Color Details and Palettes for #5E8485

Details about the color Arctic

Closest web-safe match: #669999

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 #5E8485
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About Color Hex #5e8485

The color Arctic, with hexadecimal code #5e8485, is categorized under the cyan family—a cool, refreshing hue fundamental to CMYK printing. Cyan evokes clarity, focus, and digital innovation, appearing across tech interfaces and futuristic design systems. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation and Friendliness. Cyan or blue-green is associated with healing, water, and tranquility. It can symbolize communication and clarity in various cultures. 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 45%, 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 Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation, or Friendliness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Arctic are (94, 132, 133), providing a combination of red: 94, green: 132, and blue: 133. In HSL format, it has a hue of 182.00°, saturation of 17.00%, and lightness of 45.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 182.00°, saturation of 29.00%, and value of 52.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 29.00%, magenta: 1.00%, yellow: 0.00%, and black: 48.00%.

The calculated luminance of #5e8485 is 0.206, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #669999. Its contrast ratio is 5.12:1 against black and 4.11:1 against white. It works well on dark backgrounds but may be less readable on lighter ones.

In terms of color temperature, #5e8485 reads as cool. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using black text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #5e8485 is black.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #5e8485 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #5E8485

Arctic (#5E8485) belongs to the Cyan 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

Cyan is one of the four foundational inks in CMYK printing, making it literally indispensable to modern publishing. The name derives from the Greek kyanos, meaning 'dark blue,' though the color we call cyan today is distinctly lighter. Ancient Egyptian blue—one of the earliest synthetic pigments (c. 2200 BC)—was close to cyan and used extensively in tomb paintings and pottery across the Nile Valley.

Design & Usage Tips

Cyan projects a high-tech, digital-forward identity and pairs naturally with white for clean interfaces or with magenta for vibrant contrast. It works well for SaaS products, data-visualization tools, and creative agencies. Use cyan sparingly on warm-toned palettes, as it can feel cold in those contexts.

Sitting on the cool side of the spectrum (hue 182°), 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

Cyan stimulates mental clarity, focus, and communication. It feels refreshing—like a splash of cool water—making it ideal for apps and services centered on productivity, learning, or wellness. Cyan also carries associations with futurism and digital innovation.

With a mid-range lightness of 45%, 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

Build a dark-mode interface with cyan accent elements (buttons, links, progress indicators) on a charcoal background for a sleek developer-tool aesthetic. Use cyan-to-blue gradients in header sections for SaaS landing pages. In print, spot-color cyan on uncoated paper stock creates a tactile, modern feel.

#5E8485 Color Conversions

Every way to write Arctic — copy Arctic as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#5E8485

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(94, 132, 133)

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(182, 17%, 45%)

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(182, 29%, 52%)

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(182 37% 48%)

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(29%, 1%, 0%, 48%)

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(58.55% 0.042 198.11)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(58.55% -0.040 -0.013)

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: 52.48, a: -12.91, b: -4.82

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 52.48, C: 13.78, H: 200.47

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 17.10, Y: 20.58, Z: 25.26

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
6194309

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

RGB Color Percentages for #5e8485

RGB Color Percentages for Arctic (HEX Code: #5e8485) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Blue, making up 37.05% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
26.18%
Green:
36.77%
Blue:
37.05%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Arctic.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #5e8485

CMYK Ink Levels for Arctic (HEX Code: #5e8485) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Arctic prominently features Key, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 29.32%, Magenta: 0.75%, Yellow: 0%, and Black: 47.84%.

Luminance & Contrast for #5E8485

Relative luminance gauges how bright Arctic is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.206
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 5.12:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 4.11:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #5E8485

Copy-and-paste CSS for Arctic — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #5E8485;
Text color: #5E8485;
Border border: 2px solid #5E8485;
RGB background-color: rgb(94, 132, 133);
HSL background-color: hsl(182, 17%, 45%);
Variable --color: #5E8485;

#5e8485 Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#eff3f3
#d7e0e1
#bfcece
#a6bbbc
#8ea9aa
#769697
#5e8485 Original
#507071
#425c5d
#344949
#263535
#182121
#090d0d

#5e8485 Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#5e8485 Original
#86615f

#5e8485 Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#5e8485 Original
#5f7186
#5f8674
#615f86
#5f8661
#745f86
#71865f

#5e8485 Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#5e8485 Original
#865f85
#85865f

#5e8485 Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#5e8485 Original
#745f86
#86615f
#71865f

Color Blindness Simulation for #5e8485

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Arctic (#5e8485) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Friendly

Color Harmonies for #5e8485

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#5E8485 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #5E8485 — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#669999 Atlas Cedar
#557777 Rogue Waters
#77aaaa Harbour Mist
#446666 Rosemary
#448888 Turkish Jade
#778888 Classic Movie
#668888 Arctic
#668877 Aloe Vera

Colors Similar to #5e8485

These colors are close neighbours of #5E8485 in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Cyan tone.

#5f8485 Arctic
#5e8585 Stream Burble
#5e8486 Arctic
#5d8485 Arctic
#5e8385 Arctic
#5e8484 Stream Burble
#6f8485 Stormy Sea
#5e9585 Martian Cerulean
#5e8496 Horizon
#4d8485 Paradiso
#5e7385 Plumbeous
#5e8474 Aloe Vera

Looking for more Cyan shades? Browse Cyan colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Arctic (#5e8485)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Arctic, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.