Exploring the Color #509A8E

#509A8E sits at 170° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 32% saturation and 46% 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 80, 154, 142 produces a 6.35:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #509A8E is a clear variant of CSS steel blue — about 46 units away from #4682B4. Designers reach for cyan 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