Exploring the Color #85A9A1

#85A9A1 sits at 167° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 17% saturation and 59% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, light tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 133, 169, 161 produces a 8.19:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #85A9A1 is a clear variant of CSS gray — about 53 units away from #808080. 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