A light blue, black text passes AA
What color is skyblue?
The CSS named color skyblue is #87ceeb, or rgb(135 206 235): a light blue in plain words. Black text on it reaches 12.06:1, passing WCAG AAA, and Recolor (recolor.page) can put it on a real page.
Last updated
| Format | Value |
|---|---|
| Keyword | skyblue |
| Hex | #87ceeb |
| RGB | rgb(135 206 235) |
| HSL | hsl(197 71% 73%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(81.5% 0.082 225.8) |
| Nearest Tailwind color | sky-300 #74d4ff, 0.030 away in OKLab |
| White text | 1.74:1: AA fails, AAA fails, large text fails |
| Black text | 12.06:1: AA passes, AAA passes, large text passes |
About skyblue
In OKLCH terms skyblue has a lightness of 81.5%, a chroma of 0.082 and a hue of 225.8 degrees, a light blue to the eye.
Its lightness is 73% in HSL and 81.5% in OKLCH, 9 points apart; only the second tracks how light it looks. Among the CSS keywords, lightskyblue (#87cefa) comes closest at 0.022 in OKLab, close enough to stand in for it in a sketch.
For text, skyblue wants black: 12.06:1 clears even AAA's 7:1, and white at 1.74:1 fails AA. Its neighbors in the hue-sorted list of names are turquoise and mediumturquoise.
The closest Tailwind 4.3.3 color is sky-300, 0.030 away in OKLab, so bg-sky-300 comes near; bg-[#87ceeb] gives the color itself.
Tints and shades
- #ecf7fc
- #d8eff9
- #c5e7f5
- #b1dff2
- #9cd6ef
- #87ceeb
- #69a1b8
- #4c7788
- #314e5b
- #182a31
- #04090c
From light to dark: 5 toward white and 5 toward black, mixed in OKLCH a sixth of the way at a time with the hue kept. A step that would repeat its neighbor is left out.
A palette around it
- #87ceeb
- #335f74
- #d1f1fe
- #c7794e
- #342119
Locked as the first of five swatches, skyblue gets #335f74, #d1f1fe, #c7794e, #342119 from Recolor's generator, a complementary palette, built on the hue opposite. The seed is its hex, so the palette stays the same. Open it in Recolor.
Using skyblue
As a text color, skyblue on a black page gives the same 12.06:1.
.notice {
background-color: skyblue; /* #87ceeb */
color: black; /* 12.06:1 */
}Common questions
Does white text pass WCAG AA on skyblue?
No. White text measures 1.74:1 on skyblue, under AA's 4.5:1; black text measures 12.06:1 and passes.
Can skyblue be written in OKLCH?
Yes: oklch(81.5% 0.082 225.8), computed from #87ceeb. A named color is an sRGB color, so its OKLCH value converts back to the same hex.
Is there a named color close to skyblue?
Yes: lightskyblue (#87cefa) is the nearest, 0.022 away in OKLab, then lightsteelblue at 0.049.