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#42B4FA Color

#42B4FA is rgb(66, 180, 250) in RGB, hsl(203, 95%, 62%) in HSL, and about cmyk(74%, 28%, 0%, 2%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Vivid Cerulean (#00AAEE), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.5. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#42B4FA
HEX#42B4FA
RGBrgb(66, 180, 250)
HSLhsl(203, 95%, 62%)
HSVhsv(203, 74%, 98%)
CMYKcmyk(74%, 28%, 0%, 2%)
OKLCHoklch(73.6% 0.143 240.1)
LABlab(69.27% -15.61 -44.78)
LCHlch(69.27% 47.42 250.78)

What #42B4FA 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 #42B4FA, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Vivid Cerulean#00AAEEΔE 5.5Blue Jeans#5DADECΔE 6.93Microsoft Blue#00A2EDΔE 7.62Picton Blue#45B1E8ΔE 8.17Deep Sky Blue#00BFFFΔE 8.92Very Light Azure#74BBFBΔE 9.11

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

#42B4FA Channel Values

How #42B4FA breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 66 · G 180 · B 2508-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 203° · S 95% · L 62%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 203° · S 74% · V 98%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 74% · M 28% · Y 0% · K 2%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.3:1 vs white · 9.14:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #42B4FA 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.

Fails AAWhite text2.3:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text9.14:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #42B4FA in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #42B4FA

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #42B4FA; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#42B4FA
Complementary
#FA8942
Analogous
#42FAE5
Analogous
#4258FA
Triadic
#FA42B4
Triadic
#B4FA42
Split comp.
#FA4258
Split comp.
#FAE542

Tints & Shades of #42B4FA

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

#5BBEFB
#74C7FB
#8DD1FC
#AADDFD
#C3E7FD
#DCF1FE

Shades

#1AA4F9
#068CE0
#0573B8
#045A90
#034168
#02253C

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #42B4FA.

How #42B4FA 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#42B4FA
Protanopia#A7A7FA
Protanomaly#8AADFA
Deuteranopia#9A9AFB
Deuteranomaly#80A5FB
Tritanopia#00BFBF
Tritanomaly#22BBD9
Achromatopsia#ABABAB

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #42B4FA in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-42b4fa: #42B4FA;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #42B4FA;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-42b4fa': '#42B4FA' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.259, green: 0.706, blue: 0.980)
Android XML<color name="color_42b4fa">#42B4FA</color>
SVG fillfill="#42B4FA"

More Blue Colors

#42B4FA sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024fafaff00002ef9fafb000033f8fafc000038f8f8ff000042f5faff000047f5f5ff002147007dfa0f52ba1c39bb2a3439372aac4e3cc364609a7abdff979aaab8dbffd6d6ff

#42B4FA Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #42B4FA?

#42B4FA is a light blue — rgb(66, 180, 250) in RGB and hsl(203, 95%, 62%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Vivid Cerulean (#00AAEE), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.5.

What is the RGB value of #42B4FA?

#42B4FA is rgb(66, 180, 250) — red 66, green 180, and blue 250 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #42B4FA?

#42B4FA converts to approximately cmyk(74%, 28%, 0%, 2%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #42B4FA be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #42B4FA scores 2.3:1 against white and 9.14:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #42B4FA as a CSS color keyword?

No. #42B4FA 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 deepskyblue (#00BFFF) at a CIE76 distance of 8.92, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #42B4FA in a Tool

Hex to RGBHex to HSLHex to CMYKHex to OKLCHHex to PantoneBuild a paletteMake a gradient

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