Carolina blue (also called Tar Heel blue) is the shade of blue used as one of the official school colors of the University of North Carolina. Read about University of North Carolina branding guidelines and colors here.
What color is Carolina Blue?
Carolina Blue color belongs to the Blue color family (hue). The hexadecimal color code(color number) for Carolina Blue is #4B9CD3, and the RGB color code is RGB(75, 156, 211).
In the RGB color model, Carolina Blue has a red value of 75, a green value of 156, and a blue value of 211. The CMYK color model (also known as process color, used in color printing) comprises 64.5% cyan, 26.1% magenta, 0.0% yellow, and 17.3% key (black). The HSL color scale has a hue of 204.3° (degrees), 60.7 % saturation, and 56.1 % lightness. In the HSB/HSV color space, Carolina Blue has a hue of 204.3° (degrees), 64.5 % saturation and 82.7 % brightness/value.
Carolina Blue is cool or warm?
The color Carolina Blue is a cool color.
What is the LRV of Carolina Blue? (For interior and product design)
Carolina Blue has an LRV of nearly 30. By LRV value, it is a medium color.
Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is a measure of how much visible light is reflected off a surface. It is a number on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being pure black and 100 being pure white. The higher the LRV, the more light the color reflects and the lighter it will appear.
Compare LRV 30 of Carolina Blue with dark and light color
Is Carolina Blue Readable? WCAG Contrast Checker (For digital design)
Check if the color Carolina Blue meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, minimum contrast ratio standards between text and background colors. The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) provides global standards for readable web content.
WCAG Recommendations - Large Text: above 18pt or 14pt bold. Normal Text: below 18pt or 14pt bold.
- Minimum contrast ratio (AA): 4.5 for normal text and 3 for large text.
- Enhanced contrast ratio (AAA): 7 for normal text and 4.5 for large text.
Normal text - 14pt
Normal Bold text - 12pt
Large text - 18pt
Large Bold text - 14pt
Color Codes - Color Space Conversions
Carolina Blue (Other - School) color codes / color number / color space conversions - HEX, RGBA, CMYK, HSL, HSV/HSB, HYZ, CMY, HWB, RYB
- Hex triplet
- #4B9CD3
- Red
- 4B
- Green
- 9C
- Blue
- D3
- Red
- 75 (29.4%)
- Green
- 156 (61.2%)
- Blue
- 211 (82.7%)
- Alpha
- 1 (100.0%)
- Cyan
- 60%
- Magenta
- 19%
- Yellow
- 1%
- Key
- 4%
- Hue
- 204.26°
- Saturation
- 60.71 %
- Lightness
- 56.08 %
- Hue
- 204.26°
- Saturation
- 64.45 %
- Brightness / Value
- 82.75 %
- Red
- 25 (9.6%)
- Yellow
- 44 (17.2%)
- Blue
- 109 (42.9%)
- Hue
- 204.26°
- Whiteness
- 29.41 %
- Blackness
- 17.25 %
- Cyan
- 70.59%
- Magenta
- 38.82%
- Yellow
- 17.25%
- X
- 26.55
- Y
- 29.98
- Z
- 66.01
- Y1
- 29.98
- X
- 0.22
- Y2
- 0.24
- L
- 61.63
- A
- -7.79
- B
- -35.42
- L
- 61.63
- C
- 36.27
- H
- 257.6
- L
- 61.63
- U
- -32.32
- V
- -54.65
- L
- 54.75
- A
- -9.26
- B
- -33.16
- LRV
- ~ 30 %
- Munsell Color System
- 10B 6.0/8
Similar Colors and Paints
What is Delta E (ΔE)?
Delta E is the standard measure of how different two colors look to the human eye, rather than how far apart their hex codes happen to be. It runs from 0, an exact match, to 100, the largest possible difference — so the lower the Delta E, the closer the match. The match percentage shown on each color below is simply 100% minus its ΔE.
Named colors similar to Carolina Blue (Other - School)
These are the named colors closest to Carolina Blue (Other - School), closest match first. Each card shows how much of the color the human eye sees as the same, measured as Delta E (ΔE).
Similar colors from Pantone, RAL, and other color matching system
Pantone TCX
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent colors from Pantone TCX. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Pantone TCX
RAL Design
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent colors from RAL Design. Conversion of Carolina Blue to RAL Design
Pantone PMS
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent colors from Pantone PMS. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Pantone PMS
British Standard 4800
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent colors from British Standard 4800. Conversion of Carolina Blue to British Standard 4800
RAL Classic
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent colors from RAL Classic. Conversion of Carolina Blue to RAL Classic
Similar colors from Brand, Business, School, Organization, Sports, Flag
Paint similar to Carolina Blue (Other - School)
These are the real paint colors closest to Carolina Blue (Other - School) from major brands, ranked by Delta E (ΔE) match. A paint above 98% will be hard to tell apart from Carolina Blue once it is on a wall.
Valspar
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Valspar. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Valspar
Behr
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Behr. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Behr
Benjamin Moore
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Benjamin Moore. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Benjamin Moore
PPG Paints
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from PPG Paints. Conversion of Carolina Blue to PPG Paints
Dunn-Edwards
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Dunn-Edwards. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Dunn-Edwards
Sherwin Williams
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Sherwin Williams. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Sherwin Williams
Farrow & Ball
Carolina Blue similar/equivalent paint from Farrow & Ball. Conversion of Carolina Blue to Farrow & Ball
Color Combinations
View more Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3 color palettes and coordinating colors
Monochromatic colors belong to the same hue angle but different tints and shades. Monochromatic color palette can be generated by keeping the exact hue of the base color and then changing the saturation and lightness.
Analogous colors are a group of colors adjacent to each other on a color wheel. Group of these adjacent colors forms Analogous color scheme Palette. Analogous Palette can be generated by increasing or decreasing the hue value by 30 points.
The triadic color palette has three colors separated by 120° in the RGB color wheel
The tetradic colour scheme composed of two sets of complementary colors in a rectangular shape on the color wheel.
Complementary / Opposite Color
Complementary / Opposite Color
Complementary colors are pairs of colors which, when combined or mixed, cancel each other out (lose hue) by producing a grayscale color like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those two colors. Complementary colors also called opposite colors. Complementary color schemes are created using two opposite colors on the color wheel. The examples are red–cyan, green–magenta, and blue–yellow.
What is the contrasting color of Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3?
Color that best contrast with Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3 is #D3824B, color name is Persian Orange*. Contrast indicates a strong difference in color. Contrasting color can be found several ways, Complimentary contrast is one of them. Complementary contrast colors are opposite each other on the color wheel.
What color compliments Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3?
Complementary or Opposite color for Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3 is #D3824B, color name is Persian Orange*.
Example Color Images and Mockup
Carolina Blue - #4B9CD3 Color Images and Patterns
