ColorXprez

#232240

Oxford Blue · very dark cool blue

About #232240

#232240 is a very dark, muted blue colour. Digitally that works out to 14% red, 13% green and 25% blue. In CMYK print terms it is 45% cyan, 47% magenta, 0% yellow and 75% black. Most people will perceive it as cool.

Visually it is similar to Oxford Blue (ΔE 9.1), with Prussian Blue the next nearest named colour. Across the colour wheel sits #3F4022 (espresso), its complementary partner.

Because it is very dark, it is most useful for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. White text reads best on it at 15.28:1 (a WCAG AAA pass). Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (15.28:1).

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red35
Green34
Blue64

Closest named colours

Oxford Blue
#002147 · ΔE 9.1
Prussian Blue
#003153 · ΔE 12.4
Gunmetal
#2A3439 · ΔE 20.0

ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.

Text on #232240

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on oxford blue #232240.
15.28:1AAA
Black heading text
Body copy set on oxford blue #232240.
1.37:1Fail

Colour-blindness preview

How #232240 appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#232240
Protanopia (no red cones)
#182641
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#16243F
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#1B282D

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #232240?

#232240 is a very dark, muted blue colour. Digitally that works out to 14% red, 13% green and 25% blue. In CMYK print terms it is 45% cyan, 47% magenta, 0% yellow and 75% black. Most people will perceive it as cool.

›What text colour should I use on #232240?

Use white text. White on #232240 has a contrast ratio of 15.28:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #232240?

Its complementary colour is #3F4022, and analogous partners are #223040 and #322240.