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Iris Dusk Dust
Color detail

Iris Dusk Dust

Blue · Hue 240
Metrics
S 26% · L 34%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white9.7:1AAon black2.2:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Iris Dusk Dust (#40406D) belongs to the blue family — hue 240°, 26% saturation, 34% 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-iris-dusk-dust: #40406D;
  --colorarchive-iris-dusk-dust-hsl: hsl(240, 26%, 34%);
  --colorarchive-iris-dusk-dust-rgb: rgb(64, 64, 109);
}

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 #40406D.

  • Airbnbneutral
    Hof Gray · #484848
    →
  • Xiaohongshu 小红书neutral
    Slate Text · #333333
    →
  • JD.com 京东neutral
    Slate · #333333
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #40406D.

  • JapanIndigo (ai-iro 藍色)
    #22366E · Persicaria tinctoria fermentation dye
    →
  • EgyptLapis Lazuli
    #1F4287 · Lapis lazuli from Badakhshan (Afghanistan), jewelry and inlay
    →
  • China (Traditional)Indigo Blue (青)
    #1A4378 · Persicaria tinctoria — Han textile dye
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using blue and color in design.

HistoryIndigo: The Color That Built Trade Routes and Made Blue CheapBrand & MarketingTechnology Brand Color Design: Trust, Intelligence, and the Blue ProblemAccessibilityWCAG Color Accessibility Guide: Contrast Ratios, Color-Blind Design, and What You Actually Need to Know

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
Iris Velvet Dust
#4F4F87 · hsl(240, 26%, 42%)
Darker companion
Iris Shadow Dust
#35355A · hsl(240, 26%, 28%)
Complementary counterpoint
Citrine Dusk Dust
#6D6D40 · hsl(60, 26%, 34%)
Analogous lead
Orchid Dusk Dust
#4F406D · hsl(260, 26%, 34%)
Analogous echo
Cobalt Dusk Dust
#404F6D · hsl(220, 26%, 34%)
Triadic +120°
Crimson Dusk Dust
#6D4040 · hsl(0, 26%, 34%)
Triadic +240°
Emerald Dusk Dust
#406D40 · hsl(120, 26%, 34%)
Split-comp +150°
Coral Dusk Dust
#6D5740 · hsl(30, 26%, 34%)
Split-comp +210°
Lime Dusk Dust
#576D40 · hsl(90, 26%, 34%)
Export preview
Base: Iris Dusk Dust #40406D
Lighter companion: Iris Velvet Dust #4F4F87
Darker companion: Iris Shadow Dust #35355A
Complementary counterpoint: Citrine Dusk Dust #6D6D40
Analogous lead: Orchid Dusk Dust #4F406D
Analogous echo: Cobalt Dusk Dust #404F6D
Triadic +120°: Crimson Dusk Dust #6D4040
Triadic +240°: Emerald Dusk Dust #406D40
Split-comp +150°: Coral Dusk Dust #6D5740
Split-comp +210°: Lime Dusk Dust #576D40

Compare

See how Iris Dusk Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsIris Velvet DustvsIris Shadow DustvsCitrine Dusk DustvsOrchid Dusk DustvsCobalt Dusk DustvsCrimson Dusk Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Iris Dusk Muted
#474766 · hsl(240, 18%, 34%)
Nearby match
Iris Dusk Soft
#393974 · hsl(240, 34%, 34%)
Nearby match
Iris Shadow Dust
#35355A · hsl(240, 26%, 28%)
Nearby match
Amethyst Dusk Dust
#44406D · hsl(245, 26%, 34%)
Nearby match
Iris Velvet Dust
#4F4F87 · hsl(240, 26%, 42%)
Nearby match
Iris Dusk Faint
#4E4E5F · hsl(240, 10%, 34%)

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
AAA9.3:1
Citrine Veil Faint
#FAFAF9
AAA9.3:1
Citrine Veil Muted
#FBFBF9
AAA9.3:1
Citrine Veil Dust
#FBFBF9
AAA9.4:1
Citrine Veil Soft
#FCFCF8
AAA9.5:1
Citrine Veil Clear
#FDFDF7
AAA9.5:1
Citrine Veil Vivid
#FEFEF6

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#404062
Protanopia
#404064
Tritanopia
#405D5B
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Iris Dusk Faint#4E4E5F · hsl(240, 10%, 34%)Iris Dusk Muted#474766 · hsl(240, 18%, 34%)Iris Dusk Dust#40406D · hsl(240, 26%, 34%)Iris Dusk Soft#393974 · hsl(240, 34%, 34%)Iris Dusk Clear#282886 · hsl(240, 54%, 34%)Iris Dusk Vivid#171797 · hsl(240, 74%, 34%)Iris Dusk Bright#0E0EA0 · hsl(240, 84%, 34%)Iris Dusk Pure#0707A6 · hsl(240, 92%, 34%)
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