Skip to content

#3da5cf

a balanced, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Deep Sky Blue

RGB
61, 165, 207
HSL
197°, 60%, 53%
CMYK
71, 20, 0, 19
Luminance
0.3241

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #3da5cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#3da5cf
Hue
197°
cyan
Saturation
60%
vivid
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
58%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3241
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
95/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
7.48:1
Closest name
Deep Sky Blue
ΔE2000 8.2
Where it sits
Hue197° of 360°
Saturation60%
Lightness53%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool95% 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#3da5cf
RGBrgb(61, 165, 207)
HSLhsl(197, 60%, 53%)
CMYKcmyk(71%, 20%, 0%, 19%)
LABlab(63.7 -16.2 -30.1)
LCHlch(63.7 34.1 241.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.680 0.112 228.8)
Decimal4040143
Display P3color(display-p3 0.239 0.647 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #3da5cf;
background-color: #3da5cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#3da5cf] bg-[#3da5cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #3da5cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.239, green: 0.647, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#3da5cf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF3DA5CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 165, 61)

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 #3da5cf · 7.48:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.81:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 7.48:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #3da5cf as text scores 2.81:1 on white and 7.48:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#3da5cf on white: 2.81:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#3da5cf on black: 7.48:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #8FA2D1
deuteranopia · #7B94CE
tritanopia · #00B1B3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #3da5cf 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.

#F4F9FB
#E9F3F7
#CCE5EF
#A5D5E9
#78C0DE
#3da5cf
#319AC4
#2880A4
#206683
#1B4C5F
#112F3B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F4F9FBDarkest = 950 · #112F3B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F9FB;
  --brand-100: #E9F3F7;
  --brand-200: #CCE5EF;
  --brand-300: #A5D5E9;
  --brand-400: #78C0DE;
  --brand-500: #3da5cf;
  --brand-600: #319AC4;
  --brand-700: #2880A4;
  --brand-800: #206683;
  --brand-900: #1B4C5F;
  --brand-950: #112F3B;
  --brand: #3da5cf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #3da5cf

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#F4F9FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B849B
Captions on the surface
Accent#D43E38
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#195066
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF6FA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142024
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 #3da5cf

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

Works well for
  • 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
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • 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#CF673D
Analogous left#3DCFB0
Analogous right#3D5CCF
Split-complement 1#CF3D5C
Split-complement 2#CFB03D
Triadic 1#CF3DA5
Triadic 2#A5CF3D
Tetradic#B03DCF

RGB percentages

Red23.9%
Green64.7%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan70.5%
Magenta20.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.8%

Color previews

#3da5cf text on a black background

contrast 7.48:1

Card sample

#3da5cf text on a white background

contrast 2.81:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #3da5cf;
Background color
Panel with #3da5cf background
background-color: #3da5cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #3da5cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(61, 165, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(61, 165, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #3da5cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3da5cf, #3D43CF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #3da5cf

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.

#3da5cf in the real world

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

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

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

#3da5cf, answered

What color is #3da5cf?

#3da5cf is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Deep Sky Blue (ΔE2000 8.2). It sits at 197° on the hue wheel with 60% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #3da5cf?

rgb(61, 165, 207) — 61 red, 165 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 23.9% / 64.7% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #3da5cf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3241 and perceived brightness is 58%, so black text on it reaches 7.48:1.

Should I use black or white text on #3da5cf?

Black. It scores 7.48:1 against #3da5cf, versus 2.81:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #3da5cf?

#CF673D sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CF3D5C and #CFB03D, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #3da5cf?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E0ED for borders, #4B849B for secondary text, #D43E38 as an accent and #195066 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3DCFB0 and #3D5CCF stays calm, while #CF673D is the loudest partner.

What is #3da5cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(71%, 20%, 0%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #3da5cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 95 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #3DCFC3; nudged cooler, #3A91D1.

Work with #3da5cf in the Color Lab