Steel #738595
Steel is a medium-dark, muted blue with hex code #738595 and RGB rgb(115, 133, 149).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (5.51:1).
About this color
#738595 is a medium-dark, muted blue. In OKLCH its lightness is 61%, its chroma 0.032 and its hue 245°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. It is the named color Steel. Black text reads best on it, at 5.51:1.
| Hue family | Blues |
| Lightness | medium-dark (61%) |
| Chroma | muted (0.032) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Steel |
| Black text | 5.51:1 |
| White text | 3.80:1 |
Colors that go with Steel
Matches found by rotating Steel around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Steel
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Steel, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Steel, with their ΔE distance.
- Light Slate Gray #778899 ΔE 0.011
- Slate Gray #708090 ΔE 0.016
- Steel Grey #6F828A ΔE 0.018
- Lavender Gray #7E7F9A ΔE 0.025
- Blue Grey #758DA3 ΔE 0.027
- Grey Blue #647D8E ΔE 0.033
- Gray #808080 ΔE 0.033
- Silver Lake Blue #778DA9 ΔE 0.034
More about Steel
How to make Steel
A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.
- 3 parts gray
- 1 part blue
- 1 part pink
Recipe result: #738792, a difference of ΔE 0.008 from Steel. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.
Codes for Steel in every format
| HEX | #738595 |
| RGB | rgb(115, 133, 149) |
| HSL | hsl(208, 14%, 52%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(60.8% 0.032 245.2) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #738595 | 3.80:1 | AA large text | Lc -71.1 | Content text, not long reading |
| Black text on #738595 | 5.51:1 | AA | Lc 38.5 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #738595 text on white | 3.80:1 | AA large text | Lc 65.6 | Content text, not long reading |
| #738595 text on black | 5.51:1 | AA | Lc -36.1 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
Shades and tints of Steel
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 500.
-
Step 50
50
#F4F6F7
oklch(97.2% 0.003 228.8)
-
Step 100
100
#E7EAED
oklch(93.6% 0.005 247.9)
-
Step 200
200
#D4DADF
oklch(88.5% 0.009 242.9)
-
Step 300
300
#B9C2CA
oklch(80.9% 0.015 244.8)
-
Step 400
400
#94A3B0
oklch(70.8% 0.026 244.3)
-
Step 500
500 (this color)
#738595
oklch(60.8% 0.032 245.2)
-
Step 600
600
#637687
oklch(55.7% 0.035 245.5)
-
Step 700
700
#526372
oklch(49.1% 0.032 245.1)
-
Step 800
800
#43515D
oklch(42.8% 0.027 244.3)
-
Step 900
900
#39434C
oklch(37.7% 0.02 245.5)
-
Step 950
950
#21272D
oklch(26.9% 0.014 248.4)
Steel with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #7F8596 | 0.017 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #7A8195 | 0.014 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #6A898A | 0.027 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #838383 | 0.032 |
Use Steel in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.