Module 3: Working with Web Graphics

Kendall Horan

Web Design

23 February 2026

The background color of this webpage is called “Dodger Blue” (1E90FF), but if you're a baseball fan like I am, you'll at once furrow your brow. The background of this webpage is not the blue worn by the LA Dodgers. That blue, it turns out, is called “Cobalt” (005596). “Dodger Blue” is a rich, bright azure, while “Cobalt” is a darker, more traditional royal blue. The LA Dodgers currently, and have always, worn the latter color, but HTML and CSS code maintains the association. This discrepancy is not due to a mixed metaphor, secret history, nor simple clerical error, but is actually an artifact of our rapidly developing personal computing industry. In 1989, a software engineer named Paul Raveling was working at the Information Sciences Institute at USC on a project geared toward recording colors. His job was to “tune” colors to appear in a consistent manner across computer monitors. He proposed a list of color names that would go on to be associated with web browsers so that programmers writing in HTML and CSS could type plain color names rather than their associated code. However, the HP monitor Raveling used to view and chronicle his colors has, in subsequent years, been far outpaced by new, standardized gamma corrections. The RBG color catalog would thus not be defined until 1996, but Raveling's names, to include “Dodger Blue,” stuck, and so the web-based color and the sports team's uniforms are, at least for now, divorced.

Blue, in most shades, has a reputation of tranquility, trust, loyalty, and calm. Symbolically, it is recognized as a color of security and responsibility. Psychologically, blue is known to promote relaxation and support. Blue is commonly used in branding within industries like banking (Chase Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union), healthcare (United Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente), and travel (United Airlines, Travelocity). Each of these three industries offers services which are subject to immense stress, and so companies lean on the calming, trustworthy associations of the color blue to entice customers, and equally surround their brand documents in the color to convey a promise of responsibility and ongoing support. In the case of the LA Dodgers, blue communicates confidence, reliability, and class. Some negative nuances associated with the color blue are passiveness, depression, and predictability. Blue is a very common color, and may be lost or overlooked. For instance, many media streaming services (Disney Plus, Prime Video) use the color blue in their logo and branding, but an inability to differentiate between the many services is a key complaint of users. So much so, HBO, until recently stylized as “Max” against a blue background, rebranded to its traditional white text on black. I, personally, love the color blue. “Dodger Blue” is as close to what I'd call my favorite shade of blue as I've seen. It soothes me, quiets my mind, and usually promises a good experience. However, I hate the LA Dodgers. I find them pretentious, and their repeated World Series wins depress me. As a die hard Baltimore Orioles fan, as far as baseball is concerned, orange does clash with blue.

images of all blue logos referenced in the text

Works Consulted