Color #4E686A Color / Colour Code #4E686A
This page shows the hex color code for color #4e686a (#4E686A). The colour is a cyan tone with 15% saturation and 36% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #4E686A against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#4E686A paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 154, 184, and 214 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 184, 304, and 64 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #4E686A
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 184 and saturation at 15%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 184 to 229 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 184 with its complement at 4 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 #4E686A
Lightness variations at hue 184 and 15% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #4E686A
Design Use Cases for #4E686A
Muted Accent Color
With 15% saturation, #4E686A has a subtle, sophisticated quality. This level of desaturation works well for secondary buttons, inactive states, subtle borders, and backgrounds that need a hint of color without being distracting. Muted colors communicate restraint and professionalism.
Primary Interface Color
At 36% lightness, #4E686A 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.
Clarity & Technology
#4E686A is in the cyan spectrum (hue 184). Cyan evokes technology, clarity, and innovation. It works well for tech product interfaces, data visualization accents, loading indicators, and futuristic design themes. Cyan provides a modern alternative to traditional blues.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #4E686A (hue 184) to its complement at hue 4. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 214. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #4e686a, #6a504e);
CSS Code for #4E686A
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #4E686A based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #4E686A across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #4E686A (#4E686A)
#4E686A is a cyan color (colour) with RGB channel values of 78 red, 104 green, and 106 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 184 degrees with 15% saturation and 36% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #4E686A is 96/255 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 26% cyan, 2% magenta, 0% yellow, and 58% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #4E686A against white is 5.98:1 and against black is 3.51:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 25% lightness.
The complementary colour #6A504E creates maximum visual tension when paired with #4E686A. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #4E6A5E and #4E5A6A, 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 #4E686A
- 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 #4E686A?
- #4E686A is Color #4E686A, a cyan color (colour) with RGB(78, 104, 106), HSL(184, 15%, 36%), and CMYK(26%, 2%, 0%, 58%). Its perceived brightness is 96/255.
- Is #4E686A accessible for text?
- Against white, #4E686A has a contrast ratio of 5.98:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.51:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #4E686A?
- The complementary colour is #6A504E (hue 4). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #4E6A5E and #4E5A6A. The triadic palette adds #6A4E68 and #686A4E for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #4E686A in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #4e686a; or rgb(78, 104, 106); or hsl(184, 15%, 36%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 184 15% 36%; 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.