Palettes / Colors / #488CA3

#488CA3 — Muted Blue

#488CA3 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 #488CA3 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.

#488CA3 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 #A35E48; it also sits naturally between #48A38C and #485EA3. In the palettes below you can see it working alongside real color combinations from our collection.

Copy HEX Copy RGB Copy HSL Download PNG swatch SVG

Color values

RGB & CMYK percentages

Red 28% · Green 55% · Blue 64%

Cyan 56% · Magenta 14% · Yellow 0% · Key 36%

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

Previews

CSS code for #488CA3

.text { color: #488CA3; }
.background { background-color: #488CA3; }
.border { border: 3px solid #488CA3; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(72, 140, 163); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(195, 39%, 46%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #488CA3; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(72, 140, 163, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #488CA3; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(72, 140, 163, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#488CA3">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#488CA3">Div content here</div>

Shades of #488CA3

Tints of #488CA3

Tones of #488CA3

Color harmonies

Complementary — #A35E48:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #488CA3: #000000.

Semi-transparent (opacity) text on #488CA3

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 #488CA3 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 #488CA3 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

← #488CA2  ·  #488CA4 →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #488CA3?

#488CA3 is Muted Blue, a blue color (RGB 72, 140, 163). Its closest standard named color is SteelBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #488CA3?

#488CA3 is RGB 72, 140, 163 — HSL 195°, 39%, 46% — CMYK 56%, 14%, 0%, 36%.

What colors go with #488CA3?

Its complement is #A35E48; analogous partners are #48A38C and #485EA3. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #488CA3 for text?

Black text on #488CA3 has a contrast ratio of 5.56:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 3.78:1.