Color reference

#42849C color reference

Soft Mid-light Cyan-blue

This is a soft, mid-light cyan-blue under the deterministic OKLCH hue, lightness, and chroma ranges. Its closest standardized CSS named color is Steel Blue (#4682B4), measured with straight-line OKLab distance.

Descriptive label
Soft Mid-light Cyan-blue
Recommended text
Black · 5.01:1
Relative luminance
0.200611
Build a palette from #42849C in Palette Generator Convert #42849C in Color Converter
Formats UI preview Contrast 50–900 scale Harmonies Matches Related colors Color vision Exports

Copyable values

#42849C in common color formats

Values are calculated from the same opaque sRGB color. Display rounding does not alter the internal calculations.

Color conversions for #42849C
Format Value Action
HEX #42849C
RGB rgb(66 132 156)
HSL hsl(196 40.54% 43.53%)
HSV hsv(196 57.69% 61.18%)
HWB hwb(196 25.88% 38.82%)
XYZ D65 color(xyz-d65 0.164977 0.200603 0.344562)
LAB lab(51.5749% -16.4091 -19.6875)
LCH lch(51.5749% 25.6292 230.1894)
OKLAB oklab(57.9797% -0.054678 -0.05338)
OKLCH oklch(57.9797% 0.076414 224.3119)

Real-world test

Try #42849C on interface components

Preview the source as a primary action, subtle status, form treatment, and card surface. Persistent state controls help touch and keyboard users inspect the same normal, hover, and active colors.

Normal state uses #42849C with black text at 5.01:1.

Action

Primary button

Use the controls above or point to and press the button to inspect its visual states.

Status

Subtle alert badge

A 12% source tint over white provides the background; readable text is selected separately.

Ready for review

Form

Border and focus ring

Source ring on white: 4.19:1 · meets the 3:1 non-text threshold where applicable.

Surface

Card component

The selected state becomes the card surface with its strongest black-or-white text pairing.

Design system Color decision ready Review states and surrounding surfaces before shipping.

Accessibility diagnostics

WCAG contrast for exact color pairs

Each result applies only to the named foreground, background, text size, and requirement. It is not a complete accessibility or component-conformance claim.

Source #42849C Exact pair assessment Results for source text on white appear below.

On white

4.19:1

  • Fail AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Fail AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Pass AA large text · 3:1
  • Pass UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1
Source #42849C Exact pair assessment Results for source text on black appear below.

On black

5.01:1

  • Pass AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Fail AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Pass AA large text · 3:1
  • Pass UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1

Use guidance

What this color may be suitable for

Not recommended

Normal-sized text

#42849C does not reach 4.5:1 on white or Hue Codex paper, so it should not be used there for normal-sized text.

Potential fit

Controls and interface graphics

Against Hue Codex paper, the color reaches 4.01:1. That meets the 3:1 color-contrast threshold where WCAG 1.4.11 applies, but states, shape, and non-color cues still need review.

Readable pairing available

Colored surface or button fill

Black text provides the stronger black/white pairing on #42849C at 5.01:1. This validates only that text pair, not hover, focus, disabled, or adjacent-color states.

Restrained neutral

Palette role

Its OKLCH chroma of 0.0764 is restrained, which is generally more suitable for surfaces, borders, or neutral system roles than for a vivid accent.

Pair available

Color used as foreground

The stronger black/white background is black at 5.01:1. Always retest against the actual rendered background and text size.

Tested backgrounds

Foreground pairing comparison

#42849C foreground contrast on tested backgrounds
Pair Background Contrast ratio
Black#000000 5.01:1
White#FFFFFF 4.19:1
Hue Codex paper#FBFAF5 4.01:1
Hue Codex ink#10212B 3.93:1
Soft neutral#F2EFE6 3.64:1
Check #42849C on another background in Contrast Checker

Design-system starting point

A perceptual 50–900 reference scale

The source color is preserved at the nearest lightness step. Other swatches keep its OKLCH hue, moderate chroma toward the extremes, and reduce chroma only when needed to remain in sRGB.

50
100
200
300
400
500 #42849C Source
600
700
800
900

This is a Hue Codex reference scale, not a claim that the values match Tailwind, Material, or another framework’s named palette.

Adjust the #42849C scale in Tints, Shades & Tones

Color relationships

Complementary, analogous, and triadic colors

Hue rotations use OKLCH while preserving lightness and requested chroma. When a rotated result falls outside sRGB, chroma is reduced deterministically and disclosed.

Complementary

Source #42849C
Complement

Analogous

Source #42849C
Analogous −30°
Analogous +30°

Triadic

Source #42849C
Triad +120°
Triad +240°

Applied pairing

A small interface check

The source anchors the main action while the complement marks a secondary status. Contrast is selected separately for each fill.

Project color Soft Mid-light Cyan-blue
Complement
Explore #42849C in Color Harmonies

Distance matching

Closest standardized and framework colors

Matches use straight-line OKLab distance ×100. A smaller value means the coordinates are closer in this model; it is not a claim that two tokens are interchangeable in a design system.

CSS named color

Steel Blue

#4682B4

OKLab distance ×100: 4.05

Tailwind v4 default

slate-500

oklch(55.4% 0.046 257.417)

OKLab distance ×100: 5.23 · sRGB preview #62748E

Print boundary

Pantone match not estimated

Reliable print matching needs licensed reference data plus a defined ink, paper, profile, and viewing condition.

Read the print methodology

Color-vision screening

Approximate color-vision-deficiency views

These encoded-sRGB matrix previews are screening approximations. They help reveal possible color-only distinctions but do not reproduce every person’s vision or establish accessibility conformance.

Original#42849C
Approx.

Protanopia

Red-vision deficiency approximation

Original#42849C
Approx.

Deuteranopia

Green-vision deficiency approximation

Original#42849C
Approx.

Tritanopia

Blue-yellow deficiency approximation

Original#42849C
Approx.#737373

Achromatopsia

Monochromatic-vision approximation

Test #42849C with a complete palette in the CVD Simulator

Ready to use

Copy framework-ready color tokens

Exports preserve the source, readable foreground, and generated 50–900 scale. Tailwind v4 CSS-first and Tailwind v3 JavaScript-config formats are labeled separately.

CSS custom properties

Semantic aliases and the complete 50–900 scale.

:root {
  --color-primary: #42849C;
  --color-on-primary: #000000;
  --color-primary-oklch: oklch(57.9797% 0.076414 224.3119);
  --color-primary-50: #E8F8FF;
  --color-primary-100: #BBE6F7;
  --color-primary-200: #9CCDE0;
  --color-primary-300: #7FB4C9;
  --color-primary-400: #619CB2;
  --color-primary-500: #42849C;
  --color-primary-600: #2D6C82;
  --color-primary-700: #165569;
  --color-primary-800: #003F50;
  --color-primary-900: #002936;
}

Tailwind v4 CSS-first theme

Current @theme syntax for bg-brand, text-brand, and scale utilities.

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-brand: #42849C;
  --color-brand-foreground: #000000;
  --color-brand-50: #E8F8FF;
  --color-brand-100: #BBE6F7;
  --color-brand-200: #9CCDE0;
  --color-brand-300: #7FB4C9;
  --color-brand-400: #619CB2;
  --color-brand-500: #42849C;
  --color-brand-600: #2D6C82;
  --color-brand-700: #165569;
  --color-brand-800: #003F50;
  --color-brand-900: #002936;
}

Tailwind v3 / legacy config

CommonJS theme.extend.colors for JavaScript-config projects.

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        brand: {
          '50': '#E8F8FF',
          '100': '#BBE6F7',
          '200': '#9CCDE0',
          '300': '#7FB4C9',
          '400': '#619CB2',
          '500': '#42849C',
          '600': '#2D6C82',
          '700': '#165569',
          '800': '#003F50',
          '900': '#002936',
          DEFAULT: '#42849C',
          foreground: '#000000',
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Sass variables

Semantic source, foreground, OKLCH, and scale variables.

$color-primary: #42849C;
$color-on-primary: #000000;
$color-primary-oklch: oklch(57.9797% 0.076414 224.3119);
$color-primary-50: #E8F8FF;
$color-primary-100: #BBE6F7;
$color-primary-200: #9CCDE0;
$color-primary-300: #7FB4C9;
$color-primary-400: #619CB2;
$color-primary-500: #42849C;
$color-primary-600: #2D6C82;
$color-primary-700: #165569;
$color-primary-800: #003F50;
$color-primary-900: #002936;

Modern color-mix()

Static fallbacks followed by OKLab tint and shade declarations.

:root {
  --color-primary: #42849C;
  --color-primary-tint: #9CCDE0;
  --color-primary-tint: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 72%, white);
  --color-primary-shade: #165569;
  --color-primary-shade: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 82%, black);
}

JSON design data

Source formats, readable text, and the generated scale.

{
    "name": "Soft Mid-light Cyan-blue",
    "hex": "#42849C",
    "rgb": "rgb(66 132 156)",
    "oklch": "oklch(57.9797% 0.076414 224.3119)",
    "recommendedText": "#000000",
    "scale": {
        "50": "#E8F8FF",
        "100": "#BBE6F7",
        "200": "#9CCDE0",
        "300": "#7FB4C9",
        "400": "#619CB2",
        "500": "#42849C",
        "600": "#2D6C82",
        "700": "#165569",
        "800": "#003F50",
        "900": "#002936"
    }
}

Continue the decision

Use #42849C in a complete workflow

Reference values are a starting point. Test the color in its real role, background, states, typography, and surrounding palette before shipping.

Adjust #42849C in Color PickerStart with this exact color and white as the working background for role and accessibility decisions. Build a palette from #42849C in Palette GeneratorUse this exact HEX as the seed for a deterministic, role-based palette. Check #42849C on white in Contrast CheckerStart with this color as the foreground and white as the background, then test the real pair.