Out of the Blue as a scale
Eleven steps from #1199ee, built by moving lightness in OKLCh and keeping the hue where it is. Every step is gamut-mapped by giving up chroma, never by clipping channels — clipping is what turns a light blue purple.
| Stop | Hex | OKLCh L | Chroma | On white | On black | APCA on white | ΔE00 from the step above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | #edf6ff | 97.0% | 0.015 ·capped | 1.09:1 | 19.29:1 | 0 | — |
| 100 | #daedff | 93.8% | 0.032 ·capped | 1.20:1 | 17.57:1 | 10 | 5.1 |
| 200 | #b2dbff | 87.4% | 0.066 ·capped | 1.45:1 | 14.46:1 | 22 | 8.3 |
| 300 | #87c8ff | 81.0% | 0.102 ·capped | 1.79:1 | 11.74:1 | 33 | 7.1 |
| 400 | #56b4ff | 74.6% | 0.140 ·capped | 2.23:1 | 9.41:1 | 44 | 6.7 |
| 500 | #20a0f6 | 68.2% | 0.163 | 2.83:1 | 7.42:1 | 54 | 6.4 |
| 600 | #008cdc | 61.8% | 0.156 ·capped | 3.64:1 | 5.77:1 | 63 | 6.7 |
| 700 | #0078be | 55.4% | 0.140 ·capped | 4.73:1 | 4.44:1 | 72 | 7.5 |
| 800 | #0065a1 | 49.0% | 0.124 ·capped | 6.22:1 | 3.38:1 | 80 | 7.1 |
| 900 | #003b61 | 34.0% | 0.086 ·capped | 11.70:1 | 1.79:1 | 96 | 14.5 |
| 950 | #001324 | 18.0% | 0.045 ·capped | 18.79:1 | 1.12:1 | 105 | 14.0 |
What is true of this ramp
- 10 of the 10 adjacent pairs differ by ΔE00 2 or more. Every step here is a step a reader can see.
- The tightest pair is 50 to100, at ΔE00 5.1.
- 10 steps had to give up chroma to stay inside sRGB — 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 700, 800, 900, 950. A wider display would show them more vividly.
- 4 steps clear 4.5:1 on white (700, 800, 900, 950), and 7 on black (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600).
Harmonies from Out of the Blue
complement
the hue directly opposite, at the same lightness. #ce7c00 (+180°) — chroma capped by sRGB.
analogous
the two neighbours 30° either side. #00a3bf (+-30°), #7786f4 (+30°) — chroma capped by sRGB.
split complement
the two hues either side of the opposite, 30° apart from it. #e46748 (+150°), #ac9000 (+210°) — chroma capped by sRGB.
triad
the circle divided in three. #e16185 (+120°), #7ba20e (+240°)
tetrad
the circle divided in four. #cd67b9 (+90°), #ce7c00 (+180°), #01ae64 (+270°) — chroma capped by sRGB.
The ramp as CSS
:root {
--out-of-the-blue-50: #edf6ff;
--out-of-the-blue-100: #daedff;
--out-of-the-blue-200: #b2dbff;
--out-of-the-blue-300: #87c8ff;
--out-of-the-blue-400: #56b4ff;
--out-of-the-blue-500: #20a0f6;
--out-of-the-blue-600: #008cdc;
--out-of-the-blue-700: #0078be;
--out-of-the-blue-800: #0065a1;
--out-of-the-blue-900: #003b61;
--out-of-the-blue-950: #001324;
}