Cerulean Color Palette
Cerulean Color Palette built around #007BA7, a dark cool blue anchor (WCAG contrast 4.39:1 against black). The set combines a light tint + a deep shade + a softened complement + a neutral ground so any palette position has a text-safe pairing.
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #AECEE5 | |
| surface | #3887B0 | |
| text | #00425F | |
| text-muted | #813E26 | |
| primary | #007BA7 | |
| secondary | #813E26 | |
| accent | #3887B0 |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #aecee5;
--surface: #3887b0;
--text: #00425f;
--text-muted: #813e26;
--primary: #007ba7;
--secondary: #813e26;
--accent: #3887b0;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #007BA7 | #AECEE5 | #00425F | #813E26 | #3887B0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #007BA7 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| #AECEE5 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 2.4 |
| #00425F | 2.3 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
| #813E26 | 1.7 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| #3887B0 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the cerulean color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #007BA7, #AECEE5, #00425F, #813E26, #3887B0.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.