#538C9D Color

#538C9D is rgb(83, 140, 157) in RGB, hsl(194, 31%, 47%) in HSL, and about cmyk(47%, 11%, 0%, 38%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Steel Teal (#5F8A8F), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 7.75. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#538C9D

HEX#538C9D

RGBrgb(83, 140, 157)

HSLhsl(194, 31%, 47%)

HSVhsv(194, 47%, 62%)

CMYKcmyk(47%, 11%, 0%, 38%)

OKLCHoklch(60.7% 0.065 219)

LABlab(54.83% -15.92 -15.26)

LCHlch(54.83% 22.05 223.77)

What #538C9D 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 #538C9D, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Steel Teal#5F8A8FΔE 7.75 Air Force Blue#5D8AA8ΔE 8.52 Teal Blue#367588ΔE 9.28 Cadet Blue#5F9EA0ΔE 10.78 Ming#36747DΔE 10.87 Zircon Blue#00849DΔE 12.06

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

#538C9D Channel Values

How #538C9D 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 83 · G 140 · B 157	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 194° · S 31% · L 47%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 194° · S 47% · V 62%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 47% · M 11% · Y 0% · K 38%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	3.75:1 vs white · 5.61:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #538C9D 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 text3.75:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text5.61:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #538C9D in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #538C9D

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #538C9D; 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 #538C9D

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 #538C9D.

How #538C9D 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#538C9D

Protanopia#84849D

Protanomaly#74889D

Deuteranopia#7D7D9E

Deuteranomaly#6E839E

Tritanopia#4E8E8E

Tritanomaly#508D94

Achromatopsia#848484

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #538C9D in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-538c9d: #538C9D;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #538C9D;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-538c9d': '#538C9D' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.325, green: 0.549, blue: 0.616)

Android XML<color name="color_538c9d">#538C9D</color>

SVG fillfill="#538C9D"

More Teal Colors

#538C9D sits in the teal family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

002424 f5ffff 002a38 f0ffff 002d2e eefbfb 003333 ecfeff 003542 ecf7f9 003838 ebffff 006466 009999 00ebeb 0d1616 192929 24fbff 36747d 50bfe6 73a9c2 8dd9cc aec6cf ccffff

#538C9D Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #538C9D?

#538C9D is a mid-tone teal — rgb(83, 140, 157) in RGB and hsl(194, 31%, 47%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Steel Teal (#5F8A8F), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 7.75.

What is the RGB value of #538C9D?

#538C9D is rgb(83, 140, 157) — red 83, green 140, and blue 157 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #538C9D?

#538C9D converts to approximately cmyk(47%, 11%, 0%, 38%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #538C9D be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #538C9D scores 3.75:1 against white and 5.61:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #538C9D as a CSS color keyword?

No. #538C9D 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 cadetblue (#5F9EA0) at a CIE76 distance of 10.78, which is visibly different.

Open #538C9D 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 teal in the color library, the guide to shades of teal, or the full color library.