Palettes / Colors / #388CA9

#388CA9 — Muted Blue

#388CA9 is a blue color we call Muted Blue, closest to the named color SteelBlue (#4682B4). It belongs to the blue family.

Color name

Closest CSS keyword: steelblue (#4682B4) — not an exact match. CSS steelblue gives you #4682B4, a different color; use #388CA9 when you need this exact shade.

Sources: common names follow widely used color-name references; CSS keywords and their hex values follow the CSS Color specification.

#388CA9 is a cool blue color associated with trust, calm and professionalism. It sits comfortably in the middle: usable for large areas in soft schemes, or as a supporting color beside something stronger.

Its strongest partner is its complement #A85438; it also sits naturally between #38A88C and #3854A8. 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 22% · Green 55% · Blue 66%

Cyan 67% · Magenta 17% · Yellow 0% · Key 34%

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

Previews

CSS code for #388CA9

.text { color: #388CA9; }
.background { background-color: #388CA9; }
.border { border: 3px solid #388CA9; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(56, 140, 169); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(195, 50%, 44%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #388CA9; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(56, 140, 169, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #388CA9; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(56, 140, 169, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#388CA9">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#388CA9">Div content here</div>

Shades of #388CA9

Tints of #388CA9

Tones of #388CA9

Color harmonies

Complementary — #A85438:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #388CA9: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #388CA9

Text set with opacity blends into the background, so its real contrast is lower than the solid ratios above. Choose a text color and an opacity to see the blended color and its true ratio:

How #388CA9 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 #388CA9 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

← #388CA8  ·  #388CAA →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #388CA9?

#388CA9 is Muted Blue, a blue color (RGB 56, 140, 169). Its closest standard named color is SteelBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #388CA9?

#388CA9 is RGB 56, 140, 169 — HSL 195°, 50%, 44% — CMYK 67%, 17%, 0%, 34%.

What colors go with #388CA9?

Its complement is #A85438; analogous partners are #38A88C and #3854A8. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #388CA9 for text?

Black text on #388CA9 has a contrast ratio of 5.49:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 3.82:1.