What color is #87ABAA?

#87ABAA is a medium, muted cyan. In RGB it is rgb(135, 171, 170), and in HSL hsl(178, 18%, 60%).

Is #87ABAA accessible as text?

On white, #87ABAA has a contrast ratio of 2.49:1 (fails WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 8.44:1 (passes). For text placed on #87ABAA, use black for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #87ABAA?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is mist-400 (#9CA8AB).

What colors go well with #87ABAA?

#87ABAA pairs cleanly with neutrals — cream, taupe, charcoal and cool grays — and with its complementary #AB8788. In UI, a softer accent is often easier to use than the exact complement. Explore the harmonies, shades, tints and ready-made palettes for #87ABAA below.

Is #87ABAA good for buttons?

#87ABAA works well for buttons and highlights, but use black text on #87ABAA — white text only reaches 2.49:1, below the 4.5:1 needed for normal-size labels.

Is #87ABAA the same as CSS darkgray?

No — #87ABAA is not the CSS named color darkgray, but darkgray (#A9A9A9) is the closest CSS named color by perceptual color distance — it sits in a different color family, so treat it as a rough reference, not a match.

#87ABAA Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #87ABAA

Not just a swatch — here's how #87ABAA works with other colors. Named schemes with #87ABAA in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Nordic Calm Accent · 5 colors

Accent #87ABAA Secondary #AEB4B8 Surface #F1F2F0 Support #7A94A4 Anchor #2E3236

Cadet Grey keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.

Japanese Sand Base · 5 colors

Base #87ABAA Surface #EDEADC Highlight #F5F2E7 Secondary #B4B19F Ink #2A2723

Cadet Grey sets a calm, sun-bleached base here, wrapped in bone and paper off-whites and a soft greige, with a single ink accent for wabi-sabi restraint.

Coastal Morning Lead · 5 colors

Lead #87ABAA Accent #A7C4BD Surface #E0DABE Secondary #9AA0A0 Anchor #1D3549

Cadet Grey opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F6F4EF Accent #87ABAA Secondary #C6D2D2 Support #979286 Ink #16140F

Cadet Grey is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Cadet Grey carrying the quiet middle.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #87ABAA Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #596771 Accent #AFD0CF

Cadet Grey is the vivid signal in this product UI — on a near-black surface with cool white, a slate grey and a lighter tint of Cadet Grey.

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Color Lab

How #87ABAA actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.

Warmth 41/100

Neutral

Balanced temperature — flexible, sits between warm and cool schemes.

Softness 68/100

High

Soft and easy on the eye — gentle backdrops, calm surfaces.

Depth 27/100

Low

Airy and open — recedes, leaves the composition light.

Naturalness 8/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 35/100

Low

A faint retro warmth without tipping into sepia.

Luxury 33/100

Low

Understated — leans refined without going austere.

Brand distinctiveness 15/100

Very low

Quiet and neutral — a supporting tone, not a signature.

UI accent fit 37/100

Low

Workable accent with care around contrast.

Surface fit 61/100

High

Calm enough for large fills — backgrounds, cards, sections.

Print safety 90/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #87ABAA

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #87ABAA with

Laurel Green Cool Gray Rosy Brown Platinum Dark Slate Gray

UI roles & guardrails

Primary action Safe as a filled button with near-black label. AAA

Body text Do not use for body copy on light surfaces. Avoid

Large display Only on dark surfaces. Avoid

Background Pair with #141310 text at 7.5:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #E8EDED for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #87A0AB — the hue gap is too small to read as intentional. Clash

In real applications

Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #87ABAA at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.

Website / UI

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Dashboard

Revenue

$48.2k ▲ 12%

Brand

AVELINE

Studio

Poster

Nov 14 · 8PM

NIGHT
MARKET

Packaging

BLOOM

Botanical Wash

250 ml

Interior

Every model

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #87ABAA;
  --color-base-rgb: 135 171 170;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(71.4% 0.039 194.2);
  --color-50: #F6F9F9;
  --color-100: #E7EEEE;
  --color-200: #CFDEDD;
  --color-300: #ACC3C2;
  --color-400: #8AA8A7;
  --color-500: #6B8A89;
  --color-600: #566C6B;
  --color-700: #404F4E;
  --color-800: #2C3534;
  --color-900: #1C2121;
  --color-on-base: #141310;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  cadet-grey: {
    50: '#F6F9F9',
    100: '#E7EEEE',
    200: '#CFDEDD',
    300: '#ACC3C2',
    400: '#8AA8A7',
    500: '#6B8A89',
    600: '#566C6B',
    700: '#404F4E',
    800: '#2C3534',
    900: '#1C2121',
  },
}

$base: #87ABAA;
$base-ink: #141310;
$base-50: #F6F9F9;
$base-100: #E7EEEE;
$base-200: #CFDEDD;
$base-300: #ACC3C2;
$base-400: #8AA8A7;
$base-500: #6B8A89;
$base-600: #566C6B;
$base-700: #404F4E;
$base-800: #2C3534;
$base-900: #1C2121;
$base-hover: #64908F;
$base-subtle: #DCE5E4;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#87ABAA",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#141310",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F6F9F9",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#E7EEEE",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#CFDEDD",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#ACC3C2",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#8AA8A7",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#6B8A89",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#566C6B",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#404F4E",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#2C3534",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#1C2121",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}