Color #173BED Color / Colour Code #173BED
This page shows the hex color code for color #173bed (#173BED). The colour is a blue tone with 86% saturation and 51% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #173BED against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#173BED paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 200, 230, and 260 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 230, 350, and 110 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #173BED
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 230 and saturation at 86%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 230 to 275 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 230 with its complement at 50 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 #173BED
Lightness variations at hue 230 and 86% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #173BED
Design Use Cases for #173BED
High-Impact Accent
With 86% saturation, #173BED 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.
Soft Accent & Highlight
With 51% lightness, #173BED has a softer, more approachable quality. It works well for hover states, subtle highlights, progress indicators, and secondary UI elements. This lightness range is particularly effective for tag backgrounds and status indicators.
Trust & Professional Identity
#173BED sits in the blue range (hue 230). 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 #173BED (hue 230) to its complement at hue 50. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 260. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #173bed, #eeca17);
CSS Code for #173BED
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #173BED based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #173BED across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #173BED (#173BED)
#173BED is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 23 red, 59 green, and 237 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 10.3:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 230 degrees with 86% saturation and 51% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #173BED is 69/255 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 90% cyan, 75% magenta, 0% yellow, and 7% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #173BED against white is 7.28:1 and against black is 2.88:1. 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 #EECA17 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #173BED. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #17A6EE and #5E17EE, 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 #173BED
- 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 #173BED?
- #173BED is Color #173BED, a blue color (colour) with RGB(23, 59, 237), HSL(230, 86%, 51%), and CMYK(90%, 75%, 0%, 7%). Its perceived brightness is 69/255.
- Is #173BED accessible for text?
- Against white, #173BED has a contrast ratio of 7.28:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 2.88:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #173BED?
- The complementary colour is #EECA17 (hue 50). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #17A6EE and #5E17EE. The triadic palette adds #EE173A and #3AEE17 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #173BED in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #173bed; or rgb(23, 59, 237); or hsl(230, 86%, 51%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 230 86% 51%; 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.