#424A42
Graphite · dark neutral
About #424A42
#424A42 is a near-neutral, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 26% red, 29% green and 26% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 11% cyan, 0% magenta, 11% yellow and 71% black. Being nearly neutral, it pairs easily with warm and cool tones alike.
Of the common colour names it is similar to Graphite (ΔE 9.4); Charcoal comes next. Its complementary colour, directly opposite on the colour wheel, is #4A424A — a graphite tone that gives the strongest contrast in hue.
Designers tend to use dark tones like #424A42 for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. White text reads best on it at 9.17:1 (a WCAG AAA pass). Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (9.17:1).
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Closest named colours
ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.
Text on #424A42
WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.
Colour-blindness preview
How #424A42 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 #424A42?
#424A42 is a near-neutral, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 26% red, 29% green and 26% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 11% cyan, 0% magenta, 11% yellow and 71% black. Being nearly neutral, it pairs easily with warm and cool tones alike.
›What text colour should I use on #424A42?
Use white text. White on #424A42 has a contrast ratio of 9.17:1 (AAA).
›What colours go with #424A42?
Its complementary colour is #4A424A, and analogous partners are #464A42 and #424A46.