Blue (Munsell)
A vivid blue from the Munsell colour system, between azure and cyan
Blue (Munsell) is a strong, colourful blue defined in the Munsell colour system, where it sits between azure and cyan. Its hue is set as 5B, marking it as the system’s primary blue, and it is the most saturated blue that fits within the sRGB colour range.
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- Defined as hue 5B in the Munsell system
- Most chromatic blue in the sRGB colour range
- Intermediate between azure and cyan
- Chosen as a primary blue for perceptual evenness
What colour is Blue (Munsell)?
Blue (Munsell) is a vivid, highly saturated blue defined by the Munsell colour system. It stands out for its strong colourfulness and sits between azure and cyan, making it more intense than many standard blues. The colour is set at the 5B hue in the Munsell system, which is the system’s primary blue. Its appearance is the most chromatic blue that can be displayed in the sRGB colour space.
Where does Blue (Munsell) come from?
The Munsell colour system was created to organise colours by how people perceive them, using three dimensions: hue, value, and chroma. Blue (Munsell) is one of the five primary colours chosen for their even spacing in human vision. The name comes from its place in the Munsell system, not from a natural source or historical pigment.
How Blue (Munsell) is defined
Blue (Munsell) is not a pigment or dye, but a standard colour defined by its position in the Munsell system. It is specified by its hue (5B), value, and chroma, and is represented digitally as the most saturated blue fitting within the sRGB colour range.
Blue around the world
What the blue family means from country to country.
Lapis lazuli has been mined in the mountains of Badakhshan for more than six thousand years. Ground to powder it gave ultramarine, the costliest blue in European painting.
Royalty and powerSacred and holyAweSource: Lapis lazuliThe chadari is a full-length covering for women with a mesh panel over the eyes. In Kabul and the north it is most often a light blue.
Protection and healingSource: BurqaThe blue band of the flag stands for the wish of the Armenian people to live under peaceful skies. The red above it is for the highlands and the struggle to survive.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Flag of ArmeniaThe flag is sky blue, white and sky blue, created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. National teams are called the Albiceleste, the white and sky blue.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ArgentinaBoca Juniors play in blue and gold. The club's story is that in 1907 it took the colours of the flag of the next ship into port, which was Swedish.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Boca JuniorsTo be true blue is to be honestly and loyally Australian. The phrase is older than the country, but Australians have made it their own.
Politics and protestTrustSource: True Blue (John Williamson song)Shades and relatives of Blue (Munsell)
Blue (Munsell) is described as an intermediate between azure and cyan. It is more colourful than many other blues and is set apart by its high chroma. Other blues in the Munsell system may be less saturated or have different hues, but Blue (Munsell) is the most vivid at its position.
Colours that go with Blue (Munsell)
Harmonies are worked out from the value #0093AF. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Blue (Munsell)
What colour is Blue (Munsell)?
Blue (Munsell) is a vivid, highly saturated blue that sits between azure and cyan. It is the most colourful blue that fits within the sRGB digital colour space.
Where does the name Blue (Munsell) come from?
The name comes from the Munsell colour system, which organises colours by how people perceive them. Blue (Munsell) is the system’s primary blue, set at hue 5B.
Is Blue (Munsell) a pigment or a dye?
No, Blue (Munsell) is not a pigment or dye. It is a standard colour defined by its position in the Munsell colour system and represented digitally.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Shades of blue" (the section "Blue (Munsell)"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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