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blue · cool

#6090af

a balanced, soft blue · cool · closest name: Steel Blue

Token name suggestion: Atlas Harbour

RGB
96, 144, 175
HSL
204°, 33%, 53%
CMYK
45, 18, 0, 31
Luminance
0.2553

#6090af is a balanced soft blue, 204° on the wheel and 95/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (6.11:1). As text it scores 3.44:1 on white — large text only. Nearest name is Steel Blue, nearest Tailwind family is blue.

hsl(204 33% 53%)rgb(96 144 175)Base step 500AA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #6090af is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#6090af
Hue
204°
blue
Saturation
33%
soft
Lightness
53%
balanced
Brightness
69%
HSV value
Perceived
53%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2553
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
95/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
6.11:1
Closest name
Steel Blue
ΔE2000 6.7
Chroma
22.7
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.631
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
blue
500 · ΔE 9.4
Web-safe
#669999
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue204° of 360°
Saturation33%
Lightness53%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #6090af.

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.

Luminance by channel
Red10%
Green78%
Blue12%

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

Every format

HEX#6090af
HEX (8-digit)#6090afff
RGBrgb(96, 144, 175)
RGBArgba(96, 144, 175, 1)
HSLhsl(204, 33%, 53%)
HSV / HSBhsv(204, 45%, 69%)
HWBhwb(204 38% 31%)
CMYKcmyk(45%, 18%, 0%, 31%)
LABlab(57.6 -7.7 -21.3)
LCHlch(57.6 22.7 250.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.631 0.070 237.7)
XYZ (D65)xyz(22.53, 25.53, 44.29)
Decimal6328495
Display P3color(display-p3 0.376 0.565 0.686)
Web-safe#669999

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #6090af;
background-color: #6090af;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #6090af;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#6090af] bg-[#6090af]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #6090af;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.376, green: 0.565, blue: 0.686)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.376, green: 0.565, blue: 0.686, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#6090AF</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF6090AF)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF6090AF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(175, 144, 96)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(96, 144, 175)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(96, 144, 175)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 96, 144, 175)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.3765f, 0.5647f, 0.6863f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{96,144,175}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #6090af 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #6090af 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2B4455, #D6E3EB);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #6090af 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: #F5F8F9;
  --brand-100: #ECF1F4;
  --brand-200: #D4E0E8;
  --brand-300: #B4CBD9;
  --brand-400: #8FB1C7;
  --brand-500: #6090af;
  --brand-600: #5283A3;
  --brand-700: #446D88;
  --brand-800: #37576D;
  --brand-900: #2B4150;
  --brand-950: #1B2932;
  --brand: #6090af;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F8FA;
  --brand-border: #C9D9E4;
  --brand-hover: #4F7E9C;
  --brand-pressed: #436B85;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #141E24;
    --brand-ink: #D6E3EB;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F5F8F9',
        100: '#ECF1F4',
        200: '#D4E0E8',
        300: '#B4CBD9',
        400: '#8FB1C7',
        500: '#6090af',
        600: '#5283A3',
        700: '#446D88',
        800: '#37576D',
        900: '#2B4150',
        950: '#1B2932',
        DEFAULT: '#6090af',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F5F8F9,
  '100': #ECF1F4,
  '200': #D4E0E8,
  '300': #B4CBD9,
  '400': #8FB1C7,
  '500': #6090af,
  '600': #5283A3,
  '700': #446D88,
  '800': #37576D,
  '900': #2B4150,
  '950': #1B2932,
);
$brand-base: #6090af;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F5F8F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECF1F4", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D4E0E8", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B4CBD9", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#8FB1C7", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#6090af", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5283A3", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#446D88", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#37576D", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2B4150", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1B2932", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #6090af · 6.11:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 3.44:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.11:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #6090af as text scores 3.44:1 on white and 6.11:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2B4455 at 2.96:1.

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
#4D7B99 · 4.56:1
AA on white−8% L
#4D7B99
The quick fox
#3A5D74 · 7.01:1
AAA on white−19% L
#3A5D74
The quick fox
#6090af · 6.11:1
AA on blackalready passes
#6090af
The quick fox
#719CB8 · 7.15:1
AAA on black+5% L
#719CB8

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #6090AF 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
#6090af on white: 3.44:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#6090af on black: 6.11:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #6090af as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #6090af.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White3.44:1AaAa
Slate 503.29:1AaAa
Slate 1003.14:1AaAa
Slate 2002.79:1AaAa
Slate 3002.32:1AaAa
Slate 4001.34:1AaAa
Slate 5001.38:1AaAa
Slate 6002.20:1AaAa
Slate 7003.01:1AaAa
Slate 8004.25:1AaAa
Slate 9005.19:1AaAa
Black6.11:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #828FB1
deuteranopia · #7787AE
tritanopia · #3E989A

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. #6090af 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.

#F5F8F9
#ECF1F4
#D4E0E8
#B4CBD9
#8FB1C7
#6090af
#5283A3
#446D88
#37576D
#2B4150
#1B2932
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F5F8F9Darkest = 950 · #1B2932Text step on white = 700
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 0.017 237.7);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.028 237.7);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.042 237.7);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.055 237.7);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.064 237.7);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.070 237.7);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.070 237.7);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.066 237.7);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.059 237.7);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.049 237.7);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.038 237.7);
}

Colors that work with #6090af

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#F5F8FA
Tinted page background
Border#C9D9E4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4D7B99
Captions on the surface
Accent#B4685B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2B4455
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EEF3F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141E24
Dark-mode background
Hover#4F7E9C
One step down in lightness
Pressed#436B85
Two steps down
Disabled#B2C3CD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#629CC1
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 #6090af

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

Works well for
  • Headings from 24px up on white
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
24px / 18.66px bold
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #2B4455
Safe as a 1px border on white
Yes

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.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

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

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight47/100
  • 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#AF7F60
Analogous left#60AFA6
Analogous right#6068AF
Split-complement 1#AF6068
Split-complement 2#AFA660
Triadic 1#AF6090
Triadic 2#90AF60
Tetradic#A660AF
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°204°

#6090af sits at 204°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red37.6%
Green56.5%
Blue68.6%
R · 0–255
96
0x60
G · 0–255
144
0x90
B · 0–255
175
0xaf

CMYK percentages

Cyan45.1%
Magenta17.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)31.4%

Total ink coverage is 94%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#6090af text on a black background

contrast 6.11:1

Card sample

#6090af text on a white background

contrast 3.44:1

Card sample

#6090af on grey

3.14:1

#6090af on its own surface

3.22:1

#6090af on its dark surface

4.92:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #6090af;
Background color
Panel with #6090af background
background-color: #6090af;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #6090af;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(96, 144, 175, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(96, 144, 175, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #6090af;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6090af, #6460AF);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #6090af, #7860AF);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #6090af;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #6090af;
caret-color: #6090af;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #6090af;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EEF3F6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #6090af;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#6090af 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #6090af 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(96, 144, 175, 0.5)
rgb(96 144 175 / 50%)
#6090af80
hsl(204 33% 53% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #6090af 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#6090af1a#EFF4F7
20%#6090af33#DFE9EF
40%#6090af66#BFD3DF
60%#6090af99#A0BCCF
80%#6090afcc#80A6BF

Gradients from #6090af

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, #89ACC3, #6090af 45%, #2B4455);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #6090af, #5C50A0);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #6090af, #AF7F60);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #9DBBCE 0%, #6090af 45%, #2B4455 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F8FA, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #82C0B4 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #7476B9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2B4455 0%, transparent 65%), #6090af;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #6090af

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.

#6090af 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.

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 6.11:1.

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.

#6090af, answered

What color is #6090af?

#6090af is a balanced soft blue, closest to Steel Blue (ΔE2000 6.7). It sits at 204° on the hue wheel with 33% saturation and 53% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #6090af?

rgb(96, 144, 175) — 96 red, 144 green and 175 blue out of 255, or 37.6% / 56.5% / 68.6% by channel.

What is #6090af in HSL and HSV?

hsl(204, 33%, 53%) and hsv(204, 45%, 69%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #6090af a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2553 and perceived brightness is 53%, so black text on it reaches 6.11:1.

Should I use black or white text on #6090af?

Black. It scores 6.11:1 against #6090af, versus 3.44:1 for white — AA at any size.

Is #6090af accessible on a white background?

#6090af on white scores 3.44:1, which only clears AA for large text — 18.66px bold or 24px regular and up. Darken it to #4D7B99 to reach 4.5:1, or #3A5D74 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #6090af?

#AF7F60 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #AF6068 and #AFA660, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #6090af?

For interface work: #F5F8FA as the surface, #C9D9E4 for borders, #4D7B99 for secondary text, #B4685B as an accent and #2B4455 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #60AFA6 and #6068AF stays calm, while #AF7F60 is the loudest partner.

What is #6090af in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(45%, 18%, 0%, 31%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #6090af 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 #60ADAF; nudged cooler, #507CA6.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #6090af?

The blue family — its 500 step is #3b82f6, ΔE2000 9.4 away. That is a visible difference, so define #6090af as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #6090af in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#6090af] or text-[#6090af], 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 #6090af with 50% opacity?

rgba(96, 144, 175, 0.5), or #6090af80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #B0C8D7; over black, #304858.

Is #6090af a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #669999, ΔE2000 13.4 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #6090af 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 moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #6090af?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #89ACC3, #6090af 45%, #2B4455). For more colour, a short hue run to #5C50A0 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #6090af in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #6090af at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.