Royal Blue `#4169E1`

Royal Blue (#4169E1) is a mid-tone, saturated blue with an OKLCH hue of 266°, lightness 0.56 and chroma 0.188. 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	`#4169E1`
RGB	`rgb(65, 105, 225)`
HSL	`hsl(225, 73%, 57%)`
HSV	`hsv(225, 71%, 88%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(71%, 53%, 0%, 12%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(47.8 26.3 -65.3)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.560 0.188 266)`

How Royal Blue behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Royal 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 ≈ 2.2), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #4c68d4 — ΔE 2.2, shifts subtly: leans toward purple, loses intensity
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #486add — ΔE 1.0, is virtually unchanged
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #4169e1 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
North light / shade (~7500K diffuse blue-sky light): → #4069e4 — ΔE 0.5, is virtually unchanged

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 4.85:1 and against black 4.33:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text.

Palettes built from Royal 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.

#b3caff · #799fff · #4169e1 · #2c4ebc · #12298d · #04005f

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.

#00a5e3 · #1a89e6 · #4169e1 · #594ec1 · #60359d · #5e2077

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.

#e285fd · #ab80b7 · #4169e1 · #2e4eb0 · #19328a · #380c43

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.

#f4bb00 · #8595b9 · #4169e1 · #3a528e · #213468 · #0e1a3b

Quiet Support

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

#faf1de · #848fa7 · #4169e1 · #605a4e · #1b243b · #070300

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.

#f6f1e6 · #d0cbbe · #a6a091 · #332b19 · #110900 · #4169e1

Complementary

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

#fff0d1 · #b38800 · #4169e1 · #735600 · #312300 · #010015

Split-complementary

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

#fff0d1 · #d27318 · #4169e1 · #586200 · #3d1b00 · #010100

Triadic

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

#ffedeb · #dc655c · #4169e1 · #006f22 · #002f08 · #080000

Tetradic

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

#ffecf2 · #d46391 · #4169e1 · #735600 · #002d24 · #0a0400

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#5A81EC · #7499F6 · #8FB0FF · #B0C8FF · #D0DFFF

Shades

#3255C1 · #2441A2 · #162E83 · #0A1B66 · #03084A

Muted

#4C6ECB · #5772B4 · #62749D

Using Royal 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.