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Steel Bloom Pure
Color detail

Steel Bloom Pure

Blue · Hue 205
Metrics
S 92% · L 76%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white1.8:1Failon black12:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Steel Bloom Pure (#89CBFA) belongs to the blue family — hue 205°, 92% saturation, 76% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-steel-bloom-pure: #89CBFA;
  --colorarchive-steel-bloom-pure-hsl: hsl(205, 92%, 76%);
  --colorarchive-steel-bloom-pure-rgb: rgb(137, 203, 250);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

SereneTrustworthyClean
Common in

Social Media · Cloud Storage · Baby Products

Pairs well with

Light gray for tech minimalism, peach for friendly warmth

Design tip

The default choice for tech and social platforms for good reason. Light blue backgrounds reduce anxiety and increase trust.

Cultural context ▶

Light blue represents peace, sky, and openness. It's the most universally liked color, making it safe for global brands.

Color Origins

Blue family

The most-loved color on the planet, and the most overused.

Heritage

Blue is one of the hardest colors for nature to make with pigment — and, historically, one of the most expensive to paint with. Ultramarine, ground from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan, could cost as much as gold in Renaissance Europe; Vermeer used it lavishly. Egyptian blue (the first synthetic pigment, ~3000 BCE) was lost for centuries and rediscovered in the 19th. Prussian blue (1704) quickly gave painters a cheap alternative to ultramarine; Yves Klein's IKB (1960) re-aristocratized blue.

Across cultures

In ancient Egypt blue was the color of the Nile and the heavens — sacred, protective. In China blue-and-white porcelain (qinghua) defined export ceramics for centuries. In Mediterranean traditions blue wards off the evil eye. In America, IBM's blue logo helped earn it the nickname 'Big Blue'; in Japan, indigo (ai) is the centuries-old workwear dye that became the ground tone of an entire textile tradition. Across the world blue is consistently rated the most-liked color — in one ten-country survey it led every other color by 8 to 18 points.

In the wild

Mark Zuckerberg has said Facebook is blue because he is red-green colorblind. Levi's blue is the natural color of indigo on cotton. Twitter Blue (#1DA1F2) defined social-media blue for years before the 2023 rebrand to X scrapped it. The blue checkmark, the blue link, the blue 'send' button — blue has become the default color of digital trust, to the point of being a UX cliché.

How it reads

Blue tends to recede — the eye focuses blue light slightly in front of the retina, which can make blue elements feel deep or distant. It reads as trustworthy, calm, corporate, and (at the cool end) cold. Light blues read airy and clinical; mid blues are the default for tech and finance; deep blues read as luxurious or naval. The omnipresence of blue in software is real: most enterprise UIs reach for it because it offends the fewest stakeholders, which is also the reason it can feel like the absence of a real choice.

This particular tone

An almost luminous high-key tone — at this saturation and brightness, the color borders on neon. Use sparingly; it overpowers most companions.

Lightness band: At this lightness the hue almost recedes into the surface around it — useful for backgrounds, hover states, and any surface where the color should suggest a mood without competing with content.

Saturation band: At this saturation the color is doing work. It reads as a brand statement, a sport accessory, or a UI signal. It should be used in small, deliberate doses against quieter neighbors; large fields at this saturation will exhaust the eye.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #89CBFA.

  • Anthropicneutral
    Mid Gray · #B0AEA5
    →
  • Redditsecondary
    Periwinkle · #7193FF
    →
  • Slackaccent
    Slack Blue · #36C5F0
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #89CBFA.

  • ScandinaviaIittala Blue
    #A6CEDB · Aalto vase glassware (1936-)
    →
  • IcelandGlacial Cyan
    #75BBC1 · Vatnajökull ice cave light
    →
  • MoroccoChefchaouen Blue
    #7BAFD4 · Painted medina walls (Rif mountains)
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using blue and color in design.

HistoryIndigo: The Color That Built Trade Routes and Made Blue CheapBrand & MarketingTechnology Brand Color Design: Trust, Intelligence, and the Blue ProblemAccessibilityColor Accessibility: Building Inclusive Palettes That Meet WCAG Standards

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Steel Pearl Pure
#B1DCFC · hsl(205, 92%, 84%)
Darker companion
Steel Silk Pure
#62BAF8 · hsl(205, 92%, 68%)
Complementary counterpoint
Tangerine Bloom Pure
#FAB889 · hsl(25, 92%, 76%)
Analogous lead
Indigo Bloom Pure
#899CFA · hsl(230, 92%, 76%)
Analogous echo
Aqua Bloom Pure
#89FAFA · hsl(180, 92%, 76%)
Triadic +120°
Rose Bloom Pure
#FA89D5 · hsl(320, 92%, 76%)
Triadic +240°
Olive Bloom Pure
#D5FA89 · hsl(80, 92%, 76%)
Split-comp +150°
Crimson Bloom Pure
#FA8989 · hsl(0, 92%, 76%)
Split-comp +210°
Canary Bloom Pure
#FAF189 · hsl(55, 92%, 76%)
Export preview
Base: Steel Bloom Pure #89CBFA
Lighter companion: Steel Pearl Pure #B1DCFC
Darker companion: Steel Silk Pure #62BAF8
Complementary counterpoint: Tangerine Bloom Pure #FAB889
Analogous lead: Indigo Bloom Pure #899CFA
Analogous echo: Aqua Bloom Pure #89FAFA
Triadic +120°: Rose Bloom Pure #FA89D5
Triadic +240°: Olive Bloom Pure #D5FA89
Split-comp +150°: Crimson Bloom Pure #FA8989
Split-comp +210°: Canary Bloom Pure #FAF189

Compare

See how Steel Bloom Pure compares side by side with related colors.

vsSteel Pearl PurevsSteel Silk PurevsTangerine Bloom PurevsIndigo Bloom PurevsAqua Bloom PurevsRose Bloom Pure

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Steel Bloom Bright
#8ECAF5 · hsl(205, 84%, 76%)
Nearby match
Azure Bloom Pure
#89D5FA · hsl(200, 92%, 76%)
Nearby match
Sapphire Bloom Pure
#89C2FA · hsl(210, 92%, 76%)
Nearby match
Steel Silk Pure
#62BAF8 · hsl(205, 92%, 68%)
Nearby match
Steel Pearl Pure
#B1DCFC · hsl(205, 92%, 84%)
Nearby match
Steel Bloom Vivid
#95C9EF · hsl(205, 74%, 76%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA7.2:1
Tangerine Nocturne Faint
#38322E
AAA7.2:1
Tangerine Nocturne Muted
#3C312A
AAA7.1:1
Tangerine Nocturne Dust
#403126
AAA7.1:1
Tangerine Nocturne Soft
#443022
AAA8.9:1
Tangerine Ink Faint
#272320
AAA8.8:1
Tangerine Ink Muted
#2A231D

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#A6A1ED
Protanopia
#AAAAF0
Tritanopia
#8DE7E5
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Steel Bloom Faint#BCC3C8 · hsl(205, 10%, 76%)Steel Bloom Muted#B7C4CD · hsl(205, 18%, 76%)Steel Bloom Dust#B2C4D2 · hsl(205, 26%, 76%)Steel Bloom Soft#ADC5D7 · hsl(205, 34%, 76%)Steel Bloom Clear#A1C7E3 · hsl(205, 54%, 76%)Steel Bloom Vivid#95C9EF · hsl(205, 74%, 76%)Steel Bloom Bright#8ECAF5 · hsl(205, 84%, 76%)Steel Bloom Pure#89CBFA · hsl(205, 92%, 76%)
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