Color #2E8AAD Color / Colour Code #2E8AAD
This page shows the hex color code for color #2e8aad (#2E8AAD). The colour is a blue tone with 58% saturation and 43% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #2E8AAD against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#2E8AAD paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 167, 197, and 227 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 197, 317, and 77 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #2E8AAD
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 197 and saturation at 58%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 197 to 242 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 197 with its complement at 17 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 #2E8AAD
Lightness variations at hue 197 and 58% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #2E8AAD
Design Use Cases for #2E8AAD
Balanced UI Color
At 58% saturation, #2E8AAD strikes a balance between vibrancy and restraint. This makes it versatile for primary UI elements like navigation bars, card headers, and form accents. It draws attention without overwhelming adjacent content.
Primary Interface Color
At 43% lightness, #2E8AAD 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
#2E8AAD sits in the blue range (hue 197). 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 #2E8AAD (hue 197) to its complement at hue 17. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 227. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2e8aad, #ad522e);
CSS Code for #2E8AAD
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #2E8AAD based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #2E8AAD across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #2E8AAD (#2E8AAD)
#2E8AAD is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 46 red, 138 green, and 173 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 3.8:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 197 degrees with 58% saturation and 43% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #2E8AAD is 114/255 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 73% cyan, 20% magenta, 0% yellow, and 32% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #2E8AAD against white is 3.92:1 and against black is 5.35:1. This only passes AA for large text (18pt+) on white. For normal body text on white, darken the color or use it on a dark background where it achieves 5.35:1.
The complementary colour #AD522E creates maximum visual tension when paired with #2E8AAD. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #2EAD92 and #2E4AAD, 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 #2E8AAD
- 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 #2E8AAD?
- #2E8AAD is Color #2E8AAD, a blue color (colour) with RGB(46, 138, 173), HSL(197, 58%, 43%), and CMYK(73%, 20%, 0%, 32%). Its perceived brightness is 114/255.
- Is #2E8AAD accessible for text?
- Against white, #2E8AAD has a contrast ratio of 3.92:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 5.35:1 (passes AA). It passes AA for large text (18pt+) on white. Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #2E8AAD?
- The complementary colour is #AD522E (hue 17). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #2EAD92 and #2E4AAD. The triadic palette adds #AD2E89 and #89AD2E for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #2E8AAD in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #2e8aad; or rgb(46, 138, 173); or hsl(197, 58%, 43%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 197 58% 43%; 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.