Skip to content

#738fdf

a light, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Cornflower Blue

RGB
115, 143, 223
HSL
224°, 63%, 66%
CMYK
48, 36, 0, 13
Luminance
0.2862

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #738fdf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#738fdf
Hue
224°
blue
Saturation
63%
vivid
Lightness
66%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
58%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.2862
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
92/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
6.72:1
Closest name
Cornflower Blue
ΔE2000 4.3
Where it sits
Hue224° of 360°
Saturation63%
Lightness66%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool92% 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#738fdf
RGBrgb(115, 143, 223)
HSLhsl(224, 63%, 66%)
CMYKcmyk(48%, 36%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(60.4 11.7 -43.8)
LCHlch(60.4 45.4 285.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.663 0.124 268.3)
Decimal7573471
Display P3color(display-p3 0.451 0.561 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #738fdf;
background-color: #738fdf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#738fdf] bg-[#738fdf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #738fdf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.451, green: 0.561, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#738fdf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF738FDF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 143, 115)

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 #738fdf · 6.72:1
Use #000000AA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 3.12:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 6.72:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #738fdf as text scores 3.12:1 on white and 6.72:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#738fdf on white: 3.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#738fdf on black: 6.72:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #7197E2
deuteranopia · #658DDD
tritanopia · #47A0AC

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #738fdf 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.

#F4F6FB
#E8ECF7
#CCD5F0
#A4B6EA
#738fdf
#486DD5
#2E56C7
#2647A6
#1E3985
#1A2C61
#101C3C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F4F6FBDarkest = 950 · #101C3C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F6FB;
  --brand-100: #E8ECF7;
  --brand-200: #CCD5F0;
  --brand-300: #A4B6EA;
  --brand-400: #738fdf;
  --brand-500: #486DD5;
  --brand-600: #2E56C7;
  --brand-700: #2647A6;
  --brand-800: #1E3985;
  --brand-900: #1A2C61;
  --brand-950: #101C3C;
  --brand: #738fdf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #738fdf

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#F4F6FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0CBED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B5F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#AA6522
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#182D68
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAEEFA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141824
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 #738fdf

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
  • 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
  • Small text on white — under 4.5:1
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#DFC373
Analogous left#73C5DF
Analogous right#8D73DF
Split-complement 1#DF8D73
Split-complement 2#C5DF73
Triadic 1#DF738F
Triadic 2#8FDF73
Tetradic#DF73C5

RGB percentages

Red45.1%
Green56.1%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan48.4%
Magenta35.9%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#738fdf text on a black background

contrast 6.72:1

Card sample

#738fdf text on a white background

contrast 3.12:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #738fdf;
Background color
Panel with #738fdf background
background-color: #738fdf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #738fdf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(115, 143, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(115, 143, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #738fdf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #738fdf, #9F73DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #738fdf

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.

#738fdf 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

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

#738fdf, answered

What color is #738fdf?

#738fdf is a light vivid blue, closest to Cornflower Blue (ΔE2000 4.3). It sits at 224° on the hue wheel with 63% saturation and 66% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #738fdf?

rgb(115, 143, 223) — 115 red, 143 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 45.1% / 56.1% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #738fdf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.2862 and perceived brightness is 58%, so black text on it reaches 6.72:1.

Should I use black or white text on #738fdf?

Black. It scores 6.72:1 against #738fdf, versus 3.12:1 for white — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #738fdf?

#DFC373 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF8D73 and #C5DF73, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #738fdf?

For interface work: #F4F6FA as the surface, #C0CBED for borders, #4B5F9B for secondary text, #AA6522 as an accent and #182D68 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #73C5DF and #8D73DF stays calm, while #DFC373 is the loudest partner.

What is #738fdf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(48%, 36%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #738fdf 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 #7F73DF; nudged cooler, #719DE1.

Work with #738fdf in the Color Lab