Exploring the Color #5F9EA1

#5F9EA1 sits at 183° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 26% saturation and 50% 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, 158, 161 produces a 6.89:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #5F9EA1 is a clear variant of CSS steel blue — about 42 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