Exploring the Color #3B4140

#3B4140 sits at 170° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 5% saturation and 24% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, deep tone — a quiet, restrained presence that recedes rather than competes. Its RGB mix of 59, 65, 64 produces a 10.42:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #3B4140 is a distant relative of CSS dim gray — about 73 units away from #696969. Designers reach for cyan hues at this saturation when the brief calls for restraint and atmosphere, 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