Exploring the Color #494E9F

#494E9F sits at 237° 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, 78, 159 produces a 7.31:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #494E9F is a clear variant of CSS steel blue — about 56 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