Complementary
Two colors from opposite sides of the wheel. They make each other look more vivid, which is why the pairing is used for anything that needs to stand out.
Charcoal
#36454FCharcoal is commonly given as the hex color #36454F, with RGB values 54, 69, 79. It is not a CSS keyword, so the value is a widely used convention rather than a standard.
Palette image
Every swatch on this page, as one image you can save or share.
Charcoal color codes
Every value for #36454F, ready to paste. Click any code to copy it.
| Channel | Decimal | Share | Hex | Octal | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | 54 | 21.18% | 36 | 66 | 00110110 |
| Green | 69 | 27.06% | 45 | 105 | 01000101 |
| Blue | 79 | 30.98% | 4F | 117 | 01001111 |
The nearest web-safe color is #333366, from the 216-color palette browsers agreed on before displays could be trusted with more.
Shades, tints and tones
Every step is generated from #36454F. Click a swatch to copy its hex.
Shades of charcoal
A shade is the base color with black mixed in. Shades read as deeper and more dramatic, and they are what you reach for when a color needs to recede or carry weight.
Tints of charcoal
A tint is the base color with white mixed in. Tints turn pastel as they lighten, which makes them useful for backgrounds and for anything that has to sit behind text.
Tones of charcoal
A tone is the base color with gray mixed in. Tones lose the shout without losing the hue, and they are usually what separates a considered palette from a loud one.
The charcoal scale
The same color as the 50 to 950 ladder every CSS framework uses, with #36454F at 500. Click a step to copy its hex, or take the whole scale as variables for a design system.
The gray family
Charcoal sits in the gray family. Every named gray in the library, with charcoal first.
| Swatch | Name | Hex | RGB | HSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| is the color on this page | #36454F | 54, 69, 79 | 204, 19%, 26% | |
| Silver is a CSS keyword | #C0C0C0 | 192, 192, 192 | 0, 0%, 75% | |
| Slate gray is a CSS keyword | #708090 | 112, 128, 144 | 210, 13%, 50% | |
| Platinum | #E5E4E2 | 229, 228, 226 | 40, 5%, 89% | |
| Stone | #928E85 | 146, 142, 133 | 42, 6%, 55% | |
| Pearl | #EAE0C8 | 234, 224, 200 | 42, 45%, 85% | |
| Graphite | #4B4E53 | 75, 78, 83 | 217, 5%, 31% | |
| Gainsboro is a CSS keyword | #DCDCDC | 220, 220, 220 | 0, 0%, 86% | |
| Dim gray is a CSS keyword | #696969 | 105, 105, 105 | 0, 0%, 41% |
Color schemes built on charcoal
Harmonies are positions on the color wheel rather than matters of taste, which is why they keep working across very different designs.
Analogous
Three neighbors on the wheel. Nothing competes, so the result reads calm and settled, closer to how color behaves in nature.
Split complementary
The base plus the two colors either side of its complement. It keeps most of the contrast while being much easier to balance.
Triadic
Three colors spaced evenly around the wheel. Strong and lively, and usually best with one dominant color and two accents.
Tetradic
Two complementary pairs, forming a rectangle on the wheel. The richest scheme available, and the hardest to keep from shouting.
Monochromatic
One hue at different lightness levels. Effortlessly cohesive, and the safest way to build a palette around a brand color.
Colors close to #36454F
Near neighbors, for when this color is almost right. Each one shifts hue, saturation or lightness by a small step.
Charcoal color palettes
Five-color palettes built around #36454F, each following a different scheme. Click any swatch to copy it, or open the generator to build your own.
Analogous
Complementary
Triadic
Monochromatic
Open the palette generator to lock the colors you like and regenerate the rest.
Neutral gradients
5 ready-made gray gradients, each with every stop written as a hex you can edit.
Contrast and readability
Whether charcoal works as text, and what to put on top of it when it is the background. Ratios follow WCAG 2.1, where 4.5 is the bar for body text and 3 for large text.
Charcoal text on white background
9.9:1 · ExcellentLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Charcoal text on black background
2.12:1 · PoorLarge text at 24 pixels
Body text at 16 pixels. A flat field of color removes every variable, which is what makes it useful for judging a display.
- Body AA
- Body AAA
- Large AA
- Large AAA
Used the other way round, #36454F as a background takes #FFFFFF text. That is the higher-contrast of the two, and it is what the tool picks automatically for any chrome sitting on your color.
Charcoal reads better on a white background of the two. Contrast is a property of the pair, not of one color, so a color that fails here can still be perfectly usable against a different partner.
Charcoal against your project
About charcoal
A very dark gray with a blue lean, which is what stops it feeling as flat as pure gray. Widely used as a softer substitute for black in body text and interfaces.
- Family
- Neutral, the darkest of 9 grays
- Web-safe
- is the nearest
- Closest keyword
- darkslategray, at #2F4F4F
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