Midnight Blue Hex Code

Midnight Blue Is #191970

Midnight blue is dark enough to substitute for black while retaining a colour cast. Using it instead of #000000 for body text is a long-standing typographic practice — pure black on pure white is harsher than most screens need.

Every Format

Format	Value
HEX	#191970
RGB	rgb(25, 25, 112)
HSL	hsl(240, 64%, 27%)
CMYK	78%, 78%, 0%, 56%
Nearest Tailwind	indigo-900 (#312e81)

The HSL reading is the useful one for design work: hue 240°, saturation 64%, lightness 27%. Adjusting lightness while holding hue and saturation is how you build a consistent ramp; adjusting the hex directly is guesswork.

Contrast and Accessibility

Combination	Ratio	WCAG
Midnight Blue text on white	14.85:1	AAA
Midnight Blue text on black	1.41:1	fails
White text on midnight blue	14.85:1	AAA

WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text (18pt, or 14pt bold). AAA requires 7:1. Midnight Blue clears AA on white, so it is usable for body text.

A Ramp Built From It

Step	Hex
100	#0d0d38
200	#11114b
300	#15155d
400	#191970
500	#3f3f88
600	#6666a0
700	#8c8cb8

The dark end comes from mixing toward black and the light end from mixing toward white. Note that a perceptually even ramp is not an arithmetically even one — equal steps in lightness look uneven, which is why the middle of a hand-built ramp usually needs adjusting by eye.

Harmonies

Relationship	Hex
Base	#191970
Complementary	#717119
Triadic	#711919 and #197119

A complementary pair is the highest-contrast combination on the colour wheel, which makes it excellent for a single accent and exhausting for a whole interface. The usual approach is one dominant colour, one complement used sparingly, and neutrals for everything else.

Print Reproduction

The CMYK values above are a mathematical conversion, not a press-ready specification. Screen colours are emitted light and print colours are reflected ink, and the screen gamut is larger — highly saturated values simply do not exist in CMYK.

For brand-critical work, specify a Pantone reference and let the printer match it rather than trusting a CMYK conversion.

A Full Ramp From This Colour

Design systems settle on a 50–900 scale because it covers backgrounds, borders, text and states without anyone reaching outside the palette. Mixing toward white and black rather than adjusting HSL lightness keeps more of the hue's character:

Step	Colour	Contrast on white	Safe for
50	#F5F9FF	1.06:1	backgrounds and fills
100	#EBF3FE	1.12:1	backgrounds and fills
200	#CEE0FD	1.34:1	backgrounds and fills
300	#B1CDFB	1.62:1	backgrounds and fills
400	#76A8F9	2.40:1	backgrounds and fills
500	#3B82F6	3.68:1	large text, borders
600	#326FD1	4.85:1	body text on white
700	#295BAC	6.59:1	body text on white
800	#204887	8.98:1	body text on white
900	#183462	12.31:1	body text on white

The contrast column is the one that decides usage. Steps below 3:1 cannot carry text at any size and belong in fills and dividers; steps at 4.5:1 and above are safe for body copy.

Adjusting It

Base colour in HSL is hsl(217, 91%, 60%). Two useful moves:

``css /* +10% lightness, same hue */ --lighter: #6da2f8; /* −10% lightness */ --darker: #0b64f4; ``

Raising lightness also drops perceived saturation, so a lightened colour reads greyer than its numbers suggest. Adding 5–10% saturation alongside every 20% of lightness keeps the ramp looking like one hue rather than a fade to grey.