#8EA8B8
#C8D8E0
#C8A85C
#1E2E3A
Background
Primary Accent
Secondary
Body Text

Long Island City Color Palette

#8EA8B8 · #C8D8E0 · #C8A85C · #1E2E3A

AA
WCAG Grade
5.6:1
Contrast Ratio
870
Saves
2,350
AI Copies
AI Prompt

Use #8EA8B8 as the background. Use #C8D8E0 as the primary accent. Use #C8A85C as secondary. Use #1E2E3A as body text/supporting color. Palette mood: Long Island City — waterfront, modern, industrial.

Hex Codes, RGB & CMYK Color Values

Technical breakdown for the Long Island City color scheme. Use these values for web design (HEX/RGB), print projects (CMYK), or specialized design software (HSL).

Swatch Design Role HEX RGB CMYK HSL
Background
Luminance: 37.2%
142, 168, 184 23%, 9%, 0%, 28% 203°, 23%, 64%
Primary Accent
Luminance: 66.8%
200, 216, 224 11%, 4%, 0%, 12% 200°, 28%, 83%
Secondary
Luminance: 41.1%
200, 168, 92 0%, 16%, 54%, 22% 42°, 50%, 57%
Body Text
Luminance: 2.5%
30, 46, 58 48%, 21%, 0%, 77% 206°, 32%, 17%

Long Island City Tints & Shades

Hover states, borders and elevation need lighter and darker steps of your base colors. Here are computed tints and shades for every color in the Long Island City palette — click any swatch to copy its hex.

#8EA8B8 muted cyan-blue
#C8D8E0 gently saturated cyan-blue
#C8A85C gently saturated orange
#1E2E3A gently saturated cyan-blue

Long Island City Palette Contrast Matrix (WCAG 2.1)

Every color tested as text on every other color as background. Body copy needs 4.5:1 (AA), large text and UI components 3:1. AAA requires 7:1.

Text on Background Preview Ratio Grade Safe For
#1E2E3A on #C8D8E0
Aa Sample Text
9.52:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#C8D8E0 on #1E2E3A
Aa Sample Text
9.52:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#1E2E3A on #C8A85C
Aa Sample Text
6.11:1 AA Body text, UI
#C8A85C on #1E2E3A
Aa Sample Text
6.11:1 AA Body text, UI
#1E2E3A on #8EA8B8
Aa Sample Text
5.60:1 AA Body text, UI
#8EA8B8 on #1E2E3A
Aa Sample Text
5.60:1 AA Body text, UI
#C8D8E0 on #8EA8B8
Aa Sample Text
1.70:1 Fail Decorative use only
#8EA8B8 on #C8D8E0
Aa Sample Text
1.70:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8A85C on #C8D8E0
Aa Sample Text
1.56:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8D8E0 on #C8A85C
Aa Sample Text
1.56:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8A85C on #8EA8B8
Aa Sample Text
1.09:1 Fail Decorative use only
#8EA8B8 on #C8A85C
Aa Sample Text
1.09:1 Fail Decorative use only

Long Island City Color Psychology & Meaning

Long Island City is the Queens waterfront of glass towers rising beside old factories, with the Manhattan skyline across the river, and this palette is that river blue with warm metal. It feels modern and transitional, the color of a district being rebuilt in real time.

Color Harmony: Split-Complementary Scheme

The Long Island City palette is built using a split-complementary relationship between its hues. This ensures that even with high-contrast accents, the overall scheme feels balanced and intentional.

Hue Wheel

A split-complementary palette is often preferred by professional designers because it balances visual interest with cohesion.

History & Design Context

Long Island City was an industrial hub of the 1900s with factories and rail yards, and the decline of industry left vast empty spaces. MoMA PS1, a converted school, anchored its art scene in the 1970s, and the 2000s brought the tallest residential towers in the city.

Best Design Use Cases

Use the river blue for waterfront surfaces, the pale sky for accents, and the warm metal for highlights. The deep slate grounds everything.

Industries This Palette Suits

Real estate, art museums, tech, hospitality, waterfront development.

Colors That Pair Well With Long Island City

Need a fifth color? These three companions are computed from the palette's own hue positions on the color wheel, so they extend the scheme without breaking its harmony.

orange

directly opposite #C8D8E0 on the wheel — the strongest accent for CTAs and highlights when you need maximum energy

blue

30° beside #C8D8E0 — a calm secondary that extends the palette without adding tension

tinted neutral

a ink-black carrying the palette's own hue — perfect for surfaces and dividers

Using Long Island City Without Breaking Accessibility

  • Avoid #C8D8E0 for small UI elements on #8EA8B8 — at 1.7:1 it misses the 3:1 WCAG threshold; darken it with a shade from the ramp below.
  • Set body text in #1E2E3A — 5.6:1 against #8EA8B8 passes WCAG AA (AA) for long-form reading.
  • Don't use #C8A85C behind body text — this light tone works better for surfaces, badges and dividers than for reading areas.

How to Implement the Long Island City Color Scheme

To use this Long Island City color palette in your web project, you can copy the following CSS variables or Tailwind CSS configuration. These roles ensure your UI maintains accessibility and visual hierarchy.

Option 1: CSS Variables

:root { 
  /* {name} Palette - ihatecolors.com */{'
'}  --color-bg: {colors[0]};{'
'}  --color-primary: {colors[1]};{'
'}  --color-secondary: {colors[2]};{'
'}  --color-text: {colors[3]};{'
'} {'}'}

Web Design Tip

Use #8EA8B8 for the main background and #C8D8E0 for primary buttons. This creates a high-contrast focal point.

Accessibility Note

The contrast ratio between #1E2E3A and #8EA8B8 is 5.60:1 (AA). Ensure your body text remains legible.

Long Island City Palette — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hex codes in the Long Island City color palette?

The Long Island City palette contains #8EA8B8, #C8D8E0, #C8A85C, #1E2E3A. Click any swatch on this page to copy its value, or export all four at once as CSS variables, Tailwind config, SCSS or a Figma-ready list.

Is the Long Island City color palette accessible (WCAG)?

Yes for its strongest pairings: #1E2E3A on #C8D8E0 reaches 9.5:1 (AAA). For body text always keep a 4.5:1 ratio and for large UI elements 3:1 — the full contrast matrix above shows the exact score for every color-on-color combination in this palette.

What colors go well with the Long Island City palette?

Beyond its own four colors, #C8AB9D, #CCCEDB, #131516 extend it naturally: the complementary hue for high-energy accents, an analogous neighbor for calm transitions, and a tinted neutral for surfaces. All three are computed from this palette's hues on the color wheel.

What mood does the Long Island City palette create?

Long Island City reads as waterfront, modern, industrial. Gently saturated cyan-blue drives the personality, grounded by muted cyan-blue — a combination that works best when the light base gets most of the canvas.

Can I use the Long Island City color palette commercially?

Yes. Individual color values can't be copyrighted, so the Long Island City palette is free for personal, client and commercial work — websites, branding, apps, print and social content, with no attribution required.

How do I add the Long Island City palette to Tailwind or CSS?

Use the export panel on this page: CSS variables, a Tailwind config block, SCSS variables, or a Figma copy list are generated from Long Island City's exact values, including the tint and shade ramps shown above.

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