#5B596B
Charcoal · dark cool gray
About #5B596B
#5B596B is a muted, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 36% red, 35% green and 42% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 15% cyan, 17% magenta, 0% yellow and 58% black. Its overall feel is cool.
Of the common colour names it is similar to Charcoal (ΔE 13.2); Eggplant comes next. Its complementary colour, directly opposite on the colour wheel, is #696B59 — a umber tone that gives the strongest contrast in hue.
Designers tend to use dark tones like #5B596B for headings, body text, footers and dark-mode backgrounds. Put white text on top of it — 6.80:1, a WCAG AA pass. Used as a text colour on white, it is readable too (6.80:1).
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Closest named colours
ΔE measures visible difference: under 2 is barely noticeable, over 10 is clearly different.
Text on #5B596B
WCAG contrast for white and black text on this colour.
Colour-blindness preview
How #5B596B 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 #5B596B?
#5B596B is a muted, dark shade in the gray family. On screen it is built from 36% red, 35% green and 42% blue; for print, its CMYK mix is 15% cyan, 17% magenta, 0% yellow and 58% black. Its overall feel is cool.
›What text colour should I use on #5B596B?
Use white text. White on #5B596B has a contrast ratio of 6.80:1 (AA).
›What colours go with #5B596B?
Its complementary colour is #696B59, and analogous partners are #59606B and #64596B.