#3E5259
Charcoal · dark cool teal
About #3E5259
#3E5259 is a muted, dark shade in the teal family. On screen it is built from 24% red, 32% green and 35% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 30% cyan, 8% magenta, 0% yellow and 65% black. Its overall feel is cool.
Of the common colour names it is very close to Charcoal (ΔE 5.9); Gunmetal comes next. Its complementary colour, directly opposite on the colour wheel, is #59453E — a umber tone that gives the strongest contrast in hue.
Designers tend to use dark tones like #3E5259 for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. Put white text on top of it — 8.22:1, a WCAG AAA pass. Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (8.22:1).
Colour codes
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Closest named colours
ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.
Text on #3E5259
WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.
Colour-blindness preview
How #3E5259 appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.
Shades, tints & matching colours
Similar colours
Frequently asked questions
›What colour is #3E5259?
#3E5259 is a muted, dark shade in the teal family. On screen it is built from 24% red, 32% green and 35% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 30% cyan, 8% magenta, 0% yellow and 65% black. Its overall feel is cool.
›What text colour should I use on #3E5259?
Use white text. White on #3E5259 has a contrast ratio of 8.22:1 (AAA).
›What colours go with #3E5259?
Its complementary colour is #59453E, and analogous partners are #3E5953 and #3E4559.