Color #003BAD Color / Colour Code #003BAD
This page shows the hex color code for color #003bad (#003BAD). The colour is a blue tone with 100% saturation and 34% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #003BAD against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#003BAD paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 190, 220, and 250 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 220, 340, and 100 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #003BAD
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 220 and saturation at 100%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 220 to 265 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 220 with its complement at 40 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #003BAD
Lightness variations at hue 220 and 100% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #003BAD
Design Use Cases for #003BAD
High-Impact Accent
With 100% saturation, #003BAD is highly vivid. Reserve this for elements that need maximum attention: primary action buttons, notification badges, error states, or promotional banners. Use sparingly alongside neutral tones to avoid visual fatigue.
Primary Interface Color
At 34% lightness, #003BAD is in the mid-range, making it ideal for interactive elements like buttons, links, and selected states. This lightness level ensures good contrast against both light and dark adjacent elements in most layouts.
Trust & Professional Identity
#003BAD sits in the blue range (hue 220). Blue is the world's most popular color for corporate identities because it conveys trust, stability, and competence. Use it for navigation bars, link text, form focus states, and any element where user confidence matters. Financial, healthcare, and technology brands rely heavily on this hue range.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #003BAD (hue 220) to its complement at hue 40. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 250. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #003bad, #ad7400);
CSS Code for #003BAD
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #003BAD based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #003BAD across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #003BAD (#003BAD)
#003BAD is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 0 red, 59 green, and 173 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 173.0:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 220 degrees with 100% saturation and 34% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #003BAD is 54/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This appears dark to the human eye, so pair it with light text for adequate readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 100% cyan, 66% magenta, 0% yellow, and 32% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #003BAD against white is 9.42:1 and against black is 2.23:1. This exceeds the AAA requirement (7:1) for normal text on white, making it excellent for body text and small UI labels on light backgrounds.
The complementary colour #AD7400 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #003BAD. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #0090AD and #1D00AD, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #003BAD
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #003BAD?
- #003BAD is Color #003BAD, a blue color (colour) with RGB(0, 59, 173), HSL(220, 100%, 34%), and CMYK(100%, 66%, 0%, 32%). Its perceived brightness is 54/255.
- Is #003BAD accessible for text?
- Against white, #003BAD has a contrast ratio of 9.42:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 2.23:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #003BAD?
- The complementary colour is #AD7400 (hue 40). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #0090AD and #1D00AD. The triadic palette adds #AD003A and #3AAD00 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #003BAD in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #003bad; or rgb(0, 59, 173); or hsl(220, 100%, 34%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 220 100% 34%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.