Light steel blue

#aaaef3

Hex, rgb, cmyk and Pantone values for light steel blue, with shades, tints, matching colors and free print quality patterns.

Light steel blue is a light blue that reads open. Light blues like this feel trustworthy, common in finance and software. It pairs with warm neutrals for balance, or with a brighter accent for contrast.

Light steel blue color values

Every conversion for #aaaef3, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#aaaef3

RGB170, 174, 243

HSL237, 75%, 81%

HSV237, 30%, 95%

CMYK30%, 28%, 0%, 5%

Lab73.08, 13.9, -34.81

XYZ47.89, 45.29, 91.01

Decimal11185907

Web safe#9999ff

Pantone658 C

Shades of light steel blue

#888eee #676eea #454ee5 #242ee0 #1b25c2 #171ea1 #12187f #0d125e #090b3c #04051b

Tints of light steel blue

#b1b5f4 #b8bbf5 #bfc2f6 #c6c8f7 #cdcff8 #d4d6f9 #dbdcfa #e1e3fb #e8e9fc #eff0fd

Colors that go with light steel blue

Complementary#f3efaa Analogous#aad3f3 Analogous#caaaf3 Triadic#f3aaae Triadic#aef3aa Split complementary#f3cbaa Split complementary#d3f3aa

Light steel blue in print

It is saturated enough that the cmyk build can shift slightly from screen to press, so proof it. The cmyk build is 30, 28, 0, 5.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #aaaef3 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

30 28 0 5

Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

32 30 4 11

The stock absorbs ink and gains dot, so it needs a heavier build and reads a touch softer.

This color is saturated enough to sit near the edge of cmyk gamut, so expect a small drop in punch on paper and proof it before a long run.

See how it converts in the rgb to cmyk converter, or read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Light steel blue in css

Copy #aaaef3 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #aaaef3; }
.text { color: #aaaef3; }
.border { border: 2px solid #aaaef3; }

How light steel blue looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Light steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #aaaef3 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #aaaef3 against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Light steel blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #aaaef3 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around light steel blue? Pull matching colors from any photo with the color palette generator, or check a design for print with the rgb to cmyk converter.

Turn light steel blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #aaaef3 and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

Arches Signature stripes Gem Shingles

Make posters, wallpaper and packaging art from light steel blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Here is how the numbers for #aaaef3 are worked out. The rgb, hsl, hsv, cie-lab and xyz values follow the standard conversions from the sRGB color space. The coated and uncoated cmyk builds differ because uncoated stock absorbs more ink and gains dot, so the same color needs a heavier, slightly duller build on press. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.