Exploring the Color #717BA6

#717BA6 sits at 229° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 23% saturation and 55% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, light tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 113, 123, 166 produces a 5.09:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #717BA6 is a clear variant of CSS gray — about 41 units away from #808080. Designers reach for blue 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