Muted Blue
A steady, professional blue for modern interfaces
Muted Blue is a desaturated, professional tone that leans into coolness without feeling icy. Because it offers strong legibility for small body text when paired with white, it serves as an excellent, reliable base for finance and tech dashboards. Use hex code #3b719f to anchor a layout or provide structural support in a UI, though keep it balanced with warmer neutrals to avoid a clinical aesthetic.
About Muted Blue
A work jacket faded by salt air and years
What does muted blue mean?
Blues in this range often signal reliability and competence, which is why banks, offices, and software interfaces lean on them. Its medium darkness and grayed saturation read as steady and unhurried, serious without ever tipping into heavy.
Where you see muted blue
- denim jackets
- steel filing cabinets
- lake water on an overcast day
- work coveralls
- glazed ceramic tile
- nautical charts
What it works for
It suits dashboards, uniforms, packaging, and backgrounds where color should support the content instead of demanding attention.
What colors go with muted blue?
Warm Sand #c5ae91The grayed blue cools the pairing while the sand adds warmth, so neither color feels flat.Burnt Sienna #a93400Sienna sits opposite this blue on the color wheel, giving the mix balance without loudness.Blush #de5d83Soft pink lightens the combination and keeps the blue from turning corporate.Mustard #ffdb58Mustard's yellow-orange warmth gives this cool blue a spark without clashing.
Questions about Muted Blue
What is the hex code for Muted Blue?
Muted Blue is #3b719f. In RGB that is rgb(59, 113, 159), in HSL hsl(208, 46%, 43%) and in CMYK 63%, 29%, 0%, 38%.
Is Muted Blue readable on white or black?
Muted Blue has a 5.18:1 contrast ratio on white and 4.04:1 on black. WCAG asks for 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, so on white it works for body text and on black it works only for large text (24px, or 18.5px bold). Try other pairs in the contrast checker.