Skip to content

#42BAFF Color

#42BAFF is rgb(66, 186, 255) in RGB, hsl(202, 100%, 63%) in HSL, and about cmyk(74%, 27%, 0%, 0%) 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 6.53. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#42BAFF
HEX#42BAFF
RGBrgb(66, 186, 255)
HSLhsl(202, 100%, 63%)
HSVhsv(202, 74%, 100%)
CMYKcmyk(74%, 27%, 0%, 0%)
OKLCHoklch(75.2% 0.144 238.6)
LABlab(71.20% -17.18 -44.47)
LCHlch(71.20% 47.67 248.88)

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

Vivid Cerulean#00AAEEΔE 6.53Deep Sky Blue#00BFFFΔE 6.98Picton Blue#45B1E8ΔE 8.06Blue Jeans#5DADECΔE 8.44Very Light Azure#74BBFBΔE 9.49Microsoft Blue#00A2EDΔE 9.65

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

#42BAFF Channel Values

How #42BAFF 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 186 · B 2558-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 202° · S 100% · L 63%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 202° · S 74% · V 100%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 74% · M 27% · Y 0% · K 0%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.17:1 vs white · 9.7:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #42BAFF 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 text2.17:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text9.7:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

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

Colors That Go With #42BAFF

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

Base
#42BAFF
Complementary
#FF8742
Analogous
#42FFE6
Analogous
#425BFF
Triadic
#FF42BA
Triadic
#BAFF42
Split comp.
#FF425B
Split comp.
#FFE642

Tints & Shades of #42BAFF

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

#5CC3FF
#75CDFF
#8FD6FF
#A8DFFF
#C2E9FF
#DBF2FF

Shades

#1AABFF
#0095EB
#007BC2
#005E94
#00446B
#00273D

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

How #42BAFF 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#42BAFF
Protanopia#ADADFF
Protanomaly#8EB2FF
Deuteranopia#9F9FFF
Deuteranomaly#84AAFF
Tritanopia#00C5C5
Tritanomaly#21C0DE
Achromatopsia#B0B0B0

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #42BAFF in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-42baff: #42BAFF;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #42BAFF;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-42baff': '#42BAFF' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.259, green: 0.729, blue: 1.000)
Android XML<color name="color_42baff">#42BAFF</color>
SVG fillfill="#42BAFF"

More Blue Colors

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

000024fafaff00002ef9fafb000033f8fafc000038f8f8ff000042f5faff000047f5f5ff002147007dfa0f52ba1c39bb2a3439372aac4e3cc364609a7abdff979aaab8dbffd6d6ff

#42BAFF Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #42BAFF?

#42BAFF is a light blue — rgb(66, 186, 255) in RGB and hsl(202, 100%, 63%) 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 6.53.

What is the RGB value of #42BAFF?

#42BAFF is rgb(66, 186, 255) — red 66, green 186, and blue 255 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #42BAFF?

#42BAFF converts to approximately cmyk(74%, 27%, 0%, 0%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #42BAFF be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #42BAFF scores 2.17:1 against white and 9.7:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

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

No. #42BAFF 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 6.98, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #42BAFF 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.