CSS named color

Steel Blue #4682B4

The CSS keyword steelblue is #4682B4. It is a muted blue in the blue family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.588, chroma 0.099 and hue 245.7°.

Relative luminance
0.2056
OKLCH L · C · h
0.588 · 0.099 · 245.7
Best text
Black 5.11:1
Hue family
Blue

#4682B4 color codes

HEX
#4682B4
RGB
rgb(70, 130, 180)
HSL
hsl(207, 44%, 49%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.588 0.099 245.7)
OKLab
oklab(0.588 -0.041 -0.091)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 52.47, a* -4.08, b* -32.19
XYZ (D65)
X 18.74, Y 20.56, Z 46.15
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(61%, 28%, 0%, 29%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #4682B4 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 5.11:1, passing AA. White text manages only 4.10:1, enough for large text only.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System
  • Black text on it

    5.11:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +36
  • White text on it

    4.10:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −73
  • As text on black

    5.11:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −33
  • As text on white

    4.10:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +68

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #3E7AAC 4.58:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.59 to 0.56 reaches 4.58:1 on white, keeping the hue.

  • For text on black

    #4682B4 5.11:1

    It already reaches 5.11:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #4682B4 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #4682B4

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #4682B4 sits at step 500.

  1. 50#EDF6FF
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.22
  2. 100#DBEEFF
    White
    1.18
    Black
    17.68
  3. 200#B6DDFF
    White
    1.42
    Black
    14.77
  4. 300#8BC4F6
    White
    1.85
    Black
    11.32
  5. 400#6CA8DB
    White
    2.54
    Black
    8.26
  6. 500This color#4682B4
    White
    4.10
    Black
    5.11
  7. 600#3874A4
    White
    4.99
    Black
    4.20
  8. 700#215C8A
    White
    7.08
    Black
    2.96
  9. 800#05436C
    White
    10.36
    Black
    2.02
  10. 900#002B4A
    White
    14.53
    Black
    1.44
  11. 950#00172C
    White
    18.12
    Black
    1.15

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #4682B4 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.150; #4682B4 uses 66% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.195 there: 30% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.099
sRGB edge
0.150
Display P3 edge
0.195
Rec. 2020 edge
0.261
Dominant wavelength
479 nm
Excitation purity
43%
Chromaticity
x 0.2193, y 0.2406
  • This color#4682B4
  • Most vivid in sRGB#0082CF
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.588 0.195 245.7)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #4682b4;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0 0.495 0.8777); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #4682B4

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#A3C1DA
  • OKLab50%#A2C0DA
  • OKLCH50%#A2C0DA

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#23415A
  • OKLab50%#152F44
  • OKLCH50%#152F44

Its complement #A57037

  • sRGB50%#767976
  • OKLab50%#7D7D7D
  • OKLCH50%#A26594
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #4682b4, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #4682b4 50%, white);

In use

#4682B4 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.11:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:14.10:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:14.10:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:14.10:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #3E7AAC 4.58:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.11:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:14.56:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:14.56:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:14.56:1 Passes

Color vision

How #4682B4 looks with color blindness

Tritanopia changes it most, ΔE2000 18.9; deuteranopia changes it least, 7.7.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees
  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #6C83B6 ΔE2000 8.4

    Noticeable

    Reads as muted blue

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #5D78B3 ΔE2000 7.7

    Noticeable

    Reads as muted blue

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #008E93 ΔE2000 18.9

    Distinct

    Reads as muted cyan

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #7D7D7D ΔE2000 18.8

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #A57037. Their lightness contrast is only 1.02:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#4682B4 · #A5703740.8Stays distinct
Protanopia#6C83B6 · #81743142.7Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#5D78B3 · #8E803845.3Stays distinct
Tritanopia#008E93 · #B3646346.1Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#7D7D7D · #7B7B7B0.8Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #4682B4

Its complement is #A57037, a muted orange, on the warm side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#4682B4
  • Complement#A57037

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#188BA2
  • Base#4682B4
  • +30°#6C77B7
  • Base#4682B4
  • +120°#AE6274
  • +240°#6E8742
  • Base#4682B4
  • +150°#AF6653
  • +210°#8F7C2E

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-steelblue: #4682b4;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        steelblue: '#4682b4',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-steelblue: oklch(0.588 0.099 245.7);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "steelblue": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.2745, 0.5098, 0.7059],
        "hex": "#4682b4"
      },
      "$description": "CSS named color steelblue"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let steelblue = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.275, green: 0.510, blue: 0.706, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Steelblue = Color(0xFF4682B4)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Tools

Open #4682B4 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.