What is the hex code for denim?

Denim is #1560BD. In RGB that is 21, 96, 189, and in HSL it is 213 degrees, 80 percent saturation, 41 percent lightness.

What is the CMYK value of denim?

#1560BD converts to CMYK 89, 49, 0, 26. CMYK is a print space, so a screen can only ever approximate how it will actually be inked.

Is denim a standard color?

No. There is no standards body defining denim, so different sources give slightly different values. #1560BD is the value in common use, and it is what every code and swatch on this page is built from.

Denim

#1560BD

Denim is commonly given as the hex color #1560BD, with RGB values 21, 96, 189. It is not a CSS keyword, so the value is a widely used convention rather than a standard.

BlueCommon convention

Quick colors, then fill the screen

Or a gradient

Or let it move

#1560BDrgb(21, 96, 189) · hsl(213, 80%, 41%)

Hue213°

Brightness100%

Denim color codes

Every value for #1560BD, ready to paste. Click any code to copy it.

Channel values for #1560BD in each number base
Channel	Decimal	Share	Hex	Octal	Binary
Red	21	8.24%	15	25	00010101
Green	96	37.65%	60	140	01100000
Blue	189	74.12%	BD	275	10111101

The nearest web-safe color is #0066CC, from the 216-color palette browsers agreed on before displays could be trusted with more.

About denim

Named for the fabric, which took its name from serge de Nimes. The blue came from indigo, which sits on the surface of the fibre and is why jeans fade the way they do.

Shades, tints and tones

Every step is generated from #1560BD. Click a swatch to copy its hex.

Shades of denim

A shade is the base color with black mixed in. Shades read as deeper and more dramatic, and they are what you reach for when a color needs to recede or carry weight.

Tints of denim

A tint is the base color with white mixed in. Tints turn pastel as they lighten, which makes them useful for backgrounds and for anything that has to sit behind text.

Tones of denim

A tone is the base color with grey mixed in. Tones lose the shout without losing the hue, and they are usually what separates a considered palette from a loud one.

The denim scale

The same color as the 50 to 950 ladder every CSS framework uses, with #1560BD at 500. Click a step to copy its hex, or take the whole scale as variables for a design system.

Color schemes built on denim

Harmonies are positions on the color wheel rather than matters of taste, which is why they keep working across very different designs.

Complementary

Two colors from opposite sides of the wheel. They make each other look more vivid, which is why the pairing is used for anything that needs to stand out.

Analogous

Three neighbours on the wheel. Nothing competes, so the result reads calm and settled, closer to how colour behaves in nature.

Split complementary

The base plus the two colors either side of its complement. It keeps most of the contrast while being much easier to balance.

Triadic

Three colors spaced evenly around the wheel. Strong and lively, and usually best with one dominant color and two accents.

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs, forming a rectangle on the wheel. The richest scheme available, and the hardest to keep from shouting.

Monochromatic

One hue at different lightness levels. Effortlessly cohesive, and the safest way to build a palette around a brand color.

Colors close to #1560BD

Near neighbours, for when this color is almost right. Each one shifts hue, saturation or lightness by a small step.

Denim color palettes

Five-color palettes built around #1560BD, each following a different scheme. Click any swatch to copy it, or open the generator to build your own.

Analogous

Complementary

Triadic

Monochromatic

Open the palette generator to lock the colors you like and regenerate the rest.

Contrast and readability

Whether denim works as text, and what to put on top of it when it is the background. Ratios follow WCAG 2.1, where 4.5 is the bar for body text and 3 for large text.

Denim text on white background

6.1:1 · Good

Large text at 24 pixels

Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.

Body AA
Body AAA
Large AA
Large AAA

Denim text on black background

3.44:1 · Large text only

Large text at 24 pixels

Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.

Body AA
Body AAA
Large AA
Large AAA

Used the other way round, #1560BD as a background takes #FFFFFF text. That is the higher-contrast of the two, and it is what the tool picks automatically for any chrome sitting on your color.

Denim reads better on a white background of the two. Contrast is a property of the pair, not of one color, so a color that fails here can still be perfectly usable against a different partner.

The blue family

Denim sits in the blue family. Every named blue in the library, with denim first.

Name	Hex	RGB	HSL
Denim is the color on this page	#1560BD	21, 96, 189	213, 80%, 41%
Blue is a CSS keyword	#0000FF	0, 0, 255	240, 100%, 50%
Navy is a CSS keyword	#000080	0, 0, 128	240, 100%, 25%
Royal blue is a CSS keyword	#4169E1	65, 105, 225	225, 73%, 57%
Sky blue is a CSS keyword	#87CEEB	135, 206, 235	197, 71%, 73%
Baby blue	#89CFF0	137, 207, 240	199, 77%, 74%
Cobalt	#0047AB	0, 71, 171	215, 100%, 34%
Indigo is a CSS keyword	#4B0082	75, 0, 130	275, 100%, 25%
Periwinkle	#CCCCFF	204, 204, 255	240, 100%, 90%
Powder blue is a CSS keyword	#B0E0E6	176, 224, 230	187, 52%, 80%
Steel blue is a CSS keyword	#4682B4	70, 130, 180	207, 44%, 49%
Midnight blue is a CSS keyword	#191970	25, 25, 112	240, 64%, 27%
Cerulean	#2A52BE	42, 82, 190	224, 64%, 45%
Dodger blue is a CSS keyword	#1E90FF	30, 144, 255	210, 100%, 56%
Prussian blue	#003153	0, 49, 83	205, 100%, 16%