Exploring the Color #553D99

#553D99 sits at 256° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 43% saturation and 42% lightness, it reads as a moderately saturated, shadowed tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 85, 61, 153 produces a 8.35:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #553D99 is a distant relative of CSS slate blue — about 63 units away from #6A5ACD. Designers reach for violet 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