Exploring the Color #96B8B6

#96B8B6 sits at 176° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 19% saturation and 65% 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 150, 184, 182 produces a 9.83:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #96B8B6 is a clear variant of CSS silver — about 44 units away from #C0C0C0. 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