Soft Blue #6488EA
Soft Blue is a medium-light, vivid blue with hex code #6488EA and RGB rgb(100, 136, 234).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (6.25:1).
About this color
#6488EA is a medium-light, vivid blue. In OKLCH its lightness is 65%, its chroma 0.152 and its hue 267°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. It is the named color Soft Blue. Black text reads best on it, at 6.25:1.
| Hue family | Blues |
| Lightness | medium-light (65%) |
| Chroma | vivid (0.152) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Soft Blue |
| Black text | 6.25:1 |
| White text | 3.35:1 |
Colors that go with Soft Blue
Matches found by rotating Soft Blue around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Soft Blue
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Soft Blue, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Soft Blue, with their ΔE distance.
- Cornflower Blue #6495ED ΔE 0.034
- Dark Sky Blue #448EE4 ΔE 0.035
- Chefchaouen Blue #4895EF ΔE 0.039
- Cornflower #6A79F7 ΔE 0.045
- Lavender Blue #8B88F8 ΔE 0.055
- Dodger Blue #1E90FF ΔE 0.056
- Perrywinkle #8F8CE7 ΔE 0.058
- Periwinkle #8E82FE ΔE 0.064
More about Soft Blue
How to make Soft Blue
A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.
- 2 parts blue
- 2 parts white
- 1 part purple
Recipe result: #648CDB, a difference of ΔE 0.028 from Soft Blue. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.
Codes for Soft Blue in every format
| HEX | #6488EA |
| RGB | rgb(100, 136, 234) |
| HSL | hsl(224, 76%, 65%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(64.6% 0.152 266.9) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #6488EA | 3.35:1 | AA large text | Lc -66.3 | Content text, not long reading |
| Black text on #6488EA | 6.25:1 | AA | Lc 43.2 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #6488EA text on white | 3.35:1 | AA large text | Lc 60.8 | Content text, not long reading |
| #6488EA text on black | 6.25:1 | AA | Lc -40.9 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
Shades and tints of Soft Blue
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 500.
-
Step 50
50
#F2F5FC
oklch(97% 0.01 267.4)
-
Step 100
100
#E3EAF9
oklch(93.6% 0.022 265.8)
-
Step 200
200
#CDD9F5
oklch(88.5% 0.041 267.1)
-
Step 300
300
#ABC0F2
oklch(80.9% 0.075 267)
-
Step 400
400
#7F9EEB
oklch(70.8% 0.119 266.7)
-
Step 500
500 (this color)
#6488EA
oklch(64.6% 0.152 266.9)
-
Step 600
600
#486BD3
oklch(55.7% 0.165 267)
-
Step 700
700
#3958B7
oklch(49.1% 0.155 267)
-
Step 800
800
#2F4994
oklch(42.8% 0.127 266.6)
-
Step 900
900
#2A3E76
oklch(37.8% 0.099 266.9)
-
Step 950
950
#182445
oklch(26.9% 0.064 267)
Soft Blue with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #5D93EE | 0.028 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #4B86E8 | 0.027 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #009EAE | 0.135 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #8C8C8C | 0.152 |
Use Soft Blue in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.