Exploring the Color #494F6A

#494F6A sits at 229° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 18% saturation and 35% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, shadowed tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 73, 79, 106 produces a 8.05:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #494F6A is a clear variant of CSS dim gray — about 41 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