#42A9E5 Hex Color
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#42a9e5 is a light, cool blue with clear cyan undertones and fairly vivid saturation. Its soft brightness suggests trust and calm, making it useful for healthcare, finance, technology, and spring-themed designs. Use it as a supporting tone beside navy or warm coral. The hex code #42a9e5 supports black text at about 8.0:1 contrast.
Questions about #42a9e5
What is #42a9e5 in RGB, HSL and CMYK?
In RGB, #42a9e5 is rgb(66, 169, 229), in HSL hsl(202, 76%, 58%) and in CMYK 71%, 26%, 0%, 10%.
What colors pair well with #42a9e5?
Does #42a9e5 work with black text?
Black text works well on #42a9e5: it reaches about an 8:1 contrast ratio, exceeding common WCAG thresholds for normal and large text when the background remains solid and overlays do not reduce contrast.
Is #42a9e5 warm or cool?
#42a9e5 reads as a cool blue because its cyan undertone shifts it toward the blue-green side of the spectrum, giving layouts a calm, clear feeling that suits technology, healthcare, and spring themes.
Is #42a9e5 readable on white or black?
#42a9e5 has a 2.61:1 contrast ratio on white and 8.03:1 on black. WCAG asks for 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, so on white it is too faint for text and on black it works for body text. Try other pairs in the contrast checker.