What color is #03A5E5?

#03A5E5 is a medium, vivid cyan-blue. In RGB it is rgb(3, 165, 229), and in HSL hsl(197, 97%, 45%).

Is #03A5E5 accessible as text?

On white, #03A5E5 has a contrast ratio of 2.79:1 (fails WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 7.52:1 (passes). For text placed on #03A5E5, use black for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #03A5E5?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is sky-500 (#00A6F4).

What colors go well with #03A5E5?

#03A5E5 pairs cleanly with neutrals — cream, taupe, charcoal and cool grays — and with its complementary #E24303. In UI, a softer accent is often easier to use than the exact complement. Explore the harmonies, shades, tints and ready-made palettes for #03A5E5 below.

Is #03A5E5 good for buttons?

#03A5E5 works well for buttons and highlights, but use black text on #03A5E5 — white text only reaches 2.79:1, below the 4.5:1 needed for normal-size labels.

Is #03A5E5 the same as CSS cornflowerblue?

No — #03A5E5 is not the CSS named color cornflowerblue, but cornflowerblue (#6495ED) is the closest CSS named color.

#03A5E5 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #03A5E5

Not just a swatch — here's how #03A5E5 works with other colors. Named schemes with #03A5E5 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Coastal Morning Lead · 5 colors

Lead #03A5E5 Accent #A6C4C0 Surface #DEDABF Secondary #9AA0A0 Anchor #1F344A

Carolina Blue opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.

Nordic Calm Accent · 5 colors

Accent #03A5E5 Secondary #AEB4B8 Surface #F1F2F0 Support #7C93A6 Anchor #2E3236

Carolina Blue keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #03A5E5 Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #5A6672 Accent #5ECBFF

Carolina Blue is the vivid signal in this product UI — on a near-black surface with cool white, a slate grey and a lighter tint of Carolina Blue.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F6F4EF Accent #03A5E5 Secondary #A6CBE1 Support #969386 Ink #16140F

Carolina Blue is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Carolina Blue carrying the quiet middle.

Modern Café Dominant · 5 colors

Dominant #03A5E5 Anchor #3C2925 Surface #EAE5D0 Accent #7B9E76 Secondary #393933

Carolina Blue anchors this café scheme as the warm mid-tone, lifted by latte cream and a muted sage accent and grounded by espresso brown and a warm charcoal.

Build a working theme in the generator →

Color Lab

How #03A5E5 actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.

Warmth 7/100

Cool

Reads cool and recessive — calming, technical, good for trust-led UI.

Softness 50/100

Moderate

Middle-weight — neither delicate nor heavy.

Depth 33/100

Low

Mid depth — usable as an accent or a muted ground.

Naturalness 0/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 34/100

Low

A faint retro warmth without tipping into sepia.

Luxury 38/100

Low

Understated — leans refined without going austere.

Brand distinctiveness 56/100

Moderate

Recognisable but shares space with nearby hues.

UI accent fit 67/100

High

Strong interactive accent — visible and can carry a legible label.

Surface fit 26/100

Low

Too saturated or mid-toned for big areas — keep it to accents.

Print safety 64/100

High

Prints close, with a slight loss of vibrancy.

Pairs with #03A5E5

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #03A5E5 with

Medium Spring Green Blue Burnt Orange Platinum Charcoal

UI roles & guardrails

Primary action Safe as a filled button with near-black label. AA

Body text Do not use for body copy on light surfaces. Avoid

Large display Only on dark surfaces. Avoid

Background Pair with #141310 text at 6.7:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #CFEBF7 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #0359E2 — the hue gap is too small to read as intentional. Clash

In real applications

Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #03A5E5 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.

Website / UI

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Build faster.

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Dashboard

Revenue

$48.2k ▲ 12%

Brand

AVELINE

Studio

Poster

Nov 14 · 8PM

NIGHT
MARKET

Packaging

BLOOM

Botanical Wash

250 ml

Interior

Every model

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #03A5E5;
  --color-base-rgb: 3 165 229;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(68.2% 0.145 235.4);
  --color-50: #F0FAFE;
  --color-100: #D8F3FD;
  --color-200: #B1E6FC;
  --color-300: #79D3F6;
  --color-400: #49BCE9;
  --color-500: #259FD0;
  --color-600: #257B9D;
  --color-700: #20586F;
  --color-800: #193B48;
  --color-900: #11242C;
  --color-on-base: #141310;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  carolina-blue: {
    50: '#F0FAFE',
    100: '#D8F3FD',
    200: '#B1E6FC',
    300: '#79D3F6',
    400: '#49BCE9',
    500: '#259FD0',
    600: '#257B9D',
    700: '#20586F',
    800: '#193B48',
    900: '#11242C',
  },
}

$base: #03A5E5;
$base-ink: #141310;
$base-50: #F0FAFE;
$base-100: #D8F3FD;
$base-200: #B1E6FC;
$base-300: #79D3F6;
$base-400: #49BCE9;
$base-500: #259FD0;
$base-600: #257B9D;
$base-700: #20586F;
$base-800: #193B48;
$base-900: #11242C;
$base-hover: #0382B5;
$base-subtle: #B6E2F4;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#03A5E5",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#141310",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F0FAFE",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#D8F3FD",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#B1E6FC",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#79D3F6",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#49BCE9",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#259FD0",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#257B9D",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#20586F",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#193B48",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#11242C",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}