Exploring the Color #173F51

#173F51 sits at 199° on the color wheel, placing it in the azure family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 56% saturation and 20% lightness, it reads as a moderately saturated, deep tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 23, 63, 81 produces a 11.25:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #173F51 is a distant relative of CSS sea green — about 80 units away from #2E8B57. Designers reach for azure hues at this saturation when the brief calls for a conversational, mid-energy register, and at this lightness when they want weight, depth, and grounded contrast. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades