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#5e5ec9

a balanced, vivid blue · cool · closest name: Slate Blue

RGB
94, 94, 201
HSL
240°, 50%, 58%
CMYK
53, 53, 0, 21
Luminance
0.1460

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #5e5ec9 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#5e5ec9
Hue
240°
blue
Saturation
50%
vivid
Lightness
58%
balanced
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
44%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.1460
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
83/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
White
5.36:1
Closest name
Slate Blue
ΔE2000 2.8
Where it sits
Hue240° of 360°
Saturation50%
Lightness58%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool83% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#5e5ec9
RGBrgb(94, 94, 201)
HSLhsl(240, 50%, 58%)
CMYKcmyk(53%, 53%, 0%, 21%)
LABlab(45.1 29.9 -55.9)
LCHlch(45.1 63.4 298.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.538 0.162 279.5)
Decimal6184649
Display P3color(display-p3 0.369 0.369 0.788)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #5e5ec9;
background-color: #5e5ec9;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#5e5ec9] bg-[#5e5ec9]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #5e5ec9;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.369, green: 0.369, blue: 0.788)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#5e5ec9")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF5E5EC9)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(201, 94, 94)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #5e5ec9 · 5.36:1
Use #ffffffAA at every size, AAA for large text only.
Aa
White text · 5.36:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 3.92:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #5e5ec9 as text scores 5.36:1 on white and 3.92:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#5e5ec9 on white: 5.36:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#5e5ec9 on black: 3.92:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #216FCD
deuteranopia · #0E67C7
tritanopia · #2E768A

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #5e5ec9 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F4F4FA
#EAEAF6
#CFCFEC
#ABABE3
#8181D5
#5e5ec9
#3D3DB7
#333399
#29297A
#212159
#151538
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F4F4FADarkest = 950 · #151538
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4F4FA;
  --brand-100: #EAEAF6;
  --brand-200: #CFCFEC;
  --brand-300: #ABABE3;
  --brand-400: #8181D5;
  --brand-500: #5e5ec9;
  --brand-600: #3D3DB7;
  --brand-700: #333399;
  --brand-800: #29297A;
  --brand-900: #212159;
  --brand-950: #151538;
  --brand: #5e5ec9;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #5e5ec9

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#F4F4FA
Tinted page background
Border#C2C2EB
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B4B9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#9D812F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#20205F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#ECECF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#141424
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #5e5ec9

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#C9C95E
Analogous left#5E93C9
Analogous right#935EC9
Split-complement 1#C9935E
Split-complement 2#93C95E
Triadic 1#C95E5E
Triadic 2#5EC95E
Tetradic#C95E93

RGB percentages

Red36.9%
Green36.9%
Blue78.8%

CMYK percentages

Cyan53.2%
Magenta53.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)21.2%

Color previews

#5e5ec9 text on a black background

contrast 3.92:1

Card sample

#5e5ec9 text on a white background

contrast 5.36:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #5e5ec9;
Background color
Panel with #5e5ec9 background
background-color: #5e5ec9;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #5e5ec9;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(94, 94, 201, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(94, 94, 201, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #5e5ec9;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #5e5ec9, #A55EC9);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #5e5ec9

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#5e5ec9 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyFinanceHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#5e5ec9, answered

What color is #5e5ec9?

#5e5ec9 is a balanced vivid blue, closest to Slate Blue (ΔE2000 2.8). It sits at 240° on the hue wheel with 50% saturation and 58% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #5e5ec9?

rgb(94, 94, 201) — 94 red, 94 green and 201 blue out of 255, or 36.9% / 36.9% / 78.8% by channel.

Is #5e5ec9 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.1460 and perceived brightness is 44%, so white text on it reaches 5.36:1.

Should I use black or white text on #5e5ec9?

White. It scores 5.36:1 against #5e5ec9, versus 3.92:1 for black — AA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #5e5ec9?

#C9C95E sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C9935E and #93C95E, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #5e5ec9?

For interface work: #F4F4FA as the surface, #C2C2EB for borders, #4B4B9B for secondary text, #9D812F as an accent and #20205F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5E93C9 and #935EC9 stays calm, while #C9C95E is the loudest partner.

What is #5e5ec9 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(53%, 53%, 0%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #5e5ec9 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 83 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #855EC9; nudged cooler, #5C7DCB.

Work with #5e5ec9 in the Color Lab