French Blue Color
French Blue is a blue color with hex code #436BAD. This page covers its meaning, all color values, harmonies, colors that go with french blue, shades, tints, similar colors, CSS examples, FAQs, and WCAG contrast ratios.
French Blue Color Values
What Does French Blue Mean?
French Blue belongs to the blue family of colors. Blue wins popularity surveys in every culture that runs them, and corporate design reflects it. Trust and stability are the usual words people reach for. Dark navies project authority, pale blues open a layout up, and almost nothing clashes with it. French Blue sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
In the ISCC-NBS color naming system, French Blue is classified as a blue (nearest centroid: strong blue, #0067A5). It is also known as Waterline Blue.
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Colors That Go With French Blue
French Blue and #AD8443 are complements, parked opposite each other on the wheel. Together they hit maximum contrast, so a rough 70/30 split keeps the pairing from shouting.
Analogous neighbors — #43A0AD and #4F43AD, which sit beside french blue on the wheel. Pairings like this feel calm and settled, which suits backgrounds and gradients.
For an energetic three-color palette, pair french blue with triadic partners #AD436C and #6CAD43. All three sit evenly spaced around the wheel, so the scheme stays lively without clashing.
Build and test these combinations in our Color Wheel Tool or check text readability with the Contrast Checker.
Tints and Shades
Tints (lighter)
Shades (darker)
Similar Colors
- San Marino —
#456CAC(Delta E 1) - Mid Blue —
#276AB3(Delta E 6) - Medium Blue —
#2C6FBB(Delta E 7) - Windows Blue —
#3778BF(Delta E 7) - Bluish —
#2976BB(Delta E 7)
CSS Examples
.text { color: #436BAD; }
.background { background-color: #436BAD; }
.border { border: 2px solid #436BAD; }
.shadow { box-shadow: 0 4px 6px #436BAD40; }WCAG Contrast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hex code for french blue?
French Blue has the hex code #436BAD. In RGB notation it is rgb(67, 107, 173), in HSL it is hsl(217, 44%, 47%), and its OKLCH value is 0.53, 0.114, 259.9.
What does the color french blue mean?
Blue-family colors like french blue carry distinct psychological associations. French Blue belongs to the blue family of colors. Blue wins popularity surveys in every culture that runs them, and corporate design reflects it. Trust and stability are the usual words people reach for. Dark navies project authority, pale blues open a layout up, and almost nothing clashes with it. French Blue sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
What colors go with french blue?
French Blue has three easy routes: its complement #AD8443 for punch, its neighbors #43A0AD and #4F43AD for something calmer, or triadic partners #AD436C and #6CAD43 when you want energy.
Is french blue a standard web color?
No — French Blue is not a CSS keyword. Use its hex value #436BAD or any RGB/HSL equivalent in your stylesheets.
How do I make french blue lighter or darker?
To lighten french blue, add white to create tints; to darken it, add black to create shades. The tints and shades table above shows five computed steps of each, from #DEE6F2 (lightest tint) to #0B121D (darkest shade).
About French Blue
French Blue is classified as a Blue in the ISCC-NBS color naming system, within the Blue hue family. It has alternative names including Waterline Blue. The color is recognized by XKCD, meodai.
Use our Color Converter to convert #436BAD to any other color format, or explore the Color Wheel to find harmonious color combinations.