#0000FFAt hue 240° with 100% saturation, blue lands firmly in the blue family — a cool color through and through. Colors in this range are commonly associated with trust, calm and competence, which makes blue a natural fit for corporate branding, links and interfaces that need to feel dependable.
With a 8.59:1 contrast ratio against white, blue is dark enough to carry white text at any size — use it confidently for buttons, headers and filled UI elements. Against black text it manages 2.44:1, so stick with white type on blue surfaces.
For pairings, the complement of blue sits at 60° — #FFFF00, close to yellow — and delivers the strongest possible hue contrast; use it sparingly, in roughly a 90/10 split, so the two don't fight. For calmer schemes, the analogous colors 30° to either side keep the same cool temperature, while the triadic pair gives you a balanced three-color palette. All of these are computed for blue in the palettes below, with copy-ready codes.
Every palette below is computed from blue's position on the color wheel (hue 240°). Hover any swatch to see its code; click to copy.
Tints mix blue toward white; shades mix it toward black. Use the scale for hover states, borders and depth without leaving the hue.
WCAG 2.1 requires 4.5:1 for normal text (AA) and 3:1 for large text. Here's how blue performs, plus how it appears under the three main types of dichromatic color blindness (simulated approximation).
| Pairing | Ratio | Normal text | Large text |
|---|---|---|---|
| White text on Blue | 8.59:1 | AAA | AAA |
| Black text on Blue | 2.44:1 | Fail | Fail |
#0000C1#0000B2#009186Copy-ready snippets. In CSS you can also use the keyword blue directly.
:root {
--blue: #0000FF;
--blue-rgb: 0, 0, 255;
--blue-tint: #7373FF;
--blue-shade: #00008C;
}
.btn-blue {
background: var(--blue);
color: #ffffff;
}// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
'blue': {
DEFAULT: '#0000FF',
light: '#7373FF',
dark: '#00008C',
},
}The closest CSS named colors by perceptual (Lab) distance.