And I think I may have accidentally copied the MS Win10 style by filling a rectangle with a solid color and calling it a taskbar.
This is "Modern" UI design. 
I strongly dislike that the word "modern" is used for something that in reality is a regression. It's like saying Picasso was a great artist when he was throwing paint at a wall.
Quote ALMonty:
"Great explanation and research but you can also use the saturation button in the WB config."
OK, good to know. 
Quote ALMonty:
"The blue has more of a purple look, how about a dark blue and the gray is too light how about a charcoal."
No, the gray is not too light, it's great for old-school Mac fans. However a darker variant (charcoal as you say) would please a different group of users.
Mission impossible... 
