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blue · cool

#0855cf

a dark, electric blue · cool · closest name: Royal Blue

Token name suggestion: Slate Cobalt

RGB
8, 85, 207
HSL
217°, 93%, 42%
CMYK
96, 59, 0, 19
Luminance
0.1105

#0855cf is a dark electric blue, 217° on the wheel and 96/100 on the cool side. Put white text on it (6.54:1). As text it scores 6.54:1 on white — safe at any size. Nearest name is Royal Blue, nearest Tailwind family is indigo.

hsl(217 93% 42%)rgb(8 85 207)Base step 700AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #0855cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#0855cf
Hue
217°
blue
Saturation
93%
electric
Lightness
42%
dark
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
38%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1105
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
96/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Electric
Best ink
White
6.54:1
Closest name
Royal Blue
ΔE2000 7.6
Chroma
73.8
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.490
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
indigo
500 · ΔE 11.3
Web-safe
#0066CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue217° of 360°
Saturation93%
Lightness42%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #0855cf.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool96% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red0%
Green59%
Blue41%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#0855cf
HEX (8-digit)#0855cfff
RGBrgb(8, 85, 207)
RGBArgba(8, 85, 207, 1)
HSLhsl(217, 93%, 42%)
HSV / HSBhsv(217, 96%, 81%)
HWBhwb(217 3% 19%)
CMYKcmyk(96%, 59%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(39.7 27.9 -68.3)
LCHlch(39.7 73.8 292.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.490 0.201 260.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(14.61, 11.05, 60.38)
Decimal546255
Display P3color(display-p3 0.031 0.333 0.812)
Web-safe#0066CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #0855cf;
background-color: #0855cf;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #0855cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#0855cf] bg-[#0855cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #0855cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.031, green: 0.333, blue: 0.812)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.031, green: 0.333, blue: 0.812, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#0855CF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF0855CF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF0855CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 85, 8)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(8, 85, 207)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(8, 85, 207)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 8, 85, 207)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.0314f, 0.3333f, 0.8118f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{8,85,207}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #0855cf 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #0855cf 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#05327B, #D3DDEE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #0855cf h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F2F6FD;
  --brand-100: #E4EDFB;
  --brand-200: #C2D8F9;
  --brand-300: #93BBFB;
  --brand-400: #5D99F9;
  --brand-500: #2777F7;
  --brand-600: #0961EC;
  --brand-700: #0855cf;
  --brand-800: #06409D;
  --brand-900: #093171;
  --brand-950: #061F47;
  --brand: #0855cf;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
  --brand-surface: #F4F7FA;
  --brand-border: #C0D1ED;
  --brand-hover: #0747AD;
  --brand-pressed: #05398A;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141A24;
    --brand-ink: #D3DDEE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F2F6FD',
        100: '#E4EDFB',
        200: '#C2D8F9',
        300: '#93BBFB',
        400: '#5D99F9',
        500: '#2777F7',
        600: '#0961EC',
        700: '#0855cf',
        800: '#06409D',
        900: '#093171',
        950: '#061F47',
        DEFAULT: '#0855cf',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F2F6FD,
  '100': #E4EDFB,
  '200': #C2D8F9,
  '300': #93BBFB,
  '400': #5D99F9,
  '500': #2777F7,
  '600': #0961EC,
  '700': #0855cf,
  '800': #06409D,
  '900': #093171,
  '950': #061F47,
);
$brand-base: #0855cf;
$brand-ink: #ffffff;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F2F6FD", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E4EDFB", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#C2D8F9", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#93BBFB", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#5D99F9", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#2777F7", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#0961EC", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#0855cf", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#06409D", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#093171", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#061F47", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#ffffff", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #0855cf · 6.54:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 6.54:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.21:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #0855cf as text scores 6.54:1 on white and 3.21:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #E6F0FE at 5.69:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#0855cf · 6.54:1
AA on whitealready passes
#0855cf
The quick fox
#0851C5 · 7.02:1
AAA on white−2% L
#0851C5
The quick fox
#146CF6 · 4.51:1
AA on black+10% L
#146CF6
The quick fox
#5997F9 · 7.22:1
AAA on black+24% L
#5997F9

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #0855CF is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#0855cf on white: 6.54:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#0855cf on black: 3.21:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #0855cf as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #0855cf.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White6.54:1AaAa
Slate 506.25:1AaAa
Slate 1005.97:1AaAa
Slate 2005.31:1AaAa
Slate 3004.41:1AaAa
Slate 4002.55:1AaAa
Slate 5001.37:1AaAa
Slate 6001.16:1AaAa
Slate 7001.58:1AaAa
Slate 8002.24:1AaAa
Slate 9002.73:1AaAa
Black3.21:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #0066D3
deuteranopia · #0055CD
tritanopia · #00758A

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #0855cf is pinned to step 700; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F2F6FD
#E4EDFB
#C2D8F9
#93BBFB
#5D99F9
#2777F7
#0961EC
#0855cf
#06409D
#093171
#061F47
Base = 700Lightest = 50 · #F2F6FDDarkest = 950 · #061F47Text step on white = 600
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.050 260.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.080 260.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.120 260.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.156 260.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.185 260.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.201 260.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.201 260.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.189 260.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.169 260.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.140 260.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.110 260.7);
}

Colors that work with #0855cf

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#F4F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0D1ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B6A9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#D44F04
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#05327B
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E6F0FE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141A24
Dark-mode background
Hover#0747AD
One step down in lightness
Pressed#05398A
Two steps down
Disabled#909FB8
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#005BEC
Offset from the fill so it reads
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #0855cf

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Any size
Safe as a fill behind white type
Yes
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The low lightness adds weight and formality.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityHigh
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight58/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#CF8208
Analogous left#08B9CF
Analogous right#1F08CF
Split-complement 1#CF1F08
Split-complement 2#B9CF08
Triadic 1#CF0855
Triadic 2#55CF08
Tetradic#CF08B9
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°217°

#0855cf sits at 217°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red3.1%
Green33.3%
Blue81.2%
R · 0–255
8
0x08
G · 0–255
85
0x55
B · 0–255
207
0xcf

CMYK percentages

Cyan96.1%
Magenta58.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Total ink coverage is 174%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#0855cf text on a black background

contrast 3.21:1

Card sample

#0855cf text on a white background

contrast 6.54:1

Card sample

#0855cf on grey

5.97:1

#0855cf on its own surface

6.08:1

#0855cf on its dark surface

2.67:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #0855cf;
Background color
Panel with #0855cf background
background-color: #0855cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #0855cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(8, 85, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(8, 85, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #0855cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #0855cf, #4008CF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #0855cf, #7208CF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #0855cf;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #0855cf;
caret-color: #0855cf;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #0855cf;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #E6F0FE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #0855cf;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#0855cf 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #0855cf over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(8, 85, 207, 0.5)
rgb(8 85 207 / 50%)
#0855cf80
hsl(217 93% 42% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #0855cf 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#0855cf1a#E6EEFA
20%#0855cf33#CEDDF5
40%#0855cf66#9CBBEC
60%#0855cf99#6B99E2
80%#0855cfcc#3977D9

Gradients from #0855cf

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1E72F6, #0855cf 45%, #05327B);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #0855cf, #4507B2);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #0855cf, #CF8208);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #3C84F7 0%, #0855cf 45%, #05327B 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F7FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #14EFF6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #3609ED 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #05327B 0%, transparent 65%), #0855cf;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #0855cf

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#0855cf in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyFinanceHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Too dim on dark surfaces at 3.21:1 — lift it to #146CF6 for body text, or reserve it for fills.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#0855cf, answered

What color is #0855cf?

#0855cf is a dark electric blue, closest to Royal Blue (ΔE2000 7.6). It sits at 217° on the hue wheel with 93% saturation and 42% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #0855cf?

rgb(8, 85, 207) — 8 red, 85 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 3.1% / 33.3% / 81.2% by channel.

What is #0855cf in HSL and HSV?

hsl(217, 93%, 42%) and hsv(217, 96%, 81%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #0855cf a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1105 and perceived brightness is 38%, so white text on it reaches 6.54:1.

Should I use black or white text on #0855cf?

White. It scores 6.54:1 against #0855cf, versus 3.21:1 for black — AA at any size.

Is #0855cf accessible on a white background?

#0855cf on white scores 6.54:1, which clears AA at every size but not AAA.

What is the complementary color of #0855cf?

#CF8208 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CF1F08 and #B9CF08, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #0855cf?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C0D1ED for borders, #4B6A9B for secondary text, #D44F04 as an accent and #05327B for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #08B9CF and #1F08CF stays calm, while #CF8208 is the loudest partner.

What is #0855cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(96%, 59%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #0855cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 96 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #080CCF; nudged cooler, #0552B9.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #0855cf?

The indigo family — its 500 step is #6366f1, ΔE2000 11.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #0855cf as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #0855cf in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#0855cf] or text-[#0855cf], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #0855cf with 50% opacity?

rgba(8, 85, 207, 0.5), or #0855cf80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #84AAE7; over black, #042B68.

Is #0855cf a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #0066CC, ΔE2000 6.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #0855cf mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #0855cf?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #1E72F6, #0855cf 45%, #05327B). For more colour, a short hue run to #4507B2 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #0855cf in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #0855cf at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.