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Prussian blue

#003153

Prussian blue is commonly given as the hex color #003153, with RGB values 0, 49, 83. 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

#003153rgb(0, 49, 83) · hsl(205, 100%, 16%)

Prussian blue color codes

Every value for #003153, ready to paste. Click any code to copy it.

Channel values for #003153 in each number base
ChannelDecimalShareHexOctalBinary
Red00%00000000000
Green4919.22%316100110001
Blue8332.55%5312301010011

The nearest web-safe color is #003366, from the 216-color palette browsers agreed on before displays could be trusted with more.

About prussian blue

The first modern synthetic pigment, made by accident in Berlin around 1706. Its discovery is the reason blueprints were blue.

Shades, tints and tones

Every step is generated from #003153. Click a swatch to copy its hex.

Shades of prussian blue

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 prussian blue

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 prussian blue

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 prussian blue scale

The same color as the 50 to 950 ladder every CSS framework uses, with #003153 at 500. Click a step to copy its hex, or take the whole scale as variables for a design system.

Color schemes built on prussian blue

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 #003153

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

Prussian blue color palettes

Five-color palettes built around #003153, 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 prussian blue 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.

Prussian blue text on white background

13.43:1 · Excellent

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

Prussian blue text on black background

1.56:1 · Poor

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, #003153 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.

Prussian blue 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.

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The blue family

Prussian blue sits in the blue family. Every named blue in the library, with prussian blue first.

SwatchNameHexRGBHSL
Prussian blue is the color on this page#0031530, 49, 83205, 100%, 16%
Blue is a CSS keyword#0000FF0, 0, 255240, 100%, 50%
Navy is a CSS keyword#0000800, 0, 128240, 100%, 25%
Royal blue is a CSS keyword#4169E165, 105, 225225, 73%, 57%
Sky blue is a CSS keyword#87CEEB135, 206, 235197, 71%, 73%
Baby blue#89CFF0137, 207, 240199, 77%, 74%
Cobalt#0047AB0, 71, 171215, 100%, 34%
Indigo is a CSS keyword#4B008275, 0, 130275, 100%, 25%
Periwinkle#CCCCFF204, 204, 255240, 100%, 90%
Powder blue is a CSS keyword#B0E0E6176, 224, 230187, 52%, 80%
Steel blue is a CSS keyword#4682B470, 130, 180207, 44%, 49%
Midnight blue is a CSS keyword#19197025, 25, 112240, 64%, 27%
Denim#1560BD21, 96, 189213, 80%, 41%
Cerulean#2A52BE42, 82, 190224, 64%, 45%
Dodger blue is a CSS keyword#1E90FF30, 144, 255210, 100%, 56%