Exploring the Color #494B9F

#494B9F sits at 239° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 37% saturation and 45% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, balanced tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 73, 75, 159 produces a 7.53:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #494B9F is a clear variant of CSS slate blue — about 59 units away from #6A5ACD. 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