Color Conversion
#173658
Variations
The purpose of this section is to accurately produce tints (pure white added) and shades (pure black added) of your selected color in 10% increments.
Pro Tip: Use shades for hover states and shadows, tints for highlights and backgrounds.
Shades
Darker variations created by adding black to your base color.
Tints
Lighter variations created by adding white to your base color.
Common Use Cases
- • UI component states (hover, active, disabled)
- • Creating depth with shadows and highlights
- • Building consistent color systems
Design System Tip
These variations form the foundation of a cohesive color palette. Export them to maintain consistency across your entire project.
Color Combinations
Each harmony has its own mood. Use harmonies to brainstorm color combos that work well together.
How to Use
Click on any color to copy its hex value. These combinations are mathematically proven to create visual harmony.
Why It Matters
Color harmonies create balance and evoke specific emotions in your designs.
Complement
A color and its opposite on the color wheel, +180 degrees of hue. High contrast.
Split-complementary
A color and two adjacent to its complement, +/-30 degrees of hue from the value opposite the main color. Bold like a straight complement, but more versatile.
Triadic
Three colors spaced evenly along the color wheel, each 120 degrees of hue apart. Best to allow one color to dominate and use the others as accents.
Analogous
Three colors of the same luminance and saturation with hues that are adjacent on the color wheel, 30 degrees apart. Smooth transitions.
Monochromatic
Three colors of the same hue with luminance values +/-50%. Subtle and refined.
Tetradic
Two sets of complementary colors, separated by 60 degrees of hue.
Color Theory Principles
Balance
Use one dominant color, support with secondary, and accent sparingly.
Contrast
Ensure sufficient contrast for readability and accessibility.
Harmony
Colors should work together to create a unified visual experience.
Color Contrast Checker
Test color combinations to ensure they meet WCAG accessibility standards for text readability.
Text Color
Background Color
Contrast
WCAG Standards
Advanced Contrast Checker
Fine-tune with sliders, multiple previews & more
Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid.
Technical Formats
Practical Formats
Color Analysis
Blindness Simulator
Creative Aspects
Frequently asked questions
- What color is #173658?
- #173658 is Midnight Observatory – A dense, cool navy with a hint of slate—deep and concentrated without going black. It evokes focused calm and deliberate authority, like a night watchtower trimmed in steel.
- What does Midnight Observatory symbolize?
- authority and institutional trust, maritime heritage and navigation, intellectual rigor, nighttime introspection, reliability and endurance. In Western corporate contexts this deep navy reads as professionalism and reliability; in maritime cultures (e.g., Northern Europe) it evokes sea, service, and tradition. In parts of East Asia, deep blues suggest formality and restraint, while in South Asian traditions deep blue hues can be associated with divinity (Indigo/Khadi contexts) and artisanship.
- Where is Midnight Observatory used in design?
- In a space or interface this shade anchors the palette and reduces visual noise, encouraging longer attention spans and measured decision-making. It compresses perceived brightness—making accents and warm highlights feel more important and urgent.