In Western cultures, Dark Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, and authority, often used in corporate branding to convey professionalism. Conversely, in some Eastern traditions, it can represent mourning and loss, highlighting a contrast in emotional resonance.
The term 'dark blue' has been in use since the 14th century, with indigo being one of the first dyes used to create this hue. In 1684, the Royal Society of Arts in England began promoting the cultivation of indigo, significantly impacting the dye trade and the availability of this deep blue color.
Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Dark Blue. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).
All 45 Blues →Nine steps of Dark Blue by lightness — from #000048 (darkest) to #7A7AC3 (lightest). Click any to copy.
Sitting opposite Dark Blue at 60° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.
Curated 5-color combinations featuring Dark Blue.
A 50–900 tonal scale with Dark Blue anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.
Works well as text on light backgrounds; fails on dark.
Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.
Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.
color: darkblue; color-mix(in srgb, darkblue 70%, white) 240°, 100%, 55% 100, 100, 0, 45 139 #000099 How Dark Blue appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.