Color #3855AD Color / Colour Code #3855AD
This page shows the hex color code for color #3855ad (#3855AD). The colour is a blue tone with 51% saturation and 45% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #3855AD against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#3855AD paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 195, 225, and 255 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 225, 345, and 105 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #3855AD
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 225 and saturation at 51%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 225 to 270 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 225 with its complement at 45 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 #3855AD
Lightness variations at hue 225 and 51% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #3855AD
Design Use Cases for #3855AD
Balanced UI Color
At 51% saturation, #3855AD 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 45% lightness, #3855AD 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
#3855AD sits in the blue range (hue 225). 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 #3855AD (hue 225) to its complement at hue 45. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 255. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3855ad, #ad9038);
CSS Code for #3855AD
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #3855AD based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #3855AD across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #3855AD (#3855AD)
#3855AD is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 56 red, 85 green, and 173 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 3.1:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 225 degrees with 51% saturation and 45% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #3855AD is 86/255 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 68% cyan, 51% magenta, 0% yellow, and 32% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #3855AD against white is 6.84:1 and against black is 3.07:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 31% lightness.
The complementary colour #AD9038 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #3855AD. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #3890AD and #5538AD, 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 #3855AD
- 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 #3855AD?
- #3855AD is Color #3855AD, a blue color (colour) with RGB(56, 85, 173), HSL(225, 51%, 45%), and CMYK(68%, 51%, 0%, 32%). Its perceived brightness is 86/255.
- Is #3855AD accessible for text?
- Against white, #3855AD has a contrast ratio of 6.84:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.07:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #3855AD?
- The complementary colour is #AD9038 (hue 45). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #3890AD and #5538AD. The triadic palette adds #AD3855 and #55AD38 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #3855AD in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #3855ad; or rgb(56, 85, 173); or hsl(225, 51%, 45%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 225 51% 45%; 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.