Exploring the Color #494D75

#494D75 sits at 235° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 23% saturation and 37% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, shadowed tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 73, 77, 117 produces a 8.07:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #494D75 is a clear variant of CSS dim gray — about 44 units away from #696969. Designers reach for blue hues at this saturation when the brief calls for restraint and atmosphere, 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