Blue

FrenchBlue

#0072BB
HEX
#0072BB
RGB
rgb(0, 114, 187)
HSL
hsl(203, 100%, 37%)

Blue family

About FrenchBlue

FrenchBlue (#0072BB) is a dark, vivid blue. Blue is the world's most popular favorite color, associated with trust, calm and depth, and this shade carries that steady, dependable character.

Psychology

Blue lowers stress and is associated with trust, intelligence and reliability. It is the color of stability and competence, which is why so many banks, insurers and technology companies build their brands around it.

Applications

Blue dominates corporate, financial, healthcare and technology design. Light blues feel airy and clean, while deep blues convey authority and luxury. It is also the default for links and primary buttons in countless interfaces.

History

Ultramarine was once made from ground lapis lazuli and was more expensive than gold, reserved for the robes of the Virgin Mary in Renaissance art. Prussian blue and synthetic ultramarine later made blue affordable and ubiquitous.

Meaning

Blue commonly means trust, peace, loyalty and wisdom. In some cultures it is protective, in others it signifies sadness, and it is widely used in flags and institutions to project stability.

Why use this color

Choose blue when you want to build trust, calm and professionalism. It is the safest choice for corporate and financial brands and for interfaces where clarity and reliability matter most.

Accessibility

Against white, #0072BB has a 5.1:1 contrast ratio; against black it is 4.1:1. White text on #0072BB meets WCAG AA for normal text.

Fun facts

  • Blue is the most commonly cited favorite color worldwide.
  • Ultramarine was once more expensive than gold because it came from lapis lazuli.
  • Blue light has a short wavelength, which is why the sky and distant mountains look blue.

Shades, tints & tones

Variations

Ten lightness steps plus FrenchBlue's tints, shades and tones — every swatch copies its hex on click.

Lightness scale

Tints (toward white)

Shades (toward black)

Tones (toward gray)

Color theory

Color harmonies

Proven schemes built around FrenchBlue. Each swatch is one click from your clipboard.

Complementary

#0074bd#bd4800

Analogous

#00bda7#0074bd#0016bd

Triadic

#0074bd#bd0074#74bd00

Split-complementary

#0074bd#bd0016#bda700

Tetradic

#0074bd#a700bd#bd4800#16bd00

Monochromatic

#002f4d#0065a3#009dff#5cc0ff#b3e2ff

Accessibility

Blindness simulator

See how FrenchBlue is perceived with common types of color vision deficiency.

#0072BB

Normal vision

Standard trichromatic vision, shown for reference.

#4e76be

Protanopia

Red-blind. Reds look darker and can be confused with greens and browns.

#3267ba

Deuteranopia

Green-blind. Greens look muted and can be confused with reds and browns.

#00848d

Tritanopia

Blue-blind. Blues look greenish and yellows fade toward pink.

#6e6e6e

Achromatopsia

Complete color blindness. Everything is seen in shades of gray.

WCAG

Contrast checker

How FrenchBlue performs against black and white text, with WCAG AA and AAA ratings.

AaWhite on FrenchBlue
5.09:1
AAAAAAA LargeAAA Large
AaBlack on FrenchBlue
4.12:1
AAAAAAA LargeAAA Large

The ratio is identical whether FrenchBlue is used as the text or the background.

Open the full checker

Ready to use

Color palettes

Curated palettes that put FrenchBlue to work, with copy-all support for each.

Complementary

Roughly 180° across the wheel from #0072BB (hue 203°) sits #bd4800, held together by the #47b2f5 tint and the neutrals #f4f4f5 and #18181b.

Analogous

#0072BB with its two closest neighbours, #00bda7 and #0016bd, for a 100%-saturation run that stays inside one family; #47b2f5 and #00263d add depth without breaking it.

Triadic

#0072BB plus #bd0074 and #74bd00, a triangle that sits 120° apart at every corner, with #f4f4f5 and #18181b doing the quiet work underneath.

Monochromatic

One hue at 5 lightness steps: #ebf7ff through #00131f, starting from #0072BB at 37% lightness.

FrenchBlue (#0072BB) is a blue-family color. Use its values, variations, harmonies and palettes above to put it to work in your next design.

Frequently asked questions

FrenchBlue is #0072BB — rgb(0, 114, 187) / hsl(203, 100%, 37%). FrenchBlue (#0072BB) is a dark, vivid blue. Blue is the world's most popular favorite color, associated with trust, calm and depth, and this shade carries that steady, dependable character.

Good to know

  • FrenchBlue is one of 609 named colors in the library.
  • Its complementary hue sits 180° away on the color wheel: #bd4800.

More color tools

Next steps for FrenchBlue: each of these picks the value up where this page leaves off, so nothing gets retyped or re-uploaded.