tones create an uplifting, optimistic atmosphere perfect for approachable brands
Psychological Effect
This 5-color palette creates a calm, professional, and trustworthy, with an airy and optimistic feel. The combination works together to create memorable visual experiences that influence consumer perception, decision-making, and brand recall. The rich variety provides versatility while maintaining cohesive emotional messaging across touchpoints.
Brand Personality Traits
Perfect For These Industries
Target Audience
Business professionals and decision-makers seeking reliability and competence. Appeals to those seeking approachable, positive, and optimistic brands
Individual Color Psychology
#87CEFF
Peaceful and airy
Emotions Evoked
Personality Traits
Brand Traits
Ideal Industries
Marketing Use
Most popular color globally. Builds trust and reduces stress. Ideal for corporate brands, financial services, and healthcare. Can suppress appetite.
Cultural Meanings
Color Harmony Analysis
Palette Mood
Temperature
This palette combines balanced moods with cool and neutral tones, making it versatile for various design applications.
Professional Implementation Guide
This complementary light bluish palette features 5 carefully selected cool tones that create a balanced and versatile aesthetic. With low contrast levels and vibrant saturation, this palette is optimized for .
Web Design & Development
For web development, implement this palette with CSS variables for easy theme switching. Consider adding darker variants for better text readability.
- Apply the 60-30-10 rule for visual hierarchy
- Use accent colors for CTAs and hover states
- Maintain consistent color usage across all pages
- Test responsive behavior on multiple devices
Mobile App Interfaces
In mobile applications, these cool tones provide excellent battery efficiency on OLED screens. Use the subtle color variations to define clear touch targets.
- Design both light and dark mode variants
- Consider thumb-reach zones for color placement
- Test under direct sunlight and low light
- Use color to indicate interactive elements
Brand Identity Systems
Build a cohesive brand identity by designating specific colors for specific purposes. Establish your primary brand color from the most distinctive shade and create comprehensive brand guidelines specifying exact usage scenarios.
- Define primary, secondary, and accent colors
- Create usage rules for marketing materials
- Specify minimum sizes and clear space
- Document do's and don'ts for consistency
Frontend Development
Developers can integrate this palette efficiently using modern CSS techniques. Export as CSS variables for maximum flexibility, allowing theme switching and dynamic color updates without rewriting stylesheets.
- Use CSS custom properties for theming
- Implement semantic color naming conventions
- Create utility classes for rapid prototyping
- Consider CSS-in-JS for component-scoped colors
Print Design
For print materials, convert to CMYK using #87CEFF as the dominant color for headers and #AAAAAA for accents. These vibrant colors may appear slightly muted in print; request color proofs.
- Add to your design software color library
- Create swatches for quick color access
- Use CMYK values for print production
- Request color proofs before final print
Marketing Campaigns
Marketing materials benefit from consistent color usage that reinforces brand recognition. Apply this palette across email campaigns, landing pages, advertisements, and social media for maximum impact and memorability.
- Maintain color consistency across channels
- A/B test color variations for conversion
- Consider cultural color associations
- Align colors with campaign messaging
Strategic Color Distribution
Professional designers follow the 60-30-10 rule for balanced color distribution. Here's how to apply this principle with the Light Bluish:
Dominant Color
#87CEFFUse #87CEFF as your primary color for backgrounds, main content areas. This blue tone should occupy about 60% of your design space.
Secondary Color
#5CACEEApply #5CACEE as your secondary color for subtle backgrounds and card components. Allocate approximately 30% of your layout to this color.
Accent Color
#AAAAAAReserve #AAAAAA for accent elements like buttons, links, and important highlights. This gray accent should be used sparingly (10% of design) to draw attention to key actions.
Professional Best Practices
✓ Smart Usage Tips
- •Add white or black text overlays to improve readability on colored backgrounds
- •Use desaturated versions (reduce saturation by 20-30%) for large background areas to prevent visual fatigue
- •Add warm accent colors to create focal points and prevent designs from feeling too cold
- •Test your palette across different devices and lighting conditions before finalizing
✗ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Don't use all colors equally—establish clear visual hierarchy through color weight
- •Avoid low-contrast text combinations that strain readability
- •Don't rely solely on color to convey meaning (use icons, text, and patterns too)
- •Avoid inconsistent color usage across different pages or screens
- •Don't assume screen colors match print output—always request physical proofs
Palette Overview & Statistics
5
Total Colors
3
Associated Tags
4
Categories
2550
Community Likes
Color Analysis & Technical Guide
Detailed breakdown of each color's role, characteristics, and optimal applications. This complementary palette creates a balanced and versatile aesthetic perfect for .
Individual Color Breakdown
Each color in this cool palette has been analyzed for its properties and ideal usage scenarios. The low contrast and vibrant saturation ensure harmonious visual relationships.
#87CEFF
BLUE
#87CEFF serves as the primary/dominant color in this palette. This light blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for backgrounds, containers, and large surface areas.
Light toneH: 205°S: 100%L: 76%#33A1C9
CYAN
#33A1C9 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium cyan (moderately saturated) brings clarity and innovation Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Dark toneH: 196°S: 60%L: 49%#5CACEE
BLUE
#5CACEE serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 207°S: 81%L: 65%#87CEFF
BLUE
#87CEFF serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This light blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 205°S: 100%L: 76%#AAAAAA
GRAY
#AAAAAA serves as the accent/highlight color in this palette. This medium gray (muted) brings neutrality and balance Use it for call-to-action buttons, links, important notifications, and interactive elements.
Light toneH: 0°S: 0%L: 67%
Palette Characteristics
This palette exhibits distinct characteristics that make it particularly suitable for specific design applications and industries.
Cool tones convey professionalism, trust, and calmness. Ideal for corporate and tech applications.
Low contrast creates subtle, sophisticated aesthetics but requires careful attention to text legibility.
Vibrant saturation creates bold, attention-grabbing designs perfect for youth brands and creative projects.
Balanced brightness provides flexibility for both light and dark design elements.
💡 Pro Tips for This Palette
- Perfect for: . The complementary color relationship creates natural visual flow.
- Mood & Psychology: This palette evokes a balanced and versatile feeling, making it ideal for brands seeking to convey those qualities.
- Accessibility: Test text combinations carefully with contrast checkers to ensure accessibility compliance.
- Extensions: Create tints (add white) and shades (add black) to expand this 5-color palette into a comprehensive design system.
- Cultural Context: Cool tones are generally perceived as professional worldwide but always research cultural color meanings.
Export Formats
Explore Light Bluish Palette
The Light Bluish color palette is a captivating and serene collection of hues that evoke the feeling of a clear summer sky or the gentle lapping of waves against a coastal shore. This palette has a profound emotional impact, transporting viewers to a place of tranquility and relaxation, making it an ideal choice for designs that aim to promote a sense of calmness and serenity. At the heart of this palette lies a range of blue shades, including the soothing 87CEFF, a gentle and uplifting tone that sets the tone for the entire palette, while also making appearances as a secondary accent color to add depth and visual interest.
As we delve deeper into the palette, we find the 33A1C9, a rich and vibrant turquoise-inspired blue that adds a sense of energy and playfulness to the design, serving as a beautiful contrast to the more subdued tones. The 5CACEE, a soft and serene blue-green hue, brings a sense of balance and harmony to the palette, working in tandem with the 87CEFF to create a sense of continuity and flow. The neutral 87CEFF and 5CACEE are balanced by the subtle grey tone of AAAAAA, which provides a sense of grounding and stability, preventing the palette from feeling too airy or overwhelming. This thoughtful balance of colors allows designers to create a visual narrative that is both calming and engaging, with each hue working together in perfect harmony.
The Light Bluish palette is incredibly versatile, lending itself to a wide range of design applications, from website and app design to branding and marketing materials. For instance, a website focused on wellness or self-care could utilize this palette to create a soothing and calming atmosphere, while a coastal-themed brand could leverage the palette's turquoise and blue hues to evoke the feeling of a seaside escape. The palette's modern and cool aesthetic also makes it an excellent choice for tech-savvy companies or startups looking to establish a fresh and innovative brand identity. Whether used in digital or print design, the Light Bluish palette is sure to leave a lasting impression on viewers, inviting them to step into a world of serenity and tranquility.
The psychological impact of the Light Bluish palette should not be underestimated, as the carefully selected colors work together to influence viewer perception and behavior. The blue tones, such as 87CEFF and 33A1C9, are known to promote feelings of trust and loyalty, while the turquoise-inspired 33A1C9 adds a sense of excitement and creativity. The neutral grey tone of AAAAAA helps to balance out the palette, preventing it from feeling too overwhelming or stimulating. By harnessing the emotional power of these colors, designers can create designs that not only look beautiful but also resonate with their target audience on a deeper level, fostering a sense of connection and engagement.
To get the most out of the Light Bluish palette, designers can experiment with complementary colors, such as soft pinks or creamy whites, to add a touch of warmth and sophistication to their designs. When pairing colors, it's essential to consider the 60-30-10 rule, where the dominant color, such as 87CEFF, makes up 60 percent of the design, the secondary color, like 33A1C9, makes up 30 percent, and the accent color, such as AAAAAA, makes up the remaining 10 percent. By following this guideline and being mindful of the palette's natural flow and balance, designers can create stunning and effective designs that showcase the beauty and versatility of the Light Bluish color palette.
Palette Image
Below is the generated palette image showing all colors in a vertical layout. Perfect for sharing on social media or using as a reference.

Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using and implementing the light bluish palette effectively in your projects.
