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#337bdf

a balanced, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Steel Blue

RGB
51, 123, 223
HSL
215°, 73%, 54%
CMYK
77, 45, 0, 13
Luminance
0.2020

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #337bdf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#337bdf
Hue
215°
blue
Saturation
73%
vivid
Lightness
54%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
49%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2020
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
97/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
5.04:1
Closest name
Steel Blue
ΔE2000 5.4
Where it sits
Hue215° of 360°
Saturation73%
Lightness54%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool97% cool

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

Every format

HEX#337bdf
RGBrgb(51, 123, 223)
HSLhsl(215, 73%, 54%)
CMYKcmyk(77%, 45%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(52.1 12.5 -57.3)
LCHlch(52.1 58.7 282.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.590 0.168 257.5)
Decimal3374047
Display P3color(display-p3 0.200 0.482 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #337bdf;
background-color: #337bdf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#337bdf] bg-[#337bdf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #337bdf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.200, green: 0.482, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#337bdf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF337BDF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 123, 51)

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#000000 on #337bdf · 5.04:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 4.17:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 5.04:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #337bdf as text scores 4.17:1 on white and 5.04:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#337bdf on white: 4.17:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#337bdf on black: 5.04:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #4785E3
deuteranopia · #2075DD
tritanopia · #0093A2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #337bdf is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F3F7FC
#E7EEF8
#C9DAF3
#9EC0F0
#6EA1E8
#337bdf
#216CD4
#1C5AB0
#16488D
#143666
#0D2240
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F3F7FCDarkest = 950 · #0D2240
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F7FC;
  --brand-100: #E7EEF8;
  --brand-200: #C9DAF3;
  --brand-300: #9EC0F0;
  --brand-400: #6EA1E8;
  --brand-500: #337bdf;
  --brand-600: #216CD4;
  --brand-700: #1C5AB0;
  --brand-800: #16488D;
  --brand-900: #143666;
  --brand-950: #0D2240;
  --brand: #337bdf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #337bdf

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

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F4F7FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0D3ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B6C9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#E46A2E
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#11386E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F1FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141B24
Dark-mode background
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

How to use #337bdf

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

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

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#DF9733
Analogous left#33D1DF
Analogous right#4133DF
Split-complement 1#DF4133
Split-complement 2#D1DF33
Triadic 1#DF337B
Triadic 2#7BDF33
Tetradic#DF33D1

RGB percentages

Red20.0%
Green48.2%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan77.1%
Magenta44.8%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#337bdf text on a black background

contrast 5.04:1

Card sample

#337bdf text on a white background

contrast 4.17:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #337bdf;
Background color
Panel with #337bdf background
background-color: #337bdf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #337bdf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(51, 123, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(51, 123, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #337bdf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #337bdf, #5E33DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #337bdf

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

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.

#337bdf 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#337bdf, answered

What color is #337bdf?

#337bdf is a balanced vivid blue, closest to Steel Blue (ΔE2000 5.4). It sits at 215° on the hue wheel with 73% saturation and 54% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #337bdf?

rgb(51, 123, 223) — 51 red, 123 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 20% / 48.2% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #337bdf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2020 and perceived brightness is 49%, so black text on it reaches 5.04:1.

Should I use black or white text on #337bdf?

Black. It scores 5.04:1 against #337bdf, versus 4.17:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #337bdf?

#DF9733 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF4133 and #D1DF33, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #337bdf?

For interface work: #F4F7FA as the surface, #C0D3ED for borders, #4B6C9B for secondary text, #E46A2E as an accent and #11386E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #33D1DF and #4133DF stays calm, while #DF9733 is the loudest partner.

What is #337bdf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(77%, 45%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #337bdf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 97 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #333CDF; nudged cooler, #1F72D9.

Work with #337bdf in the Color Lab