ColorXprez

#3F4E42

Graphite · dark cool gray

About #3F4E42

With the hex code #3F4E42, this is a dark gray with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 25% red, 31% green and 26% blue, while a printer would mix 19% cyan, 0% magenta, 15% yellow and 69% black. It reads as a cool colour.

If you had to name it, it is similar to Graphite — a ΔE of 12.9 — followed by Charcoal. For maximum hue contrast, pair it with its complement #4E3F4B, a eggplant shade.

In design, a dark colour like this works best for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. White text reads best on it at 8.82:1 (a WCAG AAA pass). Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (8.82:1).

Colour codes

HEX
RGB
HSL
HSV / HSB
CMYK
CIELAB
Decimal
CSS
Red63
Green78
Blue66

Closest named colours

Graphite
#383838 · ΔE 12.9
Charcoal
#36454F · ΔE 14.6
Gunmetal
#2A3439 · ΔE 15.5

ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.

Text on #3F4E42

WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.

White heading text
Body copy set on graphite #3F4E42.
8.82:1AAA
Black heading text
Body copy set on graphite #3F4E42.
2.38:1Fail

Colour-blindness preview

How #3F4E42 appears to people with the three most common types of colour-vision deficiency.

Normal vision
#3F4E42
Protanopia (no red cones)
#4E4B41
Deuteranopia (no green cones)
#4C4A43
Tritanopia (no blue cones)
#3D4D4B

Shades, tints & matching colours

Tints and shades

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Split complementary

Tetradic

Similar colours

Frequently asked questions

›What colour is #3F4E42?

With the hex code #3F4E42, this is a dark gray with a muted character. Its RGB recipe is 25% red, 31% green and 26% blue, while a printer would mix 19% cyan, 0% magenta, 15% yellow and 69% black. It reads as a cool colour.

›What text colour should I use on #3F4E42?

Use white text. White on #3F4E42 has a contrast ratio of 8.82:1 (AAA).

›What colours go with #3F4E42?

Its complementary colour is #4E3F4B, and analogous partners are #444E3F and #3F4E4A.