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Blue vs Ultramarine

#0000ff · #120a8f

Blue#0000ff
Ultramarine#120a8f

Blue and Ultramarine are clearly different. Ultramarine is 14.5% darker. It is less saturated. The hue differs by 4°.

Difference

CIEDE200013.1clearly different
Lightness−14.5%
Chroma−0.119
Hue+4°

Below 1 the eye cannot tell them apart, around 2.3 is the smallest visible step.

Codes

Blue
HEX
RGB
HSL
OKLCH
Ultramarine
HEX
RGB
HSL
OKLCH

One on the other

AaBlue / Ultramarine1.67:1 · APCA Lc -11Below WCAG AA for text
AaUltramarine / Blue1.67:1 · APCA Lc 12Below WCAG AA for text

In between

Halfway in OKLab: #0e08c6

Questions and answers

What is the difference between Blue and Ultramarine?

Blue and Ultramarine are clearly different. Ultramarine is 14.5% darker. It is less saturated. The hue differs by 4°. Their CIEDE2000 color difference is 13.1.

Is Ultramarine lighter than Blue?

Ultramarine is 14.5% darker. In OKLCH, Blue has a lightness of 45.2% and Ultramarine 30.7%.

Can I put Blue text on Ultramarine?

The contrast ratio between them is 1.67:1. WCAG AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, so avoid it for text and use it for decoration only.

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