#281B74 Color

#281B74 is rgb(40, 27, 116) in RGB, hsl(249, 62%, 28%) in HSL, and about cmyk(66%, 77%, 0%, 55%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Midnight Blue (#191970), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 3.33. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#281B74

HEX#281B74

RGBrgb(40, 27, 116)

HSLhsl(249, 62%, 28%)

HSVhsv(249, 77%, 45%)

CMYKcmyk(66%, 77%, 0%, 55%)

OKLCHoklch(30.7% 0.143 280.5)

LABlab(17.07% 28.30 -49.91)

LCHlch(17.07% 57.38 299.56)

What #281B74 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #281B74, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Midnight Blue#191970ΔE 3.33 Cosmic Cobalt#2E2D88ΔE 7.9 Persian Indigo#32127AΔE 8.67 St. Patrick's Blue#23297AΔE 8.8 Resolution Blue#002387ΔE 10.1 Spanish Violet#4C2882ΔE 10.27

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

#281B74 Channel Values

How #281B74 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 40 · G 27 · B 116	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 249° · S 62% · L 28%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 249° · S 77% · V 45%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 66% · M 77% · Y 0% · K 55%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	14.01:1 vs white · 1.5:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #281B74 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 text14.01:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text1.5:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #281B74 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #281B74

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #281B74; 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 #281B74

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 #281B74.

How #281B74 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#281B74

Protanopia#1E1E74

Protanomaly#221D74

Deuteranopia#202074

Deuteranomaly#231E74

Tritanopia#013232

Tritanomaly#172A54

Achromatopsia#2C2C2C

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #281B74 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-281b74: #281B74;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #281B74;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-281b74': '#281B74' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.157, green: 0.106, blue: 0.455)

Android XML<color name="color_281b74">#281B74</color>

SVG fillfill="#281B74"

More Blue Colors

#281B74 sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024 fafaff 00002e f9fafb 000033 f8fafc 000038 f8f8ff 000042 f5faff 000047 f5f5ff 002147 007dfa 0f52ba 1c39bb 2a3439 372aac 4e3cc3 64609a 7abdff 979aaa b8dbff d6d6ff

#281B74 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #281B74?

#281B74 is a dark blue — rgb(40, 27, 116) in RGB and hsl(249, 62%, 28%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Midnight Blue (#191970), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 3.33.

What is the RGB value of #281B74?

#281B74 is rgb(40, 27, 116) — red 40, green 27, and blue 116 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #281B74?

#281B74 converts to approximately cmyk(66%, 77%, 0%, 55%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #281B74 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #281B74 scores 14.01:1 against white and 1.5:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #281B74 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #281B74 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 midnightblue (#191970) at a CIE76 distance of 3.33, which is very hard to tell apart.

Open #281B74 in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

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