Closest web-safe match: #9999CC

Color Details and Palettes for #ACAFD4

Details about the color Stardust Evening#ACAFD4

Conversions, palettes, contrast & design ideas for this color.

Blue family Cool WCAG ink: dark
HEX #ACAFD4 RGB rgb(172, 175, 212) HSL hsl(236, 32%, 75%) CMYK cmyk(19%, 17%, 0%, 17%)

Color profile

About Color Hex #ACAFD4

#ACAFD4 is a cool color from the Blue family, closest in name to “Stardust Evening”. In RGB it is rgb(172, 175, 212); in HSL, hsl(236, 32%, 75%).

The color Stardust Evening, with hexadecimal code #acafd4, belongs to the blue color family, the world's most universally preferred hue. Blue projects trust, stability, and intellectual calm, which is why it dominates corporate, financial, and technology branding worldwide. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation and Friendliness. Blue signifies tranquility and stability. In Middle Eastern cultures, it can also represent protection against the evil eye, while in Western cultures, it symbolizes calmness and reliability. With a moderate saturation of 32%, it has a softened, muted quality that lends sophistication and works well for backgrounds and secondary elements. At 75% lightness, it strikes an approachable, open balance—bright enough to feel welcoming yet substantial enough to carry visual weight. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation, or Friendliness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

Key facts

RGB 172, 175, 212 red · green · blue HSL 236° 32% 75% hue · sat · light HSV 236° 19% 83% design-app pickers CMYK 19 17 0 17 print inks, % Luminance 0.442 0 dark → 1 light On black 9.84:1 ✓ AA contrast ratio On white 2.13:1 ✕ AA contrast ratio Web-safe #9999CC closest web-safe Best text black ideal foreground Character Pastel cool · blue family

The story of this color

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #ACAFD4

Stardust Evening (#ACAFD4) belongs to the Blue color family.

With a dusty, low-saturation character, this color offers quiet complexity—neither bold nor faded. Dusty tones add vintage charm to retro-inspired designs and pair beautifully with metallic accents like copper or brass.

Historical Background

Blue's scarcity in nature made it a late addition to human color vocabulary—Homer's 'wine-dark sea' notably omits the word blue entirely. The breakthrough came with Egyptian Blue (~2200 BC) and later ultramarine from Afghan lapis lazuli, which Medieval artists hoarded for divine subjects. Synthetic ultramarine (1826) and cobalt blue democratized the color, enabling Impressionists like Monet and Renoir to paint blue-drenched landscapes affordably.

Design & Usage Tips

Blue is the most universally liked color and dominates corporate branding (Facebook, LinkedIn, IBM, Samsung). Use it to establish trust, competence, and professionalism. Lighter blues suit wellness and social apps, while darker blues convey authority and security. Avoid using blue for food branding—it suppresses appetite.

Sitting on the cool side of the spectrum (hue 236°), it promotes a feeling of calm distance and intellectual clarity, which is why cool hues dominate corporate identities, healthcare design, and productivity tools. At 32% saturation, the color has a muted, sophisticated quality that pairs well with bolder accents. It works as a background, a border, or a secondary element in layered compositions.

Psychological Impact

Blue lowers blood pressure and heart rate, promoting calm and focused thought. It signals reliability and integrity, which is why it is the default choice for banks, insurance companies, and government institutions. In UX, blue links and buttons feel intuitive because users have been trained by decades of web convention.

At 75% lightness, it reads clearly on dark backgrounds and provides a welcoming, open feel in light-themed designs—versatile across both contexts.

Creative Design Ideas

Pair classic blue (#0047AB) with warm amber for a nautical or heritage brand. Use gradient blues (light-to-dark, top-to-bottom) for app onboarding screens that feel expansive and inviting. In data dashboards, blue is the safest primary chart color—it's distinct, professional, and colorblind-friendly.

Every format

#ACAFD4 Color Conversions

Every way to write Stardust Evening — one-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#ACAFD4

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(172, 175, 212)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(236, 32%, 75%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(236, 19%, 83%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(236 67% 17%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(19%, 17%, 0%, 17%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(76.41% 0.053 281.42)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(76.41% 0.010 -0.052)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 72.35, a: 6.63, b: -19.03

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 72.35, C: 20.15, H: 289.20

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 44.23, Y: 44.18, Z: 68.48

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
11317204

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

Channel breakdown

RGB Color Percentages for #ACAFD4

How much red, green and blue light mixes into Stardust Evening.

Red 172/255 30.8% Green 175/255 31.3% Blue 212/255 37.9%

Percentages show each channel's share of the total light (R + G + B) in Stardust Evening.

Ink coverage

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #ACAFD4

Ink needed to reproduce Stardust Evening in four-color print. Heaviest ink: Cyan.

19% CYAN 17% MAGENTA 0% YELLOW 17% KEY

Print tip: treat these values as a starting point — final output depends on printer profile, paper stock and calibration.

Accessibility · WCAG

Luminance & Contrast for #ACAFD4

How bright Stardust Evening is, and how far black and white text clear each WCAG bar.

Relative luminance 0.442
0 · dark1 · light

Contrast ratio · 1:1 → 21:1 (log scale)

Aa Black text 9.84:1 ✓ AA ✓ AAA ✓ Large
Aa White text 2.13:1 ✕ AA ✕ AAA ✕ Large

Developer shortcuts

Quick CSS Snippets for #ACAFD4

Copy-and-paste CSS for Stardust Evening — per-line copy, or grab the whole block.

stardust-evening.css
background-color: #ACAFD4;
color: #ACAFD4;
border: 2px solid #ACAFD4;
background-color: rgb(172, 175, 212);
background-color: hsl(236, 32%, 75%);
--color: #ACAFD4;

Shades · light to dark

#ACAFD4 Monochrome Palette

Lighter and darker steps of Stardust Evening — the color's full brightness range in one strip.

#F7F7FB
#EAEBF4
#DEDFEE
#D1D3E7
#C5C7E1
#B8BBDA
#ACAFD4
#9295B4
#787A94
#5F6075
#454655
#2B2C35
#111215

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 180° apart

#ACAFD4 Complementary Palette

Two colors opposite on the wheel — maximum contrast for attention-grabbing accents.

#ACAFD4
#D4D1AB

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · adjacent hues

#ACAFD4 Analogic Palette

Neighboring hues on the wheel — harmonious, calm combinations that feel unified.

#ACAFD4
#BDABD4
#ABC2D4
#D1ABD4
#ABD4D1
#D4ABC2
#ABD4BD

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 120° apart

#ACAFD4 Triadic Palette

Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel — vibrant and energetic, yet balanced.

#ACAFD4
#D4ABAE
#AED4AB

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 90° apart

#ACAFD4 Quad Palette

Four colors evenly spaced on the wheel (tetradic) — rich schemes with multiple accents.

#ACAFD4
#D4ABC2
#D4D1AB
#ABD4BD

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Accessibility

Color Blindness Simulation for #ACAFD4

How Stardust Evening reads across five kinds of color vision — a ✓ Friendly verdict means the color difference stays distinguishable for that vision type.

#ACAFD4
#ADADC9
#ADADCB
#ACC4C2
#B1B1B1
Normal vision full color Deuteranopia green weakness ✓ Friendly Protanopia red weakness ✓ Friendly Tritanopia blue-yellow weakness ✓ Friendly Achromatopsia total color blindness ✓ Friendly

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex.

Harmony overview

Color Harmonies for #ACAFD4

The lead color from each harmony scheme, side by side — a shortcut to the full palettes above.

#D4D1AB
#BDABD4
#D4ABAE
#D4ABC2
Complementary opposite hue Analogous adjacent hue Triadic 120° apart Tetradic (Quad) 90° apart

Perceptually nearby

#ACAFD4 Nearby Colors

A step away in brightness, richness or shade — each still feels like the same color.

Stardust Evening#BBBBDD
Easter Egg#9999BB
Foggy Plateau#CCCCEE
Magic Carpet#8888BB
Imperial Lilac#AAAADD
Imperial Lilac#AAAACC
Vintage Bloom#BBAACC
Blues White Shoes#99BBDD

From the color-name library

Colors Similar to #ACAFD4

The closest named colors to #ACAFD4 — same mood, each with its own character.

Stardust Evening#B8BFDC
Over the Moon#ABB8D5
Imperial Lilac#A99FCF
Pastel Lilac#BDB0D0
Moonraker#C0B2D7
New Love#C6BBDB
Blue Haze#BDBACE
Purple Illusion#B8B8F8
Ethereal Mist#B0B8CC
Cosmic#B8B9CB
Violet Vision#B7BDD1
Digital Lavender#CAC0E1

Looking for more Blue shades? Browse Blue colors →

Inspiration

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Stardust Evening (#acafd4)

Curated Unsplash photos that carry the mood of Stardust Evening — hover any tile to download it or view the original.

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions about #ACAFD4

#ACAFD4 is a cool color from the Blue family. Its closest matched name is “Stardust Evening”, matched perceptually with the CIEDE2000 color-difference formula. In RGB it is rgb(172, 175, 212); in HSL, hsl(236, 32%, 75%).
In RGB, #ACAFD4 is rgb(172, 175, 212); in HSL it is hsl(236, 32%, 75%); and in CMYK — the model used for print — it is cmyk(19%, 17%, 0%, 17%).
#ACAFD4 has a contrast ratio of 9.84:1 against black and 2.13:1 against white. For readability, black body text meets the WCAG AA threshold of 4.5:1 on it, while white does not.
The direct complement of #ACAFD4 is #D4D1AB (opposite on the color wheel). For ready-made combinations, this page includes monochrome, analogous, triadic and tetradic palettes built from #ACAFD4 in the palette sections above.