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#3b5ccc

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

RGB
59, 92, 204
HSL
226°, 59%, 52%
CMYK
71, 55, 0, 20
Luminance
0.1294

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #3b5ccc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#3b5ccc
Hue
226°
blue
Saturation
59%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
41%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1294
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
91/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
5.85:1
Closest name
Royal Blue
ΔE2000 5.1
Where it sits
Hue226° of 360°
Saturation59%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool91% 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#3b5ccc
RGBrgb(59, 92, 204)
HSLhsl(226, 59%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(71%, 55%, 0%, 20%)
LABlab(42.7 26.2 -61.6)
LCHlch(42.7 67.0 293.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.515 0.178 267.4)
Decimal3890380
Display P3color(display-p3 0.231 0.361 0.800)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #3b5ccc;
background-color: #3b5ccc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#3b5ccc] bg-[#3b5ccc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #3b5ccc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.231, green: 0.361, blue: 0.800)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#3b5ccc")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF3B5CCC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(204, 92, 59)

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 #3b5ccc · 5.85:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 5.85:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.59:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #3b5ccc as text scores 5.85:1 on white and 3.59:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#3b5ccc on white: 5.85:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#3b5ccc on black: 3.59:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #006CD0
deuteranopia · #005ECA
tritanopia · #00778B

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #3b5ccc is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F4F5FB
#E9ECF7
#CDD5EF
#A6B5E8
#7990DC
#4D6BD1
#3b5ccc
#2A45A2
#223881
#1C2B5E
#121B3B
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F4F5FBDarkest = 950 · #121B3B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F5FB;
  --brand-100: #E9ECF7;
  --brand-200: #CDD5EF;
  --brand-300: #A6B5E8;
  --brand-400: #7990DC;
  --brand-500: #4D6BD1;
  --brand-600: #3b5ccc;
  --brand-700: #2A45A2;
  --brand-800: #223881;
  --brand-900: #1C2B5E;
  --brand-950: #121B3B;
  --brand: #3b5ccc;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #3b5ccc

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#F4F6FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0CAED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B5D9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A66926
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1A2B65
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBEEFA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141724
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 #3b5ccc

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
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • 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#CCAB3B
Analogous left#3BA5CC
Analogous right#623BCC
Split-complement 1#CC623B
Split-complement 2#A5CC3B
Triadic 1#CC3B5C
Triadic 2#5CCC3B
Tetradic#CC3BA5

RGB percentages

Red23.1%
Green36.1%
Blue80.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan71.1%
Magenta54.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)20.0%

Color previews

#3b5ccc text on a black background

contrast 3.59:1

Card sample

#3b5ccc text on a white background

contrast 5.85:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #3b5ccc;
Background color
Panel with #3b5ccc background
background-color: #3b5ccc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #3b5ccc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(59, 92, 204, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(59, 92, 204, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #3b5ccc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3b5ccc, #7B3BCC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #3b5ccc

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.

#3b5ccc 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.

#3b5ccc, answered

What color is #3b5ccc?

#3b5ccc is a balanced vivid blue, closest to Royal Blue (ΔE2000 5.1). It sits at 226° on the hue wheel with 59% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #3b5ccc?

rgb(59, 92, 204) — 59 red, 92 green and 204 blue out of 255, or 23.1% / 36.1% / 80% by channel.

Is #3b5ccc a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1294 and perceived brightness is 41%, so white text on it reaches 5.85:1.

Should I use black or white text on #3b5ccc?

White. It scores 5.85:1 against #3b5ccc, versus 3.59:1 for black — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #3b5ccc?

#CCAB3B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CC623B and #A5CC3B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #3b5ccc?

For interface work: #F4F6FA as the surface, #C0CAED for borders, #4B5D9B for secondary text, #A66926 as an accent and #1A2B65 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3BA5CC and #623BCC stays calm, while #CCAB3B is the loudest partner.

What is #3b5ccc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(71%, 55%, 0%, 20%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #3b5ccc warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 91 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #4F3BCC; nudged cooler, #3970CE.

Work with #3b5ccc in the Color Lab