Exploring the Color #516C6D

#516C6D sits at 182° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 15% saturation and 37% 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 81, 108, 109 produces a 5.65:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #516C6D is a close cousin of CSS dim gray — about 25 units away from #696969. Designers reach for cyan 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