French Blue (#0072BB)

The hex code for French Blue is #0072BB. It is rgb(0, 114, 187) in RGB, hsl(203, 100%, 37%) in HSL, and about cmyk(100%, 39%, 0%, 27%) in CMYK — a dark blue. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#0072BB

HEX#0072BB

RGBrgb(0, 114, 187)

HSLhsl(203, 100%, 37%)

HSVhsv(203, 100%, 73%)

CMYKcmyk(100%, 39%, 0%, 27%)

OKLCHoklch(53.8% 0.142 247.2)

LABlab(45.74% -5.90 -46.80)

LCHlch(45.74% 47.18 262.81)

Colors Closest to French Blue

French Blue is a registered color name. These are the named colors nearest to it, measured as CIE76 distance in CIELAB — a perceptual scale, so the ordering matches what the eye sees rather than how close the raw RGB numbers happen to sit.

Spanish Blue#0070B8ΔE 0.93 Ocean Boat Blue#0077BEΔE 2.62 Honolulu Blue#006DB0ΔE 3.8 Medium Persian Blue#0067A5ΔE 7.33 Tufts Blue#417DC1ΔE 7.46 Green-blue#1164B4ΔE 8.47

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every blue in the library.

#0072BB Channel Values

How French Blue breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 0 · G 114 · B 187	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 203° · S 100% · L 37%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 203° · S 100% · V 73%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 100% · M 39% · Y 0% · K 27%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	5.09:1 vs white · 4.12:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a French Blue background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text5.09:1AA normal ✓AA large ✓AAA normal ✗

TextBlack text4.12:1AA normal ✗AA large ✓AAA normal ✗

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #0072BB in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With French Blue

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite French Blue; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of French Blue

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #0072BB.

How French Blue Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#0072BB

Protanopia#6868BB

Protanomaly#526CBB

Deuteranopia#5E5EBC

Deuteranomaly#4A67BB

Tritanopia#007E7E

Tritanomaly#007A9A

Achromatopsia#6E6E6E

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #0072BB in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--french-blue: #0072BB;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #0072BB;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'french-blue': '#0072BB' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.000, green: 0.447, blue: 0.733)

Android XML<color name="french_blue">#0072BB</color>

SVG fillfill="#0072BB"

More Blue Colors

French Blue sits in the bluefamily. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

0073cf 0070b8 0073e6 006db0 0077be 0069d1 0078d7 0069a8 0078e0 0067a5 007bb8 0066ff 0d1f54 191980 26619c 353d45 4b4bd8 6082b6 778ba5 93ccea b0c4de d1d5dc f0f8ff 0000cc

#0072BB Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hex code for French Blue?

The hex code for French Blue is #0072BB. That is rgb(0, 114, 187) in RGB, hsl(203, 100%, 37%) in HSL, and approximately cmyk(100%, 39%, 0%, 27%) in CMYK.

What is the RGB value of #0072BB?

#0072BB is rgb(0, 114, 187) — red 0, green 114, and blue 187 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #0072BB?

#0072BB converts to approximately cmyk(100%, 39%, 0%, 27%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #0072BB be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #0072BB scores 5.09:1 against white and 4.12:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #0072BB as a CSS color keyword?

No. #0072BB is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is steelblue (#4682B4) at a CIE76 distance of 15.5, which is visibly different.

Open French Blue in a Tool

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Keep exploring: every blue in the color library, the guide to shades of blue, or the full color library.