Colors Encyclopedia

Named color

Shale

Shale is a muted blue color with HEX #59656F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it has RGB 89, 101, 111, HSL 207, 11%, 39%, cool temperature, and is useful for earth tone palettes, interior design, and material inspired branding.

#59656F blue cool muted
HEX #59656F
RGB rgb(89, 101, 111)
HSL hsl(207 11% 39%)
CMYK cmyk(20, 9, 0, 56)
Luminance 0.1258
Contrast Black 3.52:1White 5.97:1

CSS Utilities

--color-shale: #59656F;
.bg-shale { background-color: #59656F; }
.text-shale { color: #59656F; }
Open CSS utility pageReusable variables, classes, examples, and implementation notes

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Color Data (JSON)

Perfect for CSS, design systems, automation, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.1258
Black text3.52:1AA Fail
White text5.97:1AA Pass
hexCanonical HEX value
rgbRed, green, blue channels
hslHue, saturation, lightness
cmykApproximate print conversion
wcagAA and AAA contrast options
harmoniesMathematical harmony sets
variantsGenerated tone variants
nearestColorsKnowledge graph neighbors
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Color systems
{
  "hex": "#59656F",
  "rgb": [
    89,
    101,
    111
  ],
  "hsl": [
    207,
    11,
    39
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    20,
    9,
    0,
    56
  ],
  "luminance": 0.1258,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 3.52,
    "white": 5.97
  }
}
WCAG
{
  "AA": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5"
  ],
  "AAA": []
}
Harmonies
{
  "complementary": "#6E6259",
  "analogous": [
    "#596E6D",
    "#595A6E"
  ],
  "triadic": [
    "#6E5965",
    "#656E59"
  ],
  "tetradic": [
    "#6D596E",
    "#6E6259",
    "#5A6E59"
  ],
  "splitComplementary": [
    "#6E595A",
    "#6E6D59"
  ],
  "monochromatic": [
    "#85939D",
    "#59656F",
    "#30363B"
  ]
}
Variants
{
  "light": "#85939D",
  "dark": "#30363B",
  "saturated": "#436784",
  "desaturated": "#636363",
  "pastel": "#A3A3A3",
  "neon": "#0084F0"
}
Pairings
{
  "best": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#6E6259",
    "#596E6D",
    "#595A6E"
  ],
  "avoid": [
    "#636363",
    "#85939D"
  ],
  "neutral": [
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#E8E8E4"
  ],
  "highContrast": [
    "#FFFFFF"
  ],
  "lowContrast": [
    "#85939D",
    "#636363"
  ]
}
Knowledge graph
{
  "nearestColors": [
    "storm-blue",
    "granite",
    "dim-gray",
    "dim-grey",
    "machinery-gray"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "shale"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "aegean-blue-vs-shale",
    "shale-vs-granite",
    "shale-vs-storm-blue"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/blue",
    "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
    "/colors/by-tone/muted"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/shale",
    "/wcag/shale",
    "/css/colors/shale",
    "/hex/59656f"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/blue",
      "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
      "/colors/by-tone/muted"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/shale"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/storm-blue",
      "/colors/granite",
      "/colors/dim-gray",
      "/colors/dim-grey",
      "/colors/machinery-gray",
      "/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale",
      "/compare/shale-vs-granite",
      "/compare/shale-vs-storm-blue",
      "/harmonies/shale",
      "/wcag/shale",
      "/css/colors/shale",
      "/hex/59656f"
    ]
  }
}
Full JSON dataset 
{
  "slug": "shale",
  "name": "Shale",
  "hex": "#59656F",
  "uses": [
    "earth-tone palettes",
    "interior design",
    "material-inspired branding"
  ],
  "psychology": {
    "associations": [
      "groundedness",
      "warmth",
      "natural texture"
    ],
    "contexts": [
      "architecture",
      "home decor",
      "outdoor products",
      "editorial layouts"
    ],
    "avoidIn": [
      "high-saturation futuristic interfaces"
    ]
  },
  "aliases": [],
  "sourceType": "curated",
  "confidence": "medium",
  "reviewStatus": "manual",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/assets/colors.json",
  "origin": {
    "type": "common",
    "notes": "Curated common color reference used in design, material, cultural, and editorial color systems."
  },
  "family": "blue",
  "temperature": "cool",
  "tone": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "editorialNotes": "Curated internal color record with computed technical properties.",
  "tags": [
    "blue",
    "cool",
    "muted",
    "earth-tone-palettes",
    "interior-design",
    "material-inspired-branding",
    "groundedness",
    "warmth",
    "natural-texture"
  ],
  "popularity": 84,
  "rgb": [
    89,
    101,
    111
  ],
  "hsl": [
    207,
    11,
    39
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    20,
    9,
    0,
    56
  ],
  "luminance": 0.1258,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 3.52,
    "white": 5.97
  },
  "harmonies": {
    "complementary": "#6E6259",
    "analogous": [
      "#596E6D",
      "#595A6E"
    ],
    "triadic": [
      "#6E5965",
      "#656E59"
    ],
    "tetradic": [
      "#6D596E",
      "#6E6259",
      "#5A6E59"
    ],
    "splitComplementary": [
      "#6E595A",
      "#6E6D59"
    ],
    "monochromatic": [
      "#85939D",
      "#59656F",
      "#30363B"
    ]
  },
  "variants": {
    "light": "#85939D",
    "dark": "#30363B",
    "saturated": "#436784",
    "desaturated": "#636363",
    "pastel": "#A3A3A3",
    "neon": "#0084F0"
  },
  "wcag": {
    "AA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ],
    "AAA": []
  },
  "css": {
    "variable": "--color-shale: #59656F;",
    "utility": ".bg-shale { background-color: #59656F; }",
    "textUtility": ".text-shale { color: #59656F; }"
  },
  "nearestColors": [
    "storm-blue",
    "granite",
    "dim-gray",
    "dim-grey",
    "machinery-gray"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "shale"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "aegean-blue-vs-shale",
    "shale-vs-granite",
    "shale-vs-storm-blue"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/blue",
    "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
    "/colors/by-tone/muted"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/shale",
    "/wcag/shale",
    "/css/colors/shale",
    "/hex/59656f"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/blue",
      "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
      "/colors/by-tone/muted"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/shale"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/storm-blue",
      "/colors/granite",
      "/colors/dim-gray",
      "/colors/dim-grey",
      "/colors/machinery-gray",
      "/compare/aegean-blue-vs-shale",
      "/compare/shale-vs-granite",
      "/compare/shale-vs-storm-blue",
      "/harmonies/shale",
      "/wcag/shale",
      "/css/colors/shale",
      "/hex/59656f"
    ]
  },
  "pairings": {
    "best": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#6E6259",
      "#596E6D",
      "#595A6E"
    ],
    "avoid": [
      "#636363",
      "#85939D"
    ],
    "neutral": [
      "#1A1A1A",
      "#F5F5F5",
      "#E8E8E4"
    ],
    "highContrast": [
      "#FFFFFF"
    ],
    "lowContrast": [
      "#85939D",
      "#636363"
    ]
  }
}
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

Color meaning and use

About Shale Color

Shale sits in the blue family with cool temperature and muted visual character. Shale is a commonly used color name in design references, palettes, and editorial color systems.

Its common associations include groundedness, warmth, and natural texture, which makes it relevant for architecture and home decor. In design work, Shale is most useful for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, especially when paired with white text for stronger contrast.

Related Color Guides

Blue color familyBrowse named blue colors and compare nearby swatches.Cool colorsExplore colors with cool temperature behavior.Muted colorsFind colors with muted visual character.Shale accessibilityCheck contrast and WCAG text options for #59656F.Shale CSS utilitiesUse Shale in CSS variables and utility classes.#59656F HEX atlasOpen the permanent HEX atlas record for conversions and variants.Shale paletteOpen the generated palette based on Shale.Shale harmoniesExplore complementary, analogous, triadic, and tetradic harmonies.

WCAG Accessibility

Contrast checks for Shale against black and white text.

Black text3.52:1AA Fail
White text5.97:1AA Pass
AA text options#FFFFFF, #F5F5F5
AAA text optionsNone in seed set
Open WCAG pageDetailed contrast notes, warnings, alternatives, and UI examples

Similar Colors

Storm Blue#4F666A
Granite#676767
Dim Gray#696969
Dim Grey#696969
Machinery Gray#6C6F70

Color Harmonies

#6E6259#6E6259
#596E6D#596E6D
#595A6E#595A6E
#6E5965#6E5965
#656E59#656E59
Open full Shale harmony pageComplementary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, split, and monochromatic sets

Variants

#85939D#85939D
#30363B#30363B
#436784#436784
#636363#636363
#A3A3A3#A3A3A3
#0084F0#0084F0

Pairings

White#FFFFFF
#6E6259#6E6259
#596E6D#596E6D
#595A6E#595A6E
Matte Black#1A1A1A
White Smoke#F5F5F5