Slate #516572

Slate (#516572) is a dark, muted sky blue with an OKLCH hue of 237°, lightness 0.5 and chroma 0.032. 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#516572
RGBrgb(81, 101, 114)
HSLhsl(204, 17%, 38%)
HSVhsv(204, 29%, 45%)
CMYKcmyk(29%, 11%, 0%, 55%)
CIE Lablab(41.6 -4.2 -9.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.495 0.032 237)

How Slate behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Slate shifts subtly: leans toward blue-green; in north-facing or shaded light it shifts subtly: leans toward blue. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.4), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 6.08:1 and against black 3.45:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text.

Palettes built from Slate

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.

#a8b9c4 · #80929e · #516572 · #394b57 · #1b2b35 · #030e16

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.

#598f95 · #427c8f · #516572 · #345377 · #333f63 · #2f2d4e

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.

#bbb8d6 · #9b96c9 · #7d7c94 · #516572 · #204b64 · #053147

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.

#d2a17e · #76848e · #516572 · #2e4757 · #142a38 · #041018

Quiet Support

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

#f8f0eb · #adb7be · #807b77 · #516572 · #404b52 · #040201

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.

#ebf3f9 · #c2ccd2 · #516572 · #1b2932 · #000810 · #f29243

Complementary

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

#feeee4 · #d3ac90 · #9e704f · #516572 · #634025 · #000610

Split-complementary

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

#feeee4 · #d9a7a1 · #8f7946 · #516572 · #673b36 · #0a0400

Triadic

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

#ffecf2 · #d6a6b6 · #79824d · #516572 · #474d23 · #040001

Tetradic

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

#faedfa · #caa8c9 · #9e704f · #516572 · #315234 · #100300

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#6A7C87 · #83939D · #9DABB4 · #B8C3CB · #D4DCE2

Shades

#42545F · #33434D · #25333C · #18242B · #0B151C

Muted

#55646F · #58646B · #5C6368

Using Slate

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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