Palettes / Colors / #38BDFF

#38BDFF — Vivid Blue

#38BDFF is a blue color we call Vivid Blue, closest to the named color DodgerBlue (#1E90FF). It belongs to the blue family.

Color name

Closest CSS keyword: dodgerblue (#1E90FF) — not an exact match. CSS dodgerblue gives you #1E90FF, a different color; use #38BDFF 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.

#38BDFF 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 #FF7A38; it also sits naturally between #38FFDE and #3859FF. 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 74% · Blue 100%

Cyan 78% · Magenta 26% · Yellow 0% · Key 0%

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

Previews

CSS code for #38BDFF

.text { color: #38BDFF; }
.background { background-color: #38BDFF; }
.border { border: 3px solid #38BDFF; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(56, 189, 255); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(200, 100%, 61%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #38BDFF; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(56, 189, 255, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #38BDFF; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(56, 189, 255, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#38BDFF">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#38BDFF">Div content here</div>

Shades of #38BDFF

Tints of #38BDFF

Tones of #38BDFF

Color harmonies

Complementary — #FF7A38:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #38BDFF: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #38BDFF

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 #38BDFF 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 #38BDFF 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

← #38BDFE  ·  #38BE00 →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #38BDFF?

#38BDFF is Vivid Blue, a blue color (RGB 56, 189, 255). Its closest standard named color is DodgerBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #38BDFF?

#38BDFF is RGB 56, 189, 255 — HSL 200°, 100%, 61% — CMYK 78%, 26%, 0%, 0%.

What colors go with #38BDFF?

Its complement is #FF7A38; analogous partners are #38FFDE and #3859FF. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #38BDFF for text?

Black text on #38BDFF has a contrast ratio of 9.89:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 2.12:1.