Palettes / Colors / #538DCA

#538DCA — Muted Blue

#538DCA is a blue color we call Muted Blue, closest to the named color SteelBlue (#4682B4). It belongs to the blue family.

#538DCA 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 #CA9153; it also sits naturally between #53C8CA and #5553CA. 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 33% · Green 55% · Blue 79%

Cyan 59% · Magenta 30% · Yellow 0% · Key 21%

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

Previews

CSS code for #538DCA

.text { color: #538DCA; }
.background { background-color: #538DCA; }
.border { border: 3px solid #538DCA; }
.text-rgb { color: rgb(83, 141, 202); }
.text-hsl { color: hsl(211, 53%, 56%); }
.text-shadow-hex { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px #538DCA; }
.text-shadow-rgba { text-shadow: 4px 4px 2px rgba(83, 141, 202, 0.8); }
.box-shadow-hex { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px #538DCA; }
.box-shadow-rgba { box-shadow: 1px 1px 3px 2px rgba(83, 141, 202, 0.8); }

HTML: <p style="color:#538DCA">Text here</p> · <div style="background-color:#538DCA">Div content here</div>

Shades of #538DCA

Tints of #538DCA

Tones of #538DCA

Color harmonies

Complementary — #CA9153:

Analogous:

Triadic:

Contrast & accessibility

Best text color on #538DCA: #000000.

How #538DCA 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 #538DCA 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

← #538DC9  ·  #538DCB →

Frequently asked questions

What color is #538DCA?

#538DCA is Muted Blue, a blue color (RGB 83, 141, 202). Its closest standard named color is SteelBlue.

What is the RGB and HSL of #538DCA?

#538DCA is RGB 83, 141, 202 — HSL 211°, 53%, 56% — CMYK 59%, 30%, 0%, 21%.

What colors go with #538DCA?

Its complement is #CA9153; analogous partners are #53C8CA and #5553CA. It also appears in 6+ palettes in our collection.

Can I use #538DCA for text?

Black text on #538DCA has a contrast ratio of 6.03:1 (passes WCAG AA); white text gives 3.48:1.