Color #525F66 Color / Colour Code #525F66
This page shows the hex color code for color #525f66 (#525F66). The colour is a blue tone with 11% saturation and 36% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #525F66 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#525F66 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 171, 201, and 231 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 201, 321, and 81 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #525F66
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 201 and saturation at 11%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 201 to 246 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 201 with its complement at 21 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 #525F66
Lightness variations at hue 201 and 11% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #525F66
Design Use Cases for #525F66
Muted Accent Color
With 11% saturation, #525F66 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, #525F66 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
#525F66 sits in the blue range (hue 201). 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 #525F66 (hue 201) to its complement at hue 21. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 231. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #525f66, #665952);
CSS Code for #525F66
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #525F66 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #525F66 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #525F66 (#525F66)
#525F66 is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 82 red, 95 green, and 102 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 201 degrees with 11% saturation and 36% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #525F66 is 92/255 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 20% cyan, 7% magenta, 0% yellow, and 60% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #525F66 against white is 6.59:1 and against black is 3.19:1. 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 #665952 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #525F66. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #526663 and #525566, 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 #525F66
- 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 #525F66?
- #525F66 is Color #525F66, a blue color (colour) with RGB(82, 95, 102), HSL(201, 11%, 36%), and CMYK(20%, 7%, 0%, 60%). Its perceived brightness is 92/255.
- Is #525F66 accessible for text?
- Against white, #525F66 has a contrast ratio of 6.59:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.19:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #525F66?
- The complementary colour is #665952 (hue 21). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #526663 and #525566. The triadic palette adds #66525F and #5F6652 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #525F66 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #525f66; or rgb(82, 95, 102); or hsl(201, 11%, 36%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 201 11% 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.