Smalt
#003399
Royal blue-leaning violet for high-clarity focus
About Smalt
On my monitor, Smalt looks like a crisp cobalt-purple applied with a steady hand. It's brighter and cleaner than the inkier Klein Blue, and it doesn't sink as far into darkness as Deepsea Kraken. Compared to One Minute to Midnight, it feels more "set" and less sign-worn, with a steadier, medium-deep presence.
I use Smalt for systems UI where you need a confident primary without going into the heavy, weighted vibe of those deeper purples. Think telecom control panels for active state fills, streaming app primary actions, and dashboards and finance apps where focus rings and key navigation highlights should read immediately. It also holds up in media player controls because it stays legible against cool grays without turning murky.
Quirk: keep nearby accents slightly cleaner, or the purple undertone can get flattened. If you pair it with a lighter blue, nudge that second shade away from dark ink so they don't collapse into one indistinct block.
Code snippets
Copy this color into your project.
Contrast checker
WCAG 2.1 contrast ratios. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large. AAA requires 7:1 / 4.5:1.
On White #ffffff
On Gray 100 #f5f5f5
On Gray 900 #18181b
On Black #000000
Variations
Shades
Darker variations, created by mixing toward black.
Tints
Lighter variations, created by mixing toward white.
Tones
Muted variations, created by reducing saturation.
Hues
Hue rotations around the color wheel.
Temperatures
Warm and cool shifts of this color.
Color harmonies
Suggested palettes
Palettes built around this color.
Community palettes
Published palettes that include this color.
