Royal blue
Royal blue is both a bright shade and a dark shade of azure blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III.[6]
| Royal blue (traditional) | |
|---|---|
 Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #002366 |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (219°, 100%, 40[1]%) |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (0, 35, 102) |
| Source | The Mother of All HTML Colo(u)r Charts[2] |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Deep blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) | |
| Royal blue (web color) | |
|---|---|
| Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #4169E1 |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (225°, 71%, 88[3]%) |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (65, 105, 225) |
| Source | X11 |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Vivid blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) | |
| Royal blue (Pantone) | |
|---|---|
| Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #3D428B |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (236°, 56%, 55[4]%) |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (61, 66, 139) |
| Source | Pantone[5] |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Deep purplish blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) | |
Brightness
The Oxford English Dictionary defines "royal blue" as "a deep vivid blue",[7] while the Cambridge English Dictionary defined it as "a strong, bright blue colour",[8] and Collins defines it as "a deep blue colour".[9] US dictionaries give it as further towards purple, e.g. "a deep, vivid reddish or purplish blue" (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)[10] or "a vivid purplish blue" (Merriam-Webster).[11]
By the 1950s, many people began to think of royal blue as a brighter color, and it is this brighter color that was chosen as the web color "royal blue" (the web colors when they were formulated in 1987 were originally known as the X11 colors). The World Wide Web Consortium designated the keyword "royalblue" to be this much brighter color, rather than the traditional darker version of royal blue.
Variations
Queen blue
| Queen blue | |
|---|---|
| Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #436B95 |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (211°, 55%, 58[12]%) |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (67, 107, 149) |
| Source | ISCC-NBS |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Moderate blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) | |
Queen blue is a medium tone of royal blue.
The first recorded use of queen blue as a color name in English was in 1926. Before that, since 1661, this color had been called queen’s blue.[13]
Imperial blue
| Imperial blue | |
|---|---|
| Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #005A92 |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (203°, 100%, 57[14]%) |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (0, 90, 146) |
| Source | Pantone[15] |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Moderate blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) H: Normalized to [0–100] (hundred) | |
Imperial blue is recorded as an alternative name for the traditional royal blue color above.[2] The name is also used for a distinct, medium blue color by Pantone.
In culture
- In auto racing, royal blue (called ‘imperial blue’) is the traditional color of Ford and Carroll Shelby, and for 2012, the primary livery for Hendrick Motorsports' #48 sponsored by Lowe's.
- Royal blue is an official color used in the flags of American Samoa, Cayman Islands, the European Union, Galicia, Georgia, Israel, New Zealand,[16] Texas, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.
- The Flag of the Philippines uses a royal blue field, which is normally displayed over the red field, to signify a state of peace. Reversing this arrangement (i.e. red above blue) transforms the flag into the nation’s war ensign.
- Royal blue is the official colour of the shirts of Birmingham City F.C., whose nickname in consequence is Blues.
- Royal blue is the primary color of the uniforms for the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams of the NFL.
- Royal blue is the primary color of the uniforms for the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL.
- When, in 2008, the United States Transportation Security Administration changed the color of airport screener uniforms from white to royal blue, they found that it made the work of the airport screeners easier because airline passengers became more compliant, apparently because by wearing blue, the airport screeners came to be perceived more as authority figures.[17]
- Imperial blue is the brand colour of the Imperial College London, which is used through all College communications.
See also
References
- Forret, Peter. "RGB color converter - toolstud.io". Toolstud.io. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- "The Mother of All HTML Colo(u)r Charts". Archived from the original on 30 March 2004.
- Forret, Peter. "RGB color converter - toolstud.io". Toolstud.io. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- Forret, Peter. "RGB color converter - toolstud.io". Toolstud.io. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "PANTONE 19-3955 TCX Royal Blue". Pantone. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "The Origin of Royal Blue". Rode History Internet-ink. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- "royal blue". Oxford Living Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "royal blue". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "royal blue". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "royal blue". Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "royal blue". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- Forret, Peter. "RGB color converter - toolstud.io". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill Page 201; Color Sample of Queen Blue: Page 95 Plate 36 Color Sample B8
- Forret, Peter. "RGB color converter - toolstud.io". Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "PANTONE 19-4245 TCX Imperial Blue". Pantone. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- "Flags - Ministry for Culture and Heritage". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- Uniform Market News July 2008: