Exploring the Color #5E5269

#5E5269 sits at 271° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 12% saturation and 37% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, shadowed tone — a quiet, restrained presence that recedes rather than competes. Its RGB mix of 94, 82, 105 produces a 7.27:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #5E5269 is a clear variant of CSS dim gray — about 25 units away from #696969. Designers reach for violet 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