#556eb2
a balanced, soft blue · cool · closest name: Royal Blue
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #556eb2 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 | #556eb2 |
| RGB | rgb(85, 110, 178) |
| HSL | hsl(224, 38%, 52%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(52%, 38%, 0%, 30%) |
| LAB | lab(47.4 10.6 -39.0) |
| LCH | lch(47.4 40.4 285.2) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.550 0.110 267.5) |
| Decimal | 5598898 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.333 0.431 0.698) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #556eb2;
background-color: #556eb2;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#556eb2] bg-[#556eb2]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #556eb2;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.333, green: 0.431, blue: 0.698)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#556eb2")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF556EB2)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(178, 110, 85)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. #556eb2 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: #F5F6FA;
--brand-100: #EBEEF4;
--brand-200: #D3D9E9;
--brand-300: #B2BDDC;
--brand-400: #8B9CCB;
--brand-500: #657BB9;
--brand-600: #556eb2;
--brand-700: #40548C;
--brand-800: #334370;
--brand-900: #283352;
--brand-950: #192034;
--brand: #556eb2;
--brand-ink: #ffffff;
}Colors that work with #556eb2
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 #556eb2
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Body text and links on white
- ✓Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠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 | #B29955 | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #559DB2 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #6B55B2 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #B26B55 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #9DB255 | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #B2556E | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #6EB255 | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #B2559D | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#556eb2 text on a black background
contrast 4.26:1
#556eb2 text on a white background
contrast 4.93:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #556eb2;
background-color: #556eb2;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #556eb2;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(85, 110, 178, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(85, 110, 178, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #556eb2; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #556eb2, #7A55B2);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #556eb2
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: Royal Blue (#4169e1) — ΔE2000 6.2 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#556eb2 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.
#556eb2, answered
What color is #556eb2?
#556eb2 is a balanced soft blue, closest to Royal Blue (ΔE2000 6.2). It sits at 224° on the hue wheel with 38% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as cool.
What is the RGB value of #556eb2?
rgb(85, 110, 178) — 85 red, 110 green and 178 blue out of 255, or 33.3% / 43.1% / 69.8% by channel.
Is #556eb2 a light or a dark color?
It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1630 and perceived brightness is 44%, so white text on it reaches 4.93:1.
Should I use black or white text on #556eb2?
White. It scores 4.93:1 against #556eb2, versus 4.26:1 for black — AA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #556eb2?
#B29955 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B26B55 and #9DB255, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #556eb2?
For interface work: #F4F6FA as the surface, #C7CFE6 for borders, #4B609B for secondary text, #B78250 as an accent and #283558 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #559DB2 and #6B55B2 stays calm, while #B29955 is the loudest partner.
What is #556eb2 in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(52%, 38%, 0%, 30%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #556eb2 warm or cool?
Cool — it scores 92 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #5E55B2; nudged cooler, #537AB5.