Color Details and Palettes for #274E8D

Details about the color Le Grand Bleu

Closest web-safe match: #336699

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 #274E8D
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About Color Hex #274e8d

The color Le Grand Bleu, with hexadecimal code #274e8d, belongs to the blue color family, the world's most universally preferred hue. Blue projects trust, stability, and intellectual calm, which is why it dominates corporate, financial, and technology branding worldwide. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Trust, Peace, Loyalty, Integrity and Tranquility. Blue signifies tranquility and stability. In Middle Eastern cultures, it can also represent protection against the evil eye, while in Western cultures, it symbolizes calmness and reliability. At 57% saturation, this color is clearly chromatic yet balanced—colorful enough to be distinctive without overwhelming adjacent content. Its low lightness of 35% produces a deep, rich appearance—conveying gravity and luxury, particularly effective in dark-mode designs and premium packaging. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Trust, Peace, Loyalty, Integrity, or Tranquility. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Le Grand Bleu are (39, 78, 141), providing a combination of red: 39, green: 78, and blue: 141. In HSL format, it has a hue of 217.00°, saturation of 57.00%, and lightness of 35.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 217.00°, saturation of 72.00%, and value of 55.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 72.00%, magenta: 45.00%, yellow: 0.00%, and black: 45.00%.

The calculated luminance of #274e8d is 0.078, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #336699. Its contrast ratio is 2.56:1 against black and 8.20:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #274e8d reads as cool. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using white text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #274e8d is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #274e8d appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #274E8D

Le Grand Bleu (#274E8D) belongs to the Azure color family.

With moderate saturation and balanced lightness, this muted tone feels sophisticated and understated. Muted hues like this excel in editorial design, professional portfolios, and interior spaces that seek calm refinement.

Historical Background

Azure derives from the Arabic lazaward, referring to the lapis lazuli stone that yielded ultramarine pigment—once more costly per ounce than gold. Medieval European painters reserved ultramarine for the most sacred subjects, particularly the Virgin Mary's robes. The word azure also entered heraldry as the term for blue fields on coats of arms, symbolizing loyalty and truth.

Design & Usage Tips

Azure strikes a balance between the brightness of cyan and the depth of blue, making it a versatile choice for technology, aviation, and financial brands (Microsoft Azure is a prominent example). Pair azure with white for authority and clarity, or with light gold for a regal combination.

Sitting on the cool side of the spectrum (hue 217°), it promotes a feeling of calm distance and intellectual clarity, which is why cool hues dominate corporate identities, healthcare design, and productivity tools. With 57% saturation, it occupies a comfortable middle ground: colorful enough to be distinctive, yet restrained enough for extended reading or large surface areas.

Psychological Impact

Azure evokes trust, aspiration, and openness—like a clear sky. It feels less corporate than navy and more refined than bright blue, hitting a sweet spot for brands that want to appear both professional and approachable.

With a mid-range lightness of 35%, this tone is highly versatile: dark enough to serve as body text on white, yet light enough to stand out on charcoal or navy backgrounds.

Creative Design Ideas

Use azure as the primary brand color with charcoal text for a clean SaaS identity. Create split-screen layouts with an azure panel on one side and white on the other for impactful above-the-fold sections. In icon design, azure provides excellent visibility against both light and dark backgrounds.

#274E8D Color Conversions

Every way to write Le Grand Bleu — copy Le Grand Bleu as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#274E8D

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(39, 78, 141)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(217, 57%, 35%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(217, 72%, 55%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(217 15% 45%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(72%, 45%, 0%, 45%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(43.00% 0.113 259.57)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(43.00% -0.021 -0.112)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 33.57, a: 8.78, b: -39.03

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 33.57, C: 40.01, H: 282.67

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 8.37, Y: 7.80, Z: 26.26

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
2576013

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

RGB Color Percentages for #274e8d

RGB Color Percentages for Le Grand Bleu (HEX Code: #274e8d) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Blue, making up 54.65% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
15.12%
Green:
30.23%
Blue:
54.65%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Le Grand Bleu.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #274e8d

CMYK Ink Levels for Le Grand Bleu (HEX Code: #274e8d) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Le Grand Bleu prominently features Cyan, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 72.34%, Magenta: 44.68%, Yellow: 0%, and Black: 44.71%.

Luminance & Contrast for #274E8D

Relative luminance gauges how bright Le Grand Bleu is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.078
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 2.56:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 8.20:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #274E8D

Copy-and-paste CSS for Le Grand Bleu — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #274E8D;
Text color: #274E8D;
Border border: 2px solid #274E8D;
RGB background-color: rgb(39, 78, 141);
HSL background-color: hsl(217, 57%, 35%);
Variable --color: #274E8D;

#274e8d Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#e9edf4
#c9d3e3
#a9b8d1
#889ec0
#6883af
#47699e
#274e8d Original
#214278
#1b3763
#152b4e
#101f38
#0a1423
#04080e

#274e8d Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#274e8d Original
#8c6526

#274e8d Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#274e8d Original
#32268c
#26808c
#65268c
#268c65
#8c2680
#268c32

#274e8d Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#274e8d Original
#8c264d
#4d8c26

#274e8d Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#274e8d Original
#8c2680
#8c6526
#268c32

Color Blindness Simulation for #274e8d

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Le Grand Bleu (#274e8d) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Not Friendly

Color Harmonies for #274e8d

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#274E8D Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #274E8D — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#335599 Nightly Activities
#114477 Mermaid Blues
#4466aa Starstruck
#003366 Neptune’s Dream
#005599 Blue Chip
#335588 Glimpse of Void
#444488 Queen of the Night Shift
#005588 Dark Denim

Colors Similar to #274e8d

These colors are close neighbours of #274E8D in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Blue tone.

#284e8d Le Grand Bleu
#274f8d Le Grand Bleu
#274e8e Le Grand Bleu
#264e8d Le Grand Bleu
#274d8d Le Grand Bleu
#274e8c Le Grand Bleu
#384e8d Nightly Activities
#275f8d Starry Night
#274e9e Le Grand Bleu
#164e8d Dancing Sea
#273d8d Liquid Denim
#274e7c Slumber

Looking for more Blue shades? Browse Blue colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Le Grand Bleu (#274e8d)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Le Grand Bleu, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.