Exploring the Color #5F9C9C

#5F9C9C sits at 180° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 24% saturation and 49% 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 95, 156, 156 produces a 6.72:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #5F9C9C is a clear variant of CSS steel blue — about 43 units away from #4682B4. 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