#4f8cac
a balanced, soft blue · cool · closest name: Steel Blue
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #4f8cac is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Every format
| HEX | #4f8cac |
| RGB | rgb(79, 140, 172) |
| HSL | hsl(201, 37%, 49%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(54%, 19%, 0%, 33%) |
| LAB | lab(55.5 -10.5 -22.9) |
| LCH | lch(55.5 25.2 245.4) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.612 0.080 233.0) |
| Decimal | 5213356 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.310 0.549 0.675) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #4f8cac;
background-color: #4f8cac;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#4f8cac] bg-[#4f8cac]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #4f8cac;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.310, green: 0.549, blue: 0.675)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#4f8cac")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF4F8CAC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(172, 140, 79)Best text color
Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.
Accessibility — WCAG contrast
Color scale — 50 to 950
A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #4f8cac 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.
:root {
--brand-50: #F5F8FA;
--brand-100: #EBF1F4;
--brand-200: #D3E1E9;
--brand-300: #B2CDDC;
--brand-400: #8CB5CA;
--brand-500: #659CB8;
--brand-600: #4f8cac;
--brand-700: #40728C;
--brand-800: #335B70;
--brand-900: #284452;
--brand-950: #192A33;
--brand: #4f8cac;
--brand-ink: #000000;
}Colors that work with #4f8cac
Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.
Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.
Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.
How to use #4f8cac
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Headings from 24px up on white
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠Small text on white — under 4.5:1
- ⚠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 | #AC6F4F | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #4FAC9D | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #4F5DAC | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #AC4F5D | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #AC9D4F | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #AC4F8C | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #8CAC4F | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #9D4FAC | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#4f8cac text on a black background
contrast 5.68:1
#4f8cac text on a white background
contrast 3.70:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #4f8cac;
background-color: #4f8cac;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #4f8cac;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(79, 140, 172, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(79, 140, 172, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #4f8cac; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #4f8cac, #504FAC);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #4f8cac
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.
Closest color with a full write-up: Steel Blue (#4682b4) — ΔE2000 6.2 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#4f8cac in the real world
Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.
Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.
#4f8cac, answered
What color is #4f8cac?
#4f8cac is a balanced soft blue, closest to Steel Blue (ΔE2000 6.2). It sits at 201° on the hue wheel with 37% saturation and 49% lightness, which reads as cool.
What is the RGB value of #4f8cac?
rgb(79, 140, 172) — 79 red, 140 green and 172 blue out of 255, or 31% / 54.9% / 67.5% by channel.
Is #4f8cac a light or a dark color?
It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2340 and perceived brightness is 51%, so black text on it reaches 5.68:1.
Should I use black or white text on #4f8cac?
Black. It scores 5.68:1 against #4f8cac, versus 3.70:1 for white — AA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #4f8cac?
#AC6F4F sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AC4F5D and #AC9D4F, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #4f8cac?
For interface work: #F5F8FA as the surface, #C7DBE5 for borders, #4B7F9B for secondary text, #B1544A as an accent and #284757 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #4FAC9D and #4F5DAC stays calm, while #AC6F4F is the loudest partner.
What is #4f8cac in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(54%, 19%, 0%, 33%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #4f8cac 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 #4FACAA; nudged cooler, #4C81AF.