Exploring the Color #404E9A

#404E9A sits at 231° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 41% saturation and 43% lightness, it reads as a moderately saturated, shadowed tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 64, 78, 154 produces a 7.57:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #404E9A is a clear variant of CSS steel blue — about 58 units away from #4682B4. Designers reach for blue hues at this saturation when the brief calls for a conversational, mid-energy register, and at this lightness when they want a present, comfortable mid-canvas voice. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades