Closest web-safe match: #666666

Color Details and Palettes for #565E78

Details about the color Heavy Violet#565E78

Conversions, palettes, contrast & design ideas for this color.

Blue family Cool WCAG ink: white
HEX #565E78 RGB rgb(86, 94, 120) HSL hsl(226, 17%, 40%) CMYK cmyk(28%, 22%, 0%, 53%)

Color profile

About Color Hex #565E78

#565E78 is a cool color from the Blue family, closest in name to “Heavy Violet”. In RGB it is rgb(86, 94, 120); in HSL, hsl(226, 17%, 40%).

The color Heavy Violet, with hexadecimal code #565e78, belongs to the blue color family, the world's most universally preferred hue. Blue projects trust, stability, and intellectual calm, which is why it dominates corporate, financial, and technology branding worldwide. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Trust, Peace, Loyalty, Integrity and Tranquility. Blue signifies tranquility and stability. In Middle Eastern cultures, it can also represent protection against the evil eye, while in Western cultures, it symbolizes calmness and reliability. At just 17% saturation, this near-neutral shade carries only a subtle hint of its underlying hue, making it versatile for large surfaces and professional contexts. With a mid-range lightness of 40%, it offers excellent versatility—readable as text on light backgrounds and visible as an element on dark ones. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Trust, Peace, Loyalty, Integrity, or Tranquility. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

Key facts

RGB 86, 94, 120 red · green · blue HSL 226° 17% 40% hue · sat · light HSV 226° 28% 47% design-app pickers CMYK 28 22 0 53 print inks, % Luminance 0.113 0 dark → 1 light On black 3.27:1 ✕ AA contrast ratio On white 6.43:1 ✓ AA contrast ratio Web-safe #666666 closest web-safe Best text white ideal foreground Character Vivid cool · blue family

The story of this color

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #565E78

Heavy Violet (#565E78) belongs to the Blue color family.

With a dusty, low-saturation character, this color offers quiet complexity—neither bold nor faded. Dusty tones add vintage charm to retro-inspired designs and pair beautifully with metallic accents like copper or brass.

Historical Background

Blue's scarcity in nature made it a late addition to human color vocabulary—Homer's 'wine-dark sea' notably omits the word blue entirely. The breakthrough came with Egyptian Blue (~2200 BC) and later ultramarine from Afghan lapis lazuli, which Medieval artists hoarded for divine subjects. Synthetic ultramarine (1826) and cobalt blue democratized the color, enabling Impressionists like Monet and Renoir to paint blue-drenched landscapes affordably.

Design & Usage Tips

Blue is the most universally liked color and dominates corporate branding (Facebook, LinkedIn, IBM, Samsung). Use it to establish trust, competence, and professionalism. Lighter blues suit wellness and social apps, while darker blues convey authority and security. Avoid using blue for food branding—it suppresses appetite.

Sitting on the cool side of the spectrum (hue 226°), it promotes a feeling of calm distance and intellectual clarity, which is why cool hues dominate corporate identities, healthcare design, and productivity tools. With only 17% saturation, this near-neutral shade carries just a hint of its underlying hue—subtle enough for large surfaces yet adding more warmth (or coolness) than a pure gray.

Psychological Impact

Blue lowers blood pressure and heart rate, promoting calm and focused thought. It signals reliability and integrity, which is why it is the default choice for banks, insurance companies, and government institutions. In UX, blue links and buttons feel intuitive because users have been trained by decades of web convention.

With a mid-range lightness of 40%, this tone is highly versatile: dark enough to serve as body text on white, yet light enough to stand out on charcoal or navy backgrounds.

Creative Design Ideas

Pair classic blue (#0047AB) with warm amber for a nautical or heritage brand. Use gradient blues (light-to-dark, top-to-bottom) for app onboarding screens that feel expansive and inviting. In data dashboards, blue is the safest primary chart color—it's distinct, professional, and colorblind-friendly.

Every format

#565E78 Color Conversions

Every way to write Heavy Violet — one-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#565E78

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(86, 94, 120)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(226, 17%, 40%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(226, 28%, 47%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(226 34% 53%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(28%, 22%, 0%, 53%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(48.52% 0.043 271.40)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(48.52% 0.001 -0.043)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 40.15, a: 3.34, b: -15.67

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 40.15, C: 16.02, H: 282.03

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 11.23, Y: 11.34, Z: 19.37

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
5660280

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

Channel breakdown

RGB Color Percentages for #565E78

How much red, green and blue light mixes into Heavy Violet.

Red 86/255 28.7% Green 94/255 31.3% Blue 120/255 40.0%

Percentages show each channel's share of the total light (R + G + B) in Heavy Violet.

Ink coverage

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #565E78

Ink needed to reproduce Heavy Violet in four-color print. Heaviest ink: Key (Black).

28% CYAN 22% MAGENTA 0% YELLOW 53% KEY

Print tip: treat these values as a starting point — final output depends on printer profile, paper stock and calibration.

Accessibility · WCAG

Luminance & Contrast for #565E78

How bright Heavy Violet is, and how far black and white text clear each WCAG bar.

Relative luminance 0.113
0 · dark1 · light

Contrast ratio · 1:1 → 21:1 (log scale)

Aa Black text 3.27:1 ✕ AA ✕ AAA ✓ Large
Aa White text 6.43:1 ✓ AA ✕ AAA ✓ Large

Developer shortcuts

Quick CSS Snippets for #565E78

Copy-and-paste CSS for Heavy Violet — per-line copy, or grab the whole block.

heavy-violet.css
background-color: #565E78;
color: #565E78;
border: 2px solid #565E78;
background-color: rgb(86, 94, 120);
background-color: hsl(226, 17%, 40%);
--color: #565E78;

Shades · light to dark

#565E78 Monochrome Palette

Lighter and darker steps of Heavy Violet — the color's full brightness range in one strip.

#EEEFF2
#D5D7DD
#BBBFC9
#A2A6B5
#898EA1
#6F768C
#565E78
#495066
#3C4254
#2F3442
#222630
#16181E
#09090C

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 180° apart

#565E78 Complementary Palette

Two colors opposite on the wheel — maximum contrast for attention-grabbing accents.

#565E78
#776F55

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · adjacent hues

#565E78 Analogic Palette

Neighboring hues on the wheel — harmonious, calm combinations that feel unified.

#565E78
#5E5577
#556E77
#6F5577
#55776F
#77556E
#55775E

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 120° apart

#565E78 Triadic Palette

Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel — vibrant and energetic, yet balanced.

#565E78
#77555D
#5D7755

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Harmony · 90° apart

#565E78 Quad Palette

Four colors evenly spaced on the wheel (tetradic) — rich schemes with multiple accents.

#565E78
#77556E
#776F55
#55775E

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.

Accessibility

Color Blindness Simulation for #565E78

How Heavy Violet reads across five kinds of color vision — a ✓ Friendly verdict means the color difference stays distinguishable for that vision type.

#565E78
#595870
#595A72
#566D6C
#5E5E5E
Normal vision full color Deuteranopia green weakness ✓ Friendly Protanopia red weakness ✓ Friendly Tritanopia blue-yellow weakness ✓ Friendly Achromatopsia total color blindness ✓ Friendly

The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex.

Harmony overview

Color Harmonies for #565E78

The lead color from each harmony scheme, side by side — a shortcut to the full palettes above.

#776F55
#5E5577
#77555D
#77556E
Complementary opposite hue Analogous adjacent hue Triadic 120° apart Tetradic (Quad) 90° apart

Perceptually nearby

#565E78 Nearby Colors

A step away in brightness, richness or shade — each still feels like the same color.

Heron#666688
Into the Stratosphere#445566
Stormy Horizon#777799
Starless Night#334455
Admiral Blue#556688
Wrapped in Twilight#556666
Majestic Magic#555577
Midnight Shadow#556677

From the color-name library

Colors Similar to #565E78

The closest named colors to #565E78 — same mood, each with its own character.

Heavy Violet#4F566C
Deep Indigo#4C567A
Majestic Magic#555570
Intergalactic#4D516C
Concrete Landscape#5C606E
Admiral Blue#50647F
Venus Mist#5F606E
Wizard#4D5B88
Black Orchid#525463
Sailor#445780
Blackwater#545663
Midnight Shadow#566373

Looking for more Blue shades? Browse Blue colors →

Inspiration

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Heavy Violet (#565e78)

Curated Unsplash photos that carry the mood of Heavy Violet — hover any tile to download it or view the original.

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions about #565E78

#565E78 is a cool color from the Blue family. Its closest matched name is “Heavy Violet”, matched perceptually with the CIEDE2000 color-difference formula. In RGB it is rgb(86, 94, 120); in HSL, hsl(226, 17%, 40%).
In RGB, #565E78 is rgb(86, 94, 120); in HSL it is hsl(226, 17%, 40%); and in CMYK — the model used for print — it is cmyk(28%, 22%, 0%, 53%).
#565E78 has a contrast ratio of 3.27:1 against black and 6.43:1 against white. For readability, white body text meets the WCAG AA threshold of 4.5:1 on it, while black does not.
The direct complement of #565E78 is #776F55 (opposite on the color wheel). For ready-made combinations, this page includes monochrome, analogous, triadic and tetradic palettes built from #565E78 in the palette sections above.