#404243
Graphite · dark neutral
About #404243
#404243 is a near-neutral, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 25% red, 26% green and 26% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 4% cyan, 1% magenta, 0% yellow and 74% black. It is close to neutral, so it sits comfortably next to both warm and cool colours.
Of the common colour names it is very close to Graphite (ΔE 4.4); Charcoal comes next. Its complementary colour, directly opposite on the colour wheel, is #434140 — a graphite tone that gives the strongest contrast in hue.
Designers tend to use dark tones like #404243 for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. Put white text on top of it — 10.10:1, a WCAG AAA pass. Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (10.10:1).
Colour codes
| HEX | |
|---|---|
| RGB | |
| HSL | |
| HSV / HSB | |
| CMYK | |
| CIELAB | |
| Decimal | |
| CSS |
Closest named colours
ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.
Text on #404243
WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.
Colour-blindness preview
How #404243 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 #404243?
#404243 is a near-neutral, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 25% red, 26% green and 26% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 4% cyan, 1% magenta, 0% yellow and 74% black. It is close to neutral, so it sits comfortably next to both warm and cool colours.
›What text colour should I use on #404243?
Use white text. White on #404243 has a contrast ratio of 10.10:1 (AAA).
›What colours go with #404243?
Its complementary colour is #434140, and analogous partners are #404342 and #404143.