Palettes / Colors / #281B8D

#281B8D — Blue

#281B8D is a blue color we call Blue, closest to the named color MidnightBlue (#191970). It belongs to the blue family.

#281B8D is a cool blue color associated with trust, calm and professionalism. It is saturated enough to be the accent — buttons, highlights and calls to action — while neutrals do the quiet work around it.

Its strongest partner is its complement #808D1B; it also sits naturally between #1B478D and #621B8D. In the palettes below you can see it working alongside real color combinations from our collection.

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Color values

RGB & CMYK percentages

Red 16% · Green 11% · Blue 55%

Cyan 72% · Magenta 81% · Yellow 0% · Key 45%

CMYK values are unprofiled approximations for screen reference — not a print-proofing guarantee.

Previews

CSS code for #281B8D

.text { color: #281B8D; }
.background { background-color: #281B8D; }
.border { border: 3px solid #281B8D; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(40, 27, 141); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(247, 68%, 33%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #281B8D; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(40, 27, 141, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #281B8D; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(40, 27, 141, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#281B8D">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#281B8D">Div content here</div>

Shades of #281B8D

Tints of #281B8D

Tones of #281B8D

Color harmonies

Complementary — #808D1B:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #281B8D: #FFFFFF.

How #281B8D looks with color blindness

Simulated with standard Machado color-vision-deficiency matrices — useful when this color carries meaning in charts, maps or interfaces:

Closest design-system colors

The nearest matches in the Tailwind CSS, Material Design and Bootstrap palettes — handy when you need a framework class instead of a raw hex:

Palettes with a similar color

These palettes use a close neighbour of #281B8D rather than the exact color:

Similar colors

The closest colors that actually appear in our palette collection — click any to open its page:

Browse neighbouring colors

← #281B8C  ·  #281B8E →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #281B8D?

#281B8D is Blue, a blue color (RGB 40, 27, 141). Its closest standard named color is MidnightBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #281B8D?

#281B8D is RGB 40, 27, 141 — HSL 247°, 68%, 33% — CMYK 72%, 81%, 0%, 45%.

What colors go with #281B8D?

Its complement is #808D1B; analogous partners are #1B478D and #621B8D. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #281B8D for text?

White text on #281B8D has a contrast ratio of 12.87:1 (passes WCAG AA); black text gives 1.63:1.