True Aqua Blue Color Palette – HEX, RGB & Design Inspiration
Color Details
HEX: #90C0E0
RGB: 144, 192, 224
HEX: #80B8D8
RGB: 128, 184, 216
HEX: #3890C8
RGB: 56, 144, 200
HEX: #60A8D0
RGB: 96, 168, 208
HEX: #98C8E0
RGB: 152, 200, 224
Text on White/Black Backgrounds
Color Pair Combinations (10 total)
WCAG Contrast Standards:
- AAA (7:1): Enhanced contrast for maximum readability
- AA (4.5:1): Minimum for normal text (under 18pt)
- AA Large (3:1): Acceptable for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold)
- Fail: Below WCAG standards, not recommended for text
Recommended Text Colors
Horizontal (Left to Right)
background: linear-gradient(to right, #90C0E0 0%, #80B8D8 25%, #3890C8 50%, #60A8D0 75%, #98C8E0 100%);Vertical (Top to Bottom)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #90C0E0 0%, #80B8D8 25%, #3890C8 50%, #60A8D0 75%, #98C8E0 100%);Diagonal (Top Left to Bottom Right)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #90C0E0 0%, #80B8D8 25%, #3890C8 50%, #60A8D0 75%, #98C8E0 100%);Usage Tips:
- Copy the CSS code and paste directly into your stylesheets
- Linear gradients work great for backgrounds and hero sections
- Radial gradients are perfect for spotlights and focus effects
- Conic gradients create eye-catching loading spinners and progress indicators
- Smooth transitions ensure seamless color blending
Normal Vision
No color vision deficiency
Color Swatches
#90C0E0
#80B8D8
#3890C8
#60A8D0
#98C8E0
Full Palette View
How people with Normal Vision see it:
Overall Mood & Feel
Calm, professional, and trustworthy
Emotional Impact
Calming and contemplative, promoting feelings of trust, stability, and peace. The balanced lightness creates versatility across different contexts
Psychological Effect
This 5-color palette creates a calm, professional, and trustworthy. The combination works together to create memorable visual experiences that influence consumer perception, decision-making, and brand recall. The rich variety provides versatility while maintaining cohesive emotional messaging across touchpoints.
Brand Personality Traits
Perfect For These Industries
Target Audience
Business professionals and decision-makers seeking reliability and competence
Individual Color Psychology
#90C0E0
Peaceful and airy
Emotions Evoked
Personality Traits
Brand Traits
Ideal Industries
Marketing Use
Most popular color globally. Builds trust and reduces stress. Ideal for corporate brands, financial services, and healthcare. Can suppress appetite.
Cultural Meanings
Color Harmony Analysis
Palette Mood
Temperature
This palette combines balanced moods with cool tones, making it versatile for various design applications.
Professional Implementation Guide
This monochromatic true aqua blue palette features 5 carefully selected cool tones that create a balanced and versatile aesthetic. With low contrast levels and moderate saturation, this palette is optimized for .
Web Design & Development
For web development, implement this palette with CSS variables for easy theme switching. Consider adding darker variants for better text readability.
- Apply the 60-30-10 rule for visual hierarchy
- Use accent colors for CTAs and hover states
- Maintain consistent color usage across all pages
- Test responsive behavior on multiple devices
Mobile App Interfaces
In mobile applications, these cool tones provide excellent battery efficiency on OLED screens. Use the subtle color variations to define clear touch targets.
- Design both light and dark mode variants
- Consider thumb-reach zones for color placement
- Test under direct sunlight and low light
- Use color to indicate interactive elements
Brand Identity Systems
Build a cohesive brand identity by designating specific colors for specific purposes. Establish your primary brand color from the most distinctive shade and create comprehensive brand guidelines specifying exact usage scenarios.
- Define primary, secondary, and accent colors
- Create usage rules for marketing materials
- Specify minimum sizes and clear space
- Document do's and don'ts for consistency
Frontend Development
Developers can integrate this palette efficiently using modern CSS techniques. Export as CSS variables for maximum flexibility, allowing theme switching and dynamic color updates without rewriting stylesheets.
- Use CSS custom properties for theming
- Implement semantic color naming conventions
- Create utility classes for rapid prototyping
- Consider CSS-in-JS for component-scoped colors
Print Design
For print materials, convert to CMYK using #90C0E0 as the dominant color for headers and #98C8E0 for accents. These colors translate well to print with minimal adjustment.
- Add to your design software color library
- Create swatches for quick color access
- Use CMYK values for print production
- Request color proofs before final print
Marketing Campaigns
Marketing materials benefit from consistent color usage that reinforces brand recognition. Apply this palette across email campaigns, landing pages, advertisements, and social media for maximum impact and memorability.
- Maintain color consistency across channels
- A/B test color variations for conversion
- Consider cultural color associations
- Align colors with campaign messaging
Strategic Color Distribution
Professional designers follow the 60-30-10 rule for balanced color distribution. Here's how to apply this principle with the True Aqua Blue:
Dominant Color
#90C0E0Use #90C0E0 as your primary color for backgrounds, main content areas. This blue tone should occupy about 60% of your design space.
Secondary Color
#3890C8Apply #3890C8 as your secondary color for subtle backgrounds and card components. Allocate approximately 30% of your layout to this color.
Accent Color
#98C8E0Reserve #98C8E0 for accent elements like buttons, links, and important highlights. This blue accent should be used sparingly (10% of design) to draw attention to key actions.
Professional Best Practices
✓ Smart Usage Tips
- •Add white or black text overlays to improve readability on colored backgrounds
- •Add warm accent colors to create focal points and prevent designs from feeling too cold
- •Test your palette across different devices and lighting conditions before finalizing
✗ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Don't use all colors equally—establish clear visual hierarchy through color weight
- •Avoid low-contrast text combinations that strain readability
- •Don't rely solely on color to convey meaning (use icons, text, and patterns too)
- •Avoid inconsistent color usage across different pages or screens
- •Don't assume screen colors match print output—always request physical proofs
Palette Overview & Statistics
5
Total Colors
2
Associated Tags
6
Categories
569
Community Likes
Color Analysis & Technical Guide
Detailed breakdown of each color's role, characteristics, and optimal applications. This monochromatic palette creates a balanced and versatile aesthetic perfect for .
Individual Color Breakdown
Each color in this cool palette has been analyzed for its properties and ideal usage scenarios. The low contrast and moderate saturation ensure harmonious visual relationships.
#90C0E0
BLUE
#90C0E0 serves as the primary/dominant color in this palette. This light blue (moderately saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for backgrounds, containers, and large surface areas.
Light toneH: 204°S: 56%L: 72%#80B8D8
BLUE
#80B8D8 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (moderately saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 202°S: 53%L: 67%#3890C8
BLUE
#3890C8 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (moderately saturated) brings professionalism and depth Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Dark toneH: 203°S: 57%L: 50%#60A8D0
BLUE
#60A8D0 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (moderately saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 201°S: 54%L: 60%#98C8E0
BLUE
#98C8E0 serves as the accent/highlight color in this palette. This light blue (moderately saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for call-to-action buttons, links, important notifications, and interactive elements.
Light toneH: 200°S: 54%L: 74%
Palette Characteristics
This palette exhibits distinct characteristics that make it particularly suitable for specific design applications and industries.
Cool tones convey professionalism, trust, and calmness. Ideal for corporate and tech applications.
Low contrast creates subtle, sophisticated aesthetics but requires careful attention to text legibility.
Moderate saturation balances visual interest with professional restraint.
Balanced brightness provides flexibility for both light and dark design elements.
💡 Pro Tips for This Palette
- Perfect for: . The monochromatic color relationship creates natural visual flow.
- Mood & Psychology: This palette evokes a balanced and versatile feeling, making it ideal for brands seeking to convey those qualities.
- Accessibility: Test text combinations carefully with contrast checkers to ensure accessibility compliance.
- Extensions: Create tints (add white) and shades (add black) to expand this 5-color palette into a comprehensive design system.
- Cultural Context: Cool tones are generally perceived as professional worldwide but always research cultural color meanings.
Export Formats
Explore True Aqua Blue Palette
The True Aqua Blue color palette is a masterful blend of calming hues that evoke the serenity of a clear sky on a warm summer day, or the gentle lapping of waves against a coastal shore. This soothing collection of light blue and blue shades has a profound emotional impact, transporting viewers to a state of tranquility and balance. At the heart of this palette lies a range of blues, from the soft 90C0E0, a gentle and airy shade that sets the tone for the entire palette, to the deeper 3890C8, a rich and saturated blue that adds depth and complexity.
As we delve deeper into the palette, we find 80B8D8, a beautiful mid-tone blue that serves as a perfect bridge between the lighter and darker shades, creating a sense of harmony and cohesion. The 60A8D0, with its subtle green undertones, adds a touch of freshness and vitality, while the 98C8E0, the lightest shade in the palette, provides a sense of airiness and freedom. Each of these colors plays a unique role in the palette, working together to create a sense of balance and coolness that is both calming and professional.
The True Aqua Blue palette is incredibly versatile, lending itself to a wide range of design applications, from websites and apps to branding and marketing materials. Its monochromatic scheme makes it ideal for creating a cohesive visual identity, while its cool and balanced tones ensure that it will appeal to a broad audience. Whether you're designing a website for a coastal resort, a mobile app for a wellness brand, or a marketing campaign for a professional services firm, this palette is sure to provide a solid foundation for your design. Its light blue and blue shades will transport your viewers to a state of serenity, making them more receptive to your message and more likely to engage with your brand.
The psychology behind the True Aqua Blue palette is also worth exploring, as its colors have a profound influence on viewer perception and behavior. The light blue and blue shades in this palette are known to evoke feelings of trust, loyalty, and wisdom, making it an ideal choice for professional services firms, financial institutions, and healthcare organizations. Additionally, the calming effects of these colors can help to reduce stress and anxiety, making them perfect for wellness and self-care brands. By leveraging the emotional impact of this palette, designers and marketers can create a deep and lasting connection with their audience, building trust and driving engagement.
To get the most out of the True Aqua Blue palette, designers should consider pairing it with complementary colors that enhance its calming effects, such as creamy whites, soft grays, or muted greens. When pairing these colors, it's essential to balance their saturation levels and contrast to create a visually appealing design. For example, the 90C0E0 can be paired with a deep charcoal gray to create a striking visual contrast, while the 3890C8 can be combined with a soft cream to add warmth and sophistication. By following these design best practices and leveraging the full potential of the True Aqua Blue palette, designers can create stunning and effective designs that resonate with their audience and leave a lasting impression.
Palette Image
Below is the generated palette image showing all colors in a vertical layout. Perfect for sharing on social media or using as a reference.

Categories & Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using and implementing the true aqua blue palette effectively in your projects.
