Water Blue Color Palette – HEX, RGB & Design Inspiration
Color Details
HEX: #416BDF
RGB: 65, 107, 223
HEX: #99C0E3
RGB: 153, 192, 227
HEX: #5D97E7
RGB: 93, 151, 231
HEX: #3EA4F0
RGB: 62, 164, 240
HEX: #5CB5E1
RGB: 92, 181, 225
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, #416BDF 0%, #99C0E3 25%, #5D97E7 50%, #3EA4F0 75%, #5CB5E1 100%);Vertical (Top to Bottom)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #416BDF 0%, #99C0E3 25%, #5D97E7 50%, #3EA4F0 75%, #5CB5E1 100%);Diagonal (Top Left to Bottom Right)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #416BDF 0%, #99C0E3 25%, #5D97E7 50%, #3EA4F0 75%, #5CB5E1 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
#416BDF
#99C0E3
#5D97E7
#3EA4F0
#5CB5E1
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
#416BDF
Trustworthy and stable
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 water blue palette features 5 carefully selected cool tones that create a balanced and versatile aesthetic. With low contrast levels and vibrant 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 #416BDF as the dominant color for headers and #5CB5E1 for accents. These vibrant colors may appear slightly muted in print; request color proofs.
- 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 Water Blue:
Dominant Color
#416BDFUse #416BDF as your primary color for backgrounds, main content areas. This blue tone should occupy about 60% of your design space.
Secondary Color
#5D97E7Apply #5D97E7 as your secondary color for subtle backgrounds and card components. Allocate approximately 30% of your layout to this color.
Accent Color
#5CB5E1Reserve #5CB5E1 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
- •Use desaturated versions (reduce saturation by 20-30%) for large background areas to prevent visual fatigue
- •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
3
Associated Tags
5
Categories
327
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 vibrant saturation ensure harmonious visual relationships.
#416BDF
BLUE
#416BDF serves as the primary/dominant color in this palette. This medium blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for headers, navigation bars, and brand elements.
Light toneH: 224°S: 71%L: 56%#99C0E3
BLUE
#99C0E3 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This light blue (moderately saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 208°S: 57%L: 75%#5D97E7
BLUE
#5D97E7 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 215°S: 74%L: 64%#3EA4F0
BLUE
#3EA4F0 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 206°S: 86%L: 59%#5CB5E1
BLUE
#5CB5E1 serves as the accent/highlight color in this palette. This medium blue (highly saturated) brings trust and tranquility Use it for call-to-action buttons, links, important notifications, and interactive elements.
Light toneH: 200°S: 69%L: 62%
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.
Vibrant saturation creates bold, attention-grabbing designs perfect for youth brands and creative projects.
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 Water Blue Palette
The Water Blue color palette is a serene and calming collection of hues that evoke the feeling of a clear summer sky or the gentle lapping of waves against the shore. This monochromatic palette is characterized by a range of light blue and cyan shades, from the pale and soothing 99C0E3 to the deeper and more saturated 416BDF, each one blending seamlessly into the next to create a sense of continuity and flow. The overall effect is one of tranquility and relaxation, making it an ideal choice for designers looking to create a calming and uplifting visual experience for their audience.
At the heart of the Water Blue palette is a range of blues that each bring their own unique character to the table. The 5D97E7 is a gentle and comforting shade that adds a sense of warmth and approachability to the palette, while the 3EA4F0 is a bright and invigorating hue that injects a sense of energy and vitality into the design. The 5CB5E1 is a beautiful and soothing shade that falls somewhere in between, providing a sense of balance and harmony to the overall palette. Meanwhile, the 416BDF serves as a rich and dramatic anchor, grounding the design and adding a sense of depth and sophistication. As the lightest shade in the palette, the 99C0E3 provides a sense of airiness and freedom, lifting the design and creating a sense of space and openness.
The Water Blue palette is incredibly versatile and can be used in a wide range of design applications, from websites and apps to branding and marketing materials. Its calming and uplifting qualities make it an ideal choice for designs that aim to promote relaxation and well-being, such as yoga studios, spas, or wellness retreats. It can also be used to create a sense of freshness and vitality, making it a great fit for designs that aim to promote energy and activity, such as sports equipment or outdoor gear. Additionally, the palette's modern and contemporary feel makes it a great choice for designs that aim to establish a sense of innovation and cutting-edge style, such as tech startups or modern architecture.
The colors in the Water Blue palette also have a profound impact on viewer perception and behavior. Blues are often associated with feelings of trust and loyalty, and the light blue and cyan shades in this palette are no exception. They can help to create a sense of calmness and serenity, making viewers feel more at ease and relaxed. The palette's cool and soothing tones can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, making it an ideal choice for designs that aim to promote relaxation and well-being. Furthermore, the palette's modern and contemporary feel can help to create a sense of excitement and energy, making viewers feel more engaged and motivated.
To get the most out of the Water Blue palette, designers can try pairing it with complementary colors such as oranges or yellows to create a sense of contrast and visual interest. They can also experiment with different shades and tints to create a unique and customized look that meets their specific design needs. For example, adding a touch of green or purple to the palette can help to create a sense of depth and complexity, while adding a bit of gray or beige can help to neutralize the colors and create a more subtle and understated look. By following these tips and best practices, designers can unlock the full potential of the Water Blue palette and create stunning and effective designs that engage and inspire their audience.
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
Categories
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using and implementing the water blue palette effectively in your projects.