Color #78BDFD Color / Colour Code #78BDFD
This page shows the hex color code for color #78bdfd (#78BDFD). The colour is a blue tone with 97% saturation and 73% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #78BDFD against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#78BDFD paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 179, 209, and 239 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 209, 329, and 89 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #78BDFD
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 209 and saturation at 97%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 209 to 254 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 209 with its complement at 29 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 #78BDFD
Lightness variations at hue 209 and 97% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #78BDFD
Design Use Cases for #78BDFD
High-Impact Accent
With 97% saturation, #78BDFD 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.
Light Background Tint
#78BDFD at 73% lightness creates a gentle tinted background. Use it for section backgrounds, alert banners, or card surfaces that need to stand out from a white page without strong contrast. It adds color personality while keeping the design light and open.
Trust & Professional Identity
#78BDFD sits in the blue range (hue 209). 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 #78BDFD (hue 209) to its complement at hue 29. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 239. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #78bdfd, #fdb877);
CSS Code for #78BDFD
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #78BDFD based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #78BDFD across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #78BDFD (#78BDFD)
#78BDFD is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 120 red, 189 green, and 253 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 2.1:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 209 degrees with 97% saturation and 73% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #78BDFD is 176/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This is a medium-brightness color that can work with either dark or light text depending on font weight and size. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 53% cyan, 25% magenta, 0% yellow, and 1% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #78BDFD against white is 2.00:1 and against black is 10.50:1. This does not meet AA requirements on white. Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 10.50:1, or use it exclusively for decorative purposes.
The complementary colour #FDB877 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #78BDFD. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #77FDFB and #777AFD, 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 #78BDFD
- 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 #78BDFD?
- #78BDFD is Color #78BDFD, a blue color (colour) with RGB(120, 189, 253), HSL(209, 97%, 73%), and CMYK(53%, 25%, 0%, 1%). Its perceived brightness is 176/255.
- Is #78BDFD accessible for text?
- Against white, #78BDFD has a contrast ratio of 2.00:1 (fails AA for normal text). Against black, it has 10.50:1 (passes AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #78BDFD?
- The complementary colour is #FDB877 (hue 29). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #77FDFB and #777AFD. The triadic palette adds #FD77BC and #BCFD77 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #78BDFD in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #78bdfd; or rgb(120, 189, 253); or hsl(209, 97%, 73%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 209 97% 73%; 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.