# #178bb5

A color — cool, vivid, technical, modern. Deterministic analysis from BrandSweets (no inference).

## Values

- Hex: `#178bb5`
- RGB: rgb(23, 139, 181)
- HSL: hsl(196, 77%, 40%)
- OKLCH: oklch(0.597 0.113 229.5)
- Relative luminance: 0.2198
- Nearest named color: steelblue (#4682b4, Δ 3.412) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/steelblue
- Moods: cool, vivid, technical, modern
- Page: https://brandsweets.com/colors/178bb5

## Tints & shades

- Tints (toward white): #1b9fd0, #26b1e3, #3db9e6, #58c3e9, #73cced, #8ed6f0, #a9e0f4, #c0e8f7, #dbf2fa, #f6fcfe
- Shades (toward black): #157da2, #137295, #116583, #0f5a75, #0d4c63, #0b3e51, #093444, #062632, #051c24, #020e12

## Harmonies

- Complementary: #b54117
- Analogous: #17b590, #173cb5
- Triadic: #b5178b, #8bb517
- Split-complementary: #b5173c, #b59017
- Tetradic: #9017b5, #b54117, #3cb517

## Colors that go with #178bb5

Named partners (harmony on the OKLCH wheel, co-occurrence in curated palettes and brand systems, and the neutrals that carry it), best first:

- **Charcoal** #36454f [role, pool] — Charcoal is the text near-black for #178bb5: softer than #000 and cool enough to feel like part of the same palette. Seen in: Beach Hut (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/light#beach-hut), Auth0 (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/auth0-com), Dusty Blue (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/cool#dusty-blue), Plaid (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/plaid-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/charcoal
- **Crimson** #dc143c [harmony, pool: split] — Crimson is a split-complement of #178bb5: nearly opposite, so it still pops against it, without the vibrating edge of a true complement. Seen in: Retro Pop (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/playful#retro-pop), NASCAR (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/nascar-com), Wendy's (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/wendys-com), Redfin (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/redfin-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/crimson
- **Royal Blue** #4169e1 [harmony, pool: analogous] — Royal Blue is #178bb5's neighbour on the wheel, so the two read as one family — use it for hover states, gradients and secondary surfaces. Seen in: Slate Workspace (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/minimal#slate-workspace), Confluent (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/confluent-io), Elastic (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/elastic-co), HashiCorp (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/hashicorp-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/royalblue
- **Amber** #ffbf00 [pool] — Amber is paired with #178bb5 in 9 real palettes, including Beach Hut and Wired's brand system, as the supporting colour. Seen in: Beach Hut (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/light#beach-hut), Wired (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/wired-com), Lemon Squeezy (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/lemonsqueezy-com), McDonald's (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/mcdonalds-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/amber
- **Blue** #0000ff [pool] — 4 real palettes, including Readymag's brand system and Qualcomm's brand system put Blue beside #178bb5, as the supporting colour. Seen in: Readymag (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/readymag-com), Qualcomm (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/qualcomm-com), Activision (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/activision-com), Unity (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/unity-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/blue
- **Cobalt Blue** #0047ab [pool] — Designers have shipped Cobalt Blue with #178bb5: 7 real palettes, including Hershey's's brand system and Glacier, as the supporting colour. Seen in: Hershey's (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/hersheys-com), Glacier (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/cool#glacier), General Mills (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/generalmills-com), Intel (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/intel-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/cobalt
- **Copper** #b87333 [harmony, pool: split] — Copper is a split-complement of #178bb5: nearly opposite, so it still pops against it, without the vibrating edge of a true complement. Seen in: Notion (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/notion), Riverbed (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/muted#riverbed), Dusk (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/cool#dusk). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/copper
- **Deep Sky Blue** #00bfff [pool] — Designers have shipped Deep Sky Blue with #178bb5: 7 real palettes, including Telegram's brand system and Deep Water, as the lead colour. Seen in: Telegram (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/telegram-org), Deep Water (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/dark#deep-water), Astro (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/astro-build), Venmo (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/venmo-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/deepskyblue

## Contrast (WCAG 2.x, as text)

- On white (#ffffff): 3.89:1 — AA fail, AA-large pass, AAA fail. Fix: AA: text → #157da2 (4.68:1); AA: background → #171717 (4.61:1); AAA: text → #105e7a (7.23:1)
- On black (#000000): 5.4:1 — AA pass, AA-large pass, AAA fail. Fix: AAA: text → #1ca3d4 (7.24:1)

## Curated palettes containing it

- **Launch Orange** (bold, warm, vivid, modern) — #ea580c, #1c1917, #0891b2, #ffffff — Orange is the rarest SaaS primary, which is exactly why it stands out on a pricing page; cyan keeps it from feeling like a hardware store. — tool: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/ea580c-1c1917-0891b2-ffffff — collection: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/bold
- **Beach Hut** (summer, light, clean, cool) — #2e86ab, #f6bd60, #f28482, #fbfcfd, #1b2a38 — Sea blue with sun-bleached yellow and a coral — striped-canvas summer, softened so it works on a screen. — tool: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/2e86ab-f6bd60-f28482-fbfcfd-1b2a38 — collection: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/summer

## Fonts for this mood

- technical: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/technical
- modern: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/modern

## Palette tool

Open this color locked as the lead with four explored companions: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/178bb5-9cb5c4-df4e6e-1f232d-e9f1ef?lock=0&style=vibrant
(Humans lock/regenerate in the tool; the URL is the state — read `lock=` back to see what they kept.)

## Connect an agent

Point any MCP client at the BrandSweets colors endpoint for the same engine:

- Endpoint: https://mcp.brandsweets.com/colors/mcp
- Tools: `analyze_color` (e.g. `analyze_color({ color: "#178bb5" })`), `check_contrast` (with fixes), `generate_palette` (explore around locks), `suggest_palette` (mood/industry → curated-first), `list_palettes`.