Color #4874BB Color / Colour Code #4874BB
This page shows the hex color code for color #4874bb (#4874BB). The colour is a blue tone with 46% saturation and 51% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #4874BB against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#4874BB paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 187, 217, and 247 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 217, 337, and 97 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #4874BB
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 217 and saturation at 46%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 217 to 262 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 217 with its complement at 37 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 #4874BB
Lightness variations at hue 217 and 46% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #4874BB
Design Use Cases for #4874BB
Balanced UI Color
At 46% saturation, #4874BB 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.
Soft Accent & Highlight
With 51% lightness, #4874BB 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
#4874BB sits in the blue range (hue 217). 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 #4874BB (hue 217) to its complement at hue 37. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 247. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #4874bb, #bc8f49);
CSS Code for #4874BB
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #4874BB based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #4874BB across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #4874BB (#4874BB)
#4874BB is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 72 red, 116 green, and 187 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 2.6:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 217 degrees with 46% saturation and 51% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #4874BB is 111/255 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 61% cyan, 38% magenta, 0% yellow, and 27% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #4874BB against white is 4.68:1 and against black is 4.49:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 36% lightness.
The complementary colour #BC8F49 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #4874BB. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #49AEBC and #5649BC, 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 #4874BB
- 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 #4874BB?
- #4874BB is Color #4874BB, a blue color (colour) with RGB(72, 116, 187), HSL(217, 46%, 51%), and CMYK(61%, 38%, 0%, 27%). Its perceived brightness is 111/255.
- Is #4874BB accessible for text?
- Against white, #4874BB has a contrast ratio of 4.68:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 4.49:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #4874BB?
- The complementary colour is #BC8F49 (hue 37). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #49AEBC and #5649BC. The triadic palette adds #BC4975 and #75BC49 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #4874BB in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #4874bb; or rgb(72, 116, 187); or hsl(217, 46%, 51%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 217 46% 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.