Color #495D9C Color / Colour Code #495D9C
This page shows the hex color code for color #495d9c (#495D9C). The colour is a blue tone with 36% saturation and 45% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #495D9C against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#495D9C paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 196, 226, and 256 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 226, 346, and 106 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #495D9C
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 226 and saturation at 36%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 226 to 271 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 226 with its complement at 46 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #495D9C
Lightness variations at hue 226 and 36% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #495D9C
Design Use Cases for #495D9C
Balanced UI Color
At 36% saturation, #495D9C strikes a balance between vibrancy and restraint. This makes it versatile for primary UI elements like navigation bars, card headers, and form accents. It draws attention without overwhelming adjacent content.
Primary Interface Color
At 45% lightness, #495D9C is in the mid-range, making it ideal for interactive elements like buttons, links, and selected states. This lightness level ensures good contrast against both light and dark adjacent elements in most layouts.
Trust & Professional Identity
#495D9C sits in the blue range (hue 226). Blue is the world's most popular color for corporate identities because it conveys trust, stability, and competence. Use it for navigation bars, link text, form focus states, and any element where user confidence matters. Financial, healthcare, and technology brands rely heavily on this hue range.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #495D9C (hue 226) to its complement at hue 46. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 256. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #495d9c, #9c8949);
CSS Code for #495D9C
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #495D9C based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #495D9C across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #495D9C (#495D9C)
#495D9C is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 73 red, 93 green, and 156 blue. The blue channel is dominant by a ratio of 2.1:1 over the weakest channel. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 226 degrees with 36% saturation and 45% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #495D9C is 94/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This appears dark to the human eye, so pair it with light text for adequate readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 53% cyan, 40% magenta, 0% yellow, and 39% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #495D9C against white is 6.31:1 and against black is 3.33:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 31% lightness.
The complementary colour #9C8949 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #495D9C. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #49869C and #5F499C, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #495D9C
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #495D9C?
- #495D9C is Color #495D9C, a blue color (colour) with RGB(73, 93, 156), HSL(226, 36%, 45%), and CMYK(53%, 40%, 0%, 39%). Its perceived brightness is 94/255.
- Is #495D9C accessible for text?
- Against white, #495D9C has a contrast ratio of 6.31:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.33:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #495D9C?
- The complementary colour is #9C8949 (hue 46). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #49869C and #5F499C. The triadic palette adds #9C495D and #5D9C49 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #495D9C in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #495d9c; or rgb(73, 93, 156); or hsl(226, 36%, 45%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 226 36% 45%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.