Medium Blue `#0000CD`

Medium Blue (#0000CD) is a dark, vivid blue with an OKLCH hue of 264°, lightness 0.38 and chroma 0.266. It sits on the cool side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as an accent color: strong in focal moments, dominant over large fields.

Color values

HEX	`#0000CD`
RGB	`rgb(0, 0, 205)`
HSL	`hsl(240, 100%, 40%)`
HSV	`hsv(240, 100%, 80%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(100%, 100%, 0%, 20%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(25 67.2 -91.5)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.383 0.266 264)`

How Medium Blue behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Medium Blue shifts subtly: leans toward purple, loses intensity; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 2.4), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #140ec1 — ΔE 2.4, shifts subtly: leans toward purple, loses intensity
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #0c09ca — ΔE 1.0, is virtually unchanged
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #0000cd — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
North light / shade (~7500K diffuse blue-sky light): → #0000d0 — ΔE 0.5, is virtually unchanged

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 11.16:1 and against black 1.88:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Medium Blue

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#6495ff · #2c65f5 · #0000cd · #00009d · #00004e · #000012

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#006d95 · #005692 · #0000cd · #2d0093 · #2f0061 · #260038

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#dd9af7 · #6494ff · #b523e1 · #7b4390 · #0000cd · #000089

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#f7b900 · #587ed0 · #4a618f · #0000cd · #02196d · #000535

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#fef0d6 · #93a4c6 · #645b49 · #0000cd · #1c2b4c · #0e0600

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#f7f1e6 · #d1cbbe · #a8a193 · #372e1c · #150c00 · #0000cd

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#cbe2c2 · #cdc137 · #9a75ae · #4b5f46 · #0000cd · #040f16

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#c4dfc0 · #bbaf6d · #b47051 · #4a5b48 · #0000cd · #04121a

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#ffedeb · #ff6f6b · #007013 · #0000cd · #003804 · #080000

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#ffecf3 · #ff61ac · #755600 · #0000cd · #00352a · #0e0600

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#1248DF · #396FEF · #6092FF · #90B5FF · #C0D5FF

Shades

#0000B0 · #000093 · #000078 · #00005D · #000045

Muted

#032CB0 · #163A93 · #284176

Using Medium Blue

Its chroma is high enough to carry accents, calls to action, and focal moments; large fields of it will dominate a composition. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.