Cadet Blue #5F9EA0

Cadet Blue (#5F9EA0) is a mid-tone, muted blue-green with an OKLCH hue of 198°, lightness 0.66 and chroma 0.065. It sits on the cool side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as a mid-weight working color for secondary surfaces and editorial blocks.

Color values

HEX#5F9EA0
RGBrgb(95, 158, 160)
HSLhsl(182, 25%, 50%)
HSVhsv(182, 41%, 63%)
CMYKcmyk(41%, 1%, 0%, 37%)
CIE Lablab(61.2 -19.7 -7.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.658 0.065 198)

How Cadet Blue behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Cadet Blue shifts subtly: leans toward green; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.9), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 3.05:1 and against black 6.88:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text.

Palettes built from Cadet Blue

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#c5f5f6 · #98cecf · #5f9ea0 · #478183 · #265d5e · #033a3c

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#91bed5 · #71afbe · #5f9ea0 · #4c8d83 · #477a66 · #44664c

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#9fb3c8 · #5f9ea0 · #427f81 · #355a80 · #024648 · #132537

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#b8e0e1 · #a4b8b9 · #5f9ea0 · #985f60 · #385859 · #24393a

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#f9efef · #5f9ea0 · #6d7a7a · #4c4645 · #131f20 · #020101

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#e0f7f8 · #b4cfd0 · #5f9ea0 · #002a2b · #000606 · #e44e5d

Gold Accent

The same quiet ground carrying one bright gold voice — the high-energy pairing a cool or muted anchor cannot reach through its own temperature.

#e0f7f8 · #b4cfd0 · #5f9ea0 · #002a2b · #000606 · #eebc4d

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#d3d9b4 · #8fc08e · #5f9ea0 · #953971 · #4a3758 · #180625

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#ffeded · #5f9ea0 · #92687d · #673a21 · #310e22 · #0f0200

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#f8edfc · #5f9ea0 · #866c8e · #5d420e · #291900 · #030004

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#f1f0ff · #5f9ea0 · #757198 · #6a3538 · #1f1e00 · #0a0001

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#76ADAE · #8DBCBD · #A4CBCC · #BADADB · #D1EAEA

Shades

#498284 · #346869 · #204E50 · #0B3638 · #001F21

Muted

#6C9C9D · #77999A · #819697

Using Cadet Blue

Its moderate chroma lets it work in mid-size areas — upholstery, secondary UI surfaces, editorial blocks — without overwhelming neighbors. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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