Exploring the Color #8B85AA

#8B85AA sits at 250° on the color wheel, placing it in the blue family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 18% 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 139, 133, 170 produces a 6.03:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #8B85AA is a clear variant of CSS gray — about 44 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