#38BDF8 color
The swatch above shows #38BDF8 with its hex code written on it in white and in black, so you can see which of the two is legible before reading the measured ratios below.
#38BDF8 is a light, vivid blue, closest to the CSS named color mediumturquoise (#48D1CC).
It is also a Tailwind CSS default: sky-400. That means you can write bg-sky-400 or text-sky-400 directly, with no arbitrary-value brackets and no entry in your theme config.
Color values
| HEX | #38BDF8 |
| RGB | rgb(56, 189, 248) |
| HSL | hsl(198, 93%, 60%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(77%, 24%, 0%, 3%) |
| Decimal | 3718648 |
| CSS | color: #38BDF8; |
| Android | 0xFF38BDF8 |
| Swift | UIColor(red: 0.220, green: 0.741, blue: 0.973, alpha: 1) |
Accessibility and contrast
| White text on #38BDF8 | 2.14:1 — AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail |
| Black text on #38BDF8 | 9.80:1 — AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass |
| Recommended text color | black |
WCAG 2.1 asks for at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text (18 pt, or 14 pt bold).
Tints and shades of #38BDF8
Each swatch keeps the hue and saturation of #38BDF8 and varies only lightness — the quickest way to build a usable scale from a single brand color.
Colors that go with #38BDF8
Harmonies generated by rotating the hue on the color wheel while holding saturation and lightness constant.
Using #38BDF8 in code
/* CSS */
.element { color: #38BDF8; background-color: #38BDF8; }
.element { color: rgb(56 189 248); }
.element { color: hsl(198 93% 60%); }
/* Tailwind */
<div class="bg-sky-400 text-black">
/* SCSS variable */
$brand: #38BDF8;Frequently asked questions
What color is #38BDF8?
#38BDF8 is a light, vivid blue. Its hue sits at 198° on the color wheel, with 93% saturation and 60% lightness.
What is #38BDF8 in RGB?
#38BDF8 converts to rgb(56, 189, 248) — 56 red, 189 green and 248 blue.
What is #38BDF8 in CMYK?
Approximately cmyk(77%, 24%, 0%, 3%). Print output depends on the ICC profile of the press and paper, so treat this as a starting point rather than an exact match.
Should text on #38BDF8 be white or black?
Black gives the better contrast ratio (9.80:1 versus 2.14:1).
What is the complementary color of #38BDF8?
#F8733A — the hue directly opposite #38BDF8 on the color wheel.