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blue · cool

#59bdfb

a light, electric blue · cool · closest name: Deep Sky Blue

Token name suggestion: Meadow Cobalt

RGB
89, 189, 251
HSL
203°, 95%, 67%
CMYK
65, 25, 0, 2
Luminance
0.4548

#59bdfb is a light electric blue, 203° on the wheel and 97/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (10.10:1). As text it scores 2.08:1 on white — use #0579C1 instead. Nearest name is Deep Sky Blue, nearest Tailwind family is sky.

hsl(203 95% 67%)rgb(89 189 251)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #59bdfb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#59bdfb
Hue
203°
blue
Saturation
95%
electric
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
98%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4548
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
97/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
10.10:1
Closest name
Deep Sky Blue
ΔE2000 4.1
Chroma
40.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.764
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
sky
500 · ΔE 7.3
Web-safe
#66CCFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue203° of 360°
Saturation95%
Lightness67%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #59bdfb.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red5%
Green80%
Blue15%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#59bdfb
HEX (8-digit)#59bdfbff
RGBrgb(89, 189, 251)
RGBArgba(89, 189, 251, 1)
HSLhsl(203, 95%, 67%)
HSV / HSBhsv(203, 65%, 98%)
HWBhwb(203 35% 2%)
CMYKcmyk(65%, 25%, 0%, 2%)
LABlab(73.2 -10.7 -39.3)
LCHlch(73.2 40.7 254.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.764 0.129 238.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(39.72, 45.48, 97.93)
Decimal5881339
Display P3color(display-p3 0.349 0.741 0.984)
Web-safe#66CCFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #59bdfb;
background-color: #59bdfb;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #59bdfb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#59bdfb] bg-[#59bdfb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #59bdfb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.349, green: 0.741, blue: 0.984)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.349, green: 0.741, blue: 0.984, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#59BDFB</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF59BDFB)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF59BDFB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(251, 189, 89)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(89, 189, 251)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(89, 189, 251)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 89, 189, 251)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.3490f, 0.7412f, 0.9843f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{89,189,251}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #59bdfb 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #59bdfb 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#034E7D, #D3E4EE);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #59bdfb h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F1F9FD;
  --brand-100: #E4F2FC;
  --brand-200: #C2E4FA;
  --brand-300: #91D3FC;
  --brand-400: #59bdfb;
  --brand-500: #24A8FA;
  --brand-600: #0696EF;
  --brand-700: #057DC7;
  --brand-800: #04649F;
  --brand-900: #084A73;
  --brand-950: #052E48;
  --brand: #59bdfb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F4F8FA;
  --brand-border: #C0DBED;
  --brand-hover: #36AFFA;
  --brand-pressed: #13A1F9;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141E24;
    --brand-ink: #D3E4EE;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F1F9FD',
        100: '#E4F2FC',
        200: '#C2E4FA',
        300: '#91D3FC',
        400: '#59bdfb',
        500: '#24A8FA',
        600: '#0696EF',
        700: '#057DC7',
        800: '#04649F',
        900: '#084A73',
        950: '#052E48',
        DEFAULT: '#59bdfb',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F1F9FD,
  '100': #E4F2FC,
  '200': #C2E4FA,
  '300': #91D3FC,
  '400': #59bdfb,
  '500': #24A8FA,
  '600': #0696EF,
  '700': #057DC7,
  '800': #04649F,
  '900': #084A73,
  '950': #052E48,
);
$brand-base: #59bdfb;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F1F9FD", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#E4F2FC", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#C2E4FA", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#91D3FC", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#59bdfb", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#24A8FA", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#0696EF", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#057DC7", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#04649F", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#084A73", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#052E48", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #59bdfb · 10.10:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.08:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.10:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #59bdfb as text scores 2.08:1 on white and 10.10:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #034E7D at 4.23:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#0579C1 · 4.65:1
AA on white−28% L
#0579C1
The quick fox
#045D94 · 7.00:1
AAA on white−37% L
#045D94
The quick fox
#59bdfb · 10.10:1
AA on blackalready passes
#59bdfb
The quick fox
#59bdfb · 10.10:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#59bdfb

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #0698F3 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#59bdfb on white: 2.08:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#59bdfb on black: 10.10:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #59bdfb as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #59bdfb.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.08:1AaAa
Slate 501.99:1AaAa
Slate 1001.90:1AaAa
Slate 2001.69:1AaAa
Slate 3001.40:1AaAa
Slate 4001.23:1AaAa
Slate 5002.29:1AaAa
Slate 6003.64:1AaAa
Slate 7004.98:1AaAa
Slate 8007.03:1AaAa
Slate 9008.58:1AaAa
Black10.10:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A0BDFE
deuteranopia · #8AADFA
tritanopia · #00CDD2

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #59bdfb is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F1F9FD
#E4F2FC
#C2E4FA
#91D3FC
#59bdfb
#24A8FA
#0696EF
#057DC7
#04649F
#084A73
#052E48
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F1F9FDDarkest = 950 · #052E48Text step on white = 800
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.032 238.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.052 238.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.077 238.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.101 238.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.119 238.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.129 238.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.129 238.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.121 238.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.108 238.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.090 238.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.071 238.9);
}

Colors that work with #59bdfb

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#F4F8FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0DBED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B7C9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#CB1C01
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#034E7D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E6F5FE
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141E24
Dark-mode background
Hover#36AFFA
One step down in lightness
Pressed#13A1F9
Two steps down
Disabled#DCE4E9
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#6AC6FF
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #59bdfb

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #034E7D
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #0698F3

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

At this chroma the association is amplified — it will dominate anything placed beside it, so give it space and use it sparingly. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityLow
  • EnergyHigh
  • Weight33/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#FB9759
Analogous left#59FBE8
Analogous right#596CFB
Split-complement 1#FB596C
Split-complement 2#FBE859
Triadic 1#FB59BD
Triadic 2#BDFB59
Tetradic#E859FB
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°203°

#59bdfb sits at 203°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red34.9%
Green74.1%
Blue98.4%
R · 0–255
89
0x59
G · 0–255
189
0xbd
B · 0–255
251
0xfb

CMYK percentages

Cyan64.5%
Magenta24.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)1.6%

Total ink coverage is 91%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#59bdfb text on a black background

contrast 10.10:1

Card sample

#59bdfb text on a white background

contrast 2.08:1

Card sample

#59bdfb on grey

1.90:1

#59bdfb on its own surface

1.95:1

#59bdfb on its dark surface

8.14:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #59bdfb;
Background color
Panel with #59bdfb background
background-color: #59bdfb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #59bdfb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(89, 189, 251, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(89, 189, 251, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #59bdfb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #59bdfb, #6159FB);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #59bdfb, #8A59FB);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #59bdfb;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #59bdfb;
caret-color: #59bdfb;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #59bdfb;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #E6F5FE;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #59bdfb;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#59bdfb 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #59bdfb over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(89, 189, 251, 0.5)
rgb(89 189 251 / 50%)
#59bdfb80
hsl(203 95% 67% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #59bdfb 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#59bdfb1a#EEF8FF
20%#59bdfb33#DEF2FE
40%#59bdfb66#BDE5FD
60%#59bdfb99#9BD7FD
80%#59bdfbcc#7ACAFC

Gradients from #59bdfb

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #95D5FC, #59bdfb 45%, #034E7D);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #59bdfb, #553BFA);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #59bdfb, #FB9759);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #B3E1FD 0%, #59bdfb 45%, #034E7D 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F4F8FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #8BFCE6 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #777BFC 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #034E7D 0%, transparent 65%), #59bdfb;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #59bdfb

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#59bdfb 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 10.10:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#59bdfb, answered

What color is #59bdfb?

#59bdfb is a light electric blue, closest to Deep Sky Blue (ΔE2000 4.1). It sits at 203° on the hue wheel with 95% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #59bdfb?

rgb(89, 189, 251) — 89 red, 189 green and 251 blue out of 255, or 34.9% / 74.1% / 98.4% by channel.

What is #59bdfb in HSL and HSV?

hsl(203, 95%, 67%) and hsv(203, 65%, 98%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #59bdfb a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4548 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 10.10:1.

Should I use black or white text on #59bdfb?

Black. It scores 10.10:1 against #59bdfb, versus 2.08:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #59bdfb accessible on a white background?

#59bdfb on white scores 2.08:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #0579C1 to reach 4.5:1, or #045D94 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #59bdfb?

#FB9759 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #FB596C and #FBE859, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #59bdfb?

For interface work: #F4F8FA as the surface, #C0DBED for borders, #4B7C9B for secondary text, #CB1C01 as an accent and #034E7D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #59FBE8 and #596CFB stays calm, while #FB9759 is the loudest partner.

What is #59bdfb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(65%, 25%, 0%, 2%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #59bdfb 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 #59F8FB; nudged cooler, #3EA5FC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #59bdfb?

The sky family — its 500 step is #0ea5e9, ΔE2000 7.3 away. That is a visible difference, so define #59bdfb as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #59bdfb in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#59bdfb] or text-[#59bdfb], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #59bdfb with 50% opacity?

rgba(89, 189, 251, 0.5), or #59bdfb80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #ACDEFD; over black, #2D5F7E.

Is #59bdfb a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #66CCFF, ΔE2000 4.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #59bdfb mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this chroma the effect is amplified — it will dominate whatever sits beside it.

What gradient works with #59bdfb?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #95D5FC, #59bdfb 45%, #034E7D). For more colour, a short hue run to #553BFA keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #59bdfb in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #59bdfb at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.