We're live on Product Hunt!Support us
ColorArchive

A curated color library with 5,446 algorithmically generated colors. Browse, search, save favorites, and export palette tokens — no account required.

CollectionsFamiliesBrandsRegionsJournalNotesGuidesFree ResourcesEmbed widgetConvertColorblindAboutSupportUpdatesiOS app
Ready for static export
Privacy·Terms·Refunds·Cookies·Commerce Disclosure
colorarchive.org · © 2026 ColorArchive
Skip to content
ColorArchive
ProLog in
ArchiveAll ColorsCollections
Indigo Ink Dust
Color detail

Indigo Ink Dust

Blue · Hue 230
Metrics
S 26% · L 14%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white16.6:1AAon black1.3:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Indigo Ink Dust (#1A1E2D) belongs to the blue family — hue 230°, 26% saturation, 14% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-indigo-ink-dust: #1A1E2D;
  --colorarchive-indigo-ink-dust-hsl: hsl(230, 26%, 14%);
  --colorarchive-indigo-ink-dust-rgb: rgb(26, 30, 45);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

AuthoritativeIntellectualLuxurious
Common in

Defense · Aviation · Higher Education

Pairs well with

Gold for prestige, white for sharp readability, electric blue for energy

Design tip

Perfect for dark mode backgrounds and headers. Navy is softer than black and adds character. Pair with bright accents for contrast.

Cultural context ▶

Navy and midnight blue symbolize authority, intelligence, and tradition. The color of uniforms, institutions, and power.

Color Origins

Blue family

The most-loved color on the planet, and the most overused.

Heritage

Blue is one of the hardest colors for nature to make with pigment — and, historically, one of the most expensive to paint with. Ultramarine, ground from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan, could cost as much as gold in Renaissance Europe; Vermeer used it lavishly. Egyptian blue (the first synthetic pigment, ~3000 BCE) was lost for centuries and rediscovered in the 19th. Prussian blue (1704) quickly gave painters a cheap alternative to ultramarine; Yves Klein's IKB (1960) re-aristocratized blue.

Across cultures

In ancient Egypt blue was the color of the Nile and the heavens — sacred, protective. In China blue-and-white porcelain (qinghua) defined export ceramics for centuries. In Mediterranean traditions blue wards off the evil eye. In America, IBM's blue logo helped earn it the nickname 'Big Blue'; in Japan, indigo (ai) is the centuries-old workwear dye that became the ground tone of an entire textile tradition. Across the world blue is consistently rated the most-liked color — in one ten-country survey it led every other color by 8 to 18 points.

In the wild

Mark Zuckerberg has said Facebook is blue because he is red-green colorblind. Levi's blue is the natural color of indigo on cotton. Twitter Blue (#1DA1F2) defined social-media blue for years before the 2023 rebrand to X scrapped it. The blue checkmark, the blue link, the blue 'send' button — blue has become the default color of digital trust, to the point of being a UX cliché.

How it reads

Blue tends to recede — the eye focuses blue light slightly in front of the retina, which can make blue elements feel deep or distant. It reads as trustworthy, calm, corporate, and (at the cool end) cold. Light blues read airy and clinical; mid blues are the default for tech and finance; deep blues read as luxurious or naval. The omnipresence of blue in software is real: most enterprise UIs reach for it because it offends the fewest stakeholders, which is also the reason it can feel like the absence of a real choice.

This particular tone

A dim, atmospheric reading — closer to a colored shadow than a stated hue. Excellent as a near-black on dark UI or as a moody background.

Lightness band: At this depth the hue starts behaving like a neutral — it can substitute for black in many contexts while still carrying a faint chromatic temperature. It pairs especially well with off-whites and warm metallics.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #1A1E2D.

  • Webflowneutral
    Charcoal · #1D1F26
    →
  • Linearneutral
    Linear Gray 1 · #1C1D24
    →
  • Cloudflareneutral
    Slate Black · #1D1D1F
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #1A1E2D.

  • IcelandBasalt Black
    #1A1B1F · Reynisfjara basalt columns
    →
  • Korea (Obangsaek)Obangsaek Black (흑 / heuk)
    #1F1F1F · North — water element, ink and lacquer
    →
  • China (Traditional)Ink Wash Black (墨)
    #1C1C1C · Pine-soot ink stick (mò)
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using blue and color in design.

Color PsychologyBlue Color Psychology in Branding: Why Every Bank and Tech Giant Chooses BlueHistoryIndigo: The Color That Built Trade Routes and Made Blue CheapColor TheoryPastel Color Palette: How to Use Soft Colors Without Losing Contrast

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Indigo Nocturne Dust
#262A40 · hsl(230, 26%, 20%)
Complementary counterpoint
Amber Ink Dust
#2D2A1A · hsl(50, 26%, 14%)
Analogous lead
Violet Ink Dust
#1E1A2D · hsl(250, 26%, 14%)
Analogous echo
Steel Ink Dust
#1A252D · hsl(205, 26%, 14%)
Triadic +120°
Merlot Ink Dust
#2D1A1E · hsl(350, 26%, 14%)
Triadic +240°
Leaf Ink Dust
#1E2D1A · hsl(110, 26%, 14%)
Split-comp +150°
Ember Ink Dust
#2D211A · hsl(20, 26%, 14%)
Split-comp +210°
Olive Ink Dust
#272D1A · hsl(80, 26%, 14%)
Export preview
Base: Indigo Ink Dust #1A1E2D
Lighter companion: Indigo Nocturne Dust #262A40
Complementary counterpoint: Amber Ink Dust #2D2A1A
Analogous lead: Violet Ink Dust #1E1A2D
Analogous echo: Steel Ink Dust #1A252D
Triadic +120°: Merlot Ink Dust #2D1A1E
Triadic +240°: Leaf Ink Dust #1E2D1A
Split-comp +150°: Ember Ink Dust #2D211A
Split-comp +210°: Olive Ink Dust #272D1A

Compare

See how Indigo Ink Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsIndigo Nocturne DustvsAmber Ink DustvsViolet Ink DustvsSteel Ink DustvsMerlot Ink DustvsLeaf Ink Dust

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Indigo Ink Muted
#1D1F2A · hsl(230, 18%, 14%)
Nearby match
Indigo Ink Soft
#181C30 · hsl(230, 34%, 14%)
Nearby match
Indigo Nocturne Dust
#262A40 · hsl(230, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Indigo Ink Faint
#202127 · hsl(230, 10%, 14%)
Nearby match
Indigo Nocturne Muted
#2A2D3C · hsl(230, 18%, 20%)
Nearby match
Indigo Nocturne Soft
#222744 · hsl(230, 34%, 20%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA15.9:1
Amber Veil Faint
#FAFAF9
AAA16:1
Amber Veil Muted
#FBFBF9
AAA16:1
Amber Veil Dust
#FBFBF9
AAA16:1
Amber Veil Soft
#FCFBF8
AAA16.1:1
Amber Veil Clear
#FDFCF7
AAA16.1:1
Amber Veil Vivid
#FEFCF6

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#1C1B29
Protanopia
#1C1C2A
Tritanopia
#1A2727
Color of the Day

Like Indigo Ink Dust? Get one like it every morning.

One hand-picked color a day — with its hex, family, and the story behind it.

Get a color every morning

One email per day. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ready to build

Turn these colors into design tokens

Copy the CSS variables and the Tailwind class free, right here. ColorArchive Pro lifts the daily export limit — 10 a day signed in, 3 without an account.

Upgrade to ProFree downloadView collections

Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Indigo Ink Faint#202127 · hsl(230, 10%, 14%)Indigo Ink Muted#1D1F2A · hsl(230, 18%, 14%)Indigo Ink Dust#1A1E2D · hsl(230, 26%, 14%)Indigo Ink Soft#181C30 · hsl(230, 34%, 14%)Indigo Ink Clear#101737 · hsl(230, 54%, 14%)Indigo Ink Vivid#09123E · hsl(230, 74%, 14%)Indigo Ink Bright#061042 · hsl(230, 84%, 14%)Indigo Ink Pure#030E45 · hsl(230, 92%, 14%)
More from Blue →