Complementary
Two colors from opposite sides of the wheel. They make each other look more vivid, which is why the pairing is used for anything that needs to stand out.
Periwinkle
#CCCCFFPeriwinkle is commonly given as the hex color #CCCCFF, with RGB values 204, 204, 255. It is not a CSS keyword, so the value is a widely used convention rather than a standard.
Palette image
Every swatch on this page, as one image you can save or share.
Periwinkle color codes
Every value for #CCCCFF, ready to paste. Click any code to copy it.
| Channel | Decimal | Share | Hex | Octal | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 204 | 80% | CC | 314 | 11001100 |
| Green | 204 | 80% | CC | 314 | 11001100 |
| Blue | 255 | 100% | FF | 377 | 11111111 |
The nearest web-safe color is #CCCCFF, from the 216-color palette browsers agreed on before displays could be trusted with more.
Shades, tints and tones
Every step is generated from #CCCCFF. Click a swatch to copy its hex.
Shades of periwinkle
A shade is the base color with black mixed in. Shades read as deeper and more dramatic, and they are what you reach for when a color needs to recede or carry weight.
Tints of periwinkle
A tint is the base color with white mixed in. Tints turn pastel as they lighten, which makes them useful for backgrounds and for anything that has to sit behind text.
Tones of periwinkle
A tone is the base color with gray mixed in. Tones lose the shout without losing the hue, and they are usually what separates a considered palette from a loud one.
The periwinkle scale
The same color as the 50 to 950 ladder every CSS framework uses, with #CCCCFF at 500. Click a step to copy its hex, or take the whole scale as variables for a design system.
The blue family
Periwinkle sits in the blue family. Every named blue in the library, with periwinkle first.
| Swatch | Name | Hex | RGB | HSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| is the color on this page | #CCCCFF | 204, 204, 255 | 240, 100%, 90% | |
| Blue is a CSS keyword | #0000FF | 0, 0, 255 | 240, 100%, 50% | |
| Navy is a CSS keyword | #000080 | 0, 0, 128 | 240, 100%, 25% | |
| Royal blue is a CSS keyword | #4169E1 | 65, 105, 225 | 225, 73%, 57% | |
| Sky blue is a CSS keyword | #87CEEB | 135, 206, 235 | 197, 71%, 73% | |
| Baby blue | #89CFF0 | 137, 207, 240 | 199, 77%, 74% | |
| Cobalt | #0047AB | 0, 71, 171 | 215, 100%, 34% | |
| Indigo is a CSS keyword | #4B0082 | 75, 0, 130 | 275, 100%, 25% | |
| Powder blue is a CSS keyword | #B0E0E6 | 176, 224, 230 | 187, 52%, 80% | |
| Steel blue is a CSS keyword | #4682B4 | 70, 130, 180 | 207, 44%, 49% | |
| Midnight blue is a CSS keyword | #191970 | 25, 25, 112 | 240, 64%, 27% | |
| Denim | #1560BD | 21, 96, 189 | 213, 80%, 41% | |
| Cerulean | #2A52BE | 42, 82, 190 | 224, 64%, 45% | |
| Dodger blue is a CSS keyword | #1E90FF | 30, 144, 255 | 210, 100%, 56% | |
| Prussian blue | #003153 | 0, 49, 83 | 205, 100%, 16% | |
| Dark blue is a CSS keyword | #00008B | 0, 0, 139 | 240, 100%, 27% | |
| Light blue is a CSS keyword | #ADD8E6 | 173, 216, 230 | 195, 53%, 79% | |
| Cornflower blue is a CSS keyword | #6495ED | 100, 149, 237 | 219, 79%, 66% | |
| Deep sky blue is a CSS keyword | #00BFFF | 0, 191, 255 | 195, 100%, 50% | |
| Light sky blue is a CSS keyword | #87CEFA | 135, 206, 250 | 203, 92%, 75% | |
| Slate blue is a CSS keyword | #6A5ACD | 106, 90, 205 | 248, 53%, 58% | |
| Medium slate blue is a CSS keyword | #7B68EE | 123, 104, 238 | 249, 80%, 67% | |
| Dark slate blue is a CSS keyword | #483D8B | 72, 61, 139 | 248, 39%, 39% |
Color schemes built on periwinkle
Harmonies are positions on the color wheel rather than matters of taste, which is why they keep working across very different designs.
Analogous
Three neighbors on the wheel. Nothing competes, so the result reads calm and settled, closer to how color behaves in nature.
Split complementary
The base plus the two colors either side of its complement. It keeps most of the contrast while being much easier to balance.
Triadic
Three colors spaced evenly around the wheel. Strong and lively, and usually best with one dominant color and two accents.
Tetradic
Two complementary pairs, forming a rectangle on the wheel. The richest scheme available, and the hardest to keep from shouting.
Monochromatic
One hue at different lightness levels. Effortlessly cohesive, and the safest way to build a palette around a brand color.
Colors close to #CCCCFF
Near neighbors, for when this color is almost right. Each one shifts hue, saturation or lightness by a small step.
Periwinkle color palettes
Five-color palettes built around #CCCCFF, each following a different scheme. Click any swatch to copy it, or open the generator to build your own.
Analogous
Complementary
Triadic
Monochromatic
Open the palette generator to lock the colors you like and regenerate the rest.
Blue gradients
5 ready-made blue gradients, each with every stop written as a hex you can edit.
Contrast and readability
Whether periwinkle works as text, and what to put on top of it when it is the background. Ratios follow WCAG 2.1, where 4.5 is the bar for body text and 3 for large text.
Periwinkle text on white background
1.54:1 · PoorLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Periwinkle text on black background
13.65:1 · ExcellentLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Used the other way round, #CCCCFF as a background takes #000000 text. That is the higher-contrast of the two, and it is what the tool picks automatically for any chrome sitting on your color.
Periwinkle reads better on a black background of the two. Contrast is a property of the pair, not of one color, so a color that fails here can still be perfectly usable against a different partner.
Periwinkle against your project
About periwinkle
A pale blue with a clear violet lean, named after the flower. Sits almost exactly on the boundary between blue and purple, which is why people disagree about which it is.
- Family
- Blue, the lightest of 23 blues
- Web-safe
- Already one of the 216
- Closest keyword
- thistle, at #D8BFD8
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