Skip to content

#393d39

a deep, muted gray · neutral · closest name: Dark Slate Gray

RGB
57, 61, 57
HSL
120°, 3%, 23%
CMYK
7, 0, 7, 76
Luminance
0.0450

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #393d39 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#393d39
Hue
120°
gray
Saturation
3%
muted
Lightness
23%
deep
Brightness
24%
HSV value
Perceived
23%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.0450
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
51/100 cool
Color family
Gray
Tone
Muted
Best ink
White
11.05:1
Closest name
Dark Slate Gray
ΔE2000 11.2
Where it sits
Hue120° of 360°
Saturation3%
Lightness23%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool51% cool

Near-neutral, so temperature is a whisper rather than a statement — the tinted siblings below show which way it can lean.

Every format

HEX#393d39
RGBrgb(57, 61, 57)
HSLhsl(120, 3%, 23%)
CMYKcmyk(7%, 0%, 7%, 76%)
LABlab(25.3 -2.6 1.9)
LCHlch(25.3 3.2 144.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.355 0.009 145.4)
Decimal3751225
Display P3color(display-p3 0.224 0.239 0.224)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #393d39;
background-color: #393d39;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#393d39] bg-[#393d39]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #393d39;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.224, green: 0.239, blue: 0.224)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#393d39")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF393D39)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(57, 61, 57)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#ffffff on #393d39 · 11.05:1
Use #ffffffAAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 11.05:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Aa
Black text · 1.90:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Reading the other direction: #393d39 as text scores 11.05:1 on white and 1.90:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#393d39 on white: 11.05:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#393d39 on black: 1.90:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #3D3C39
deuteranopia · #3C3C39
tritanopia · #393D3C

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #393d39 is pinned to step 900; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F7F8F7
#EFF0EF
#DDDFDD
#C5C9C5
#A8AEA8
#8B938B
#767F76
#636963
#4F544F
#393d39
#252725
Base = 900Lightest = 50 · #F7F8F7Darkest = 950 · #252725
:root {
  --brand-50: #F7F8F7;
  --brand-100: #EFF0EF;
  --brand-200: #DDDFDD;
  --brand-300: #C5C9C5;
  --brand-400: #A8AEA8;
  --brand-500: #8B938B;
  --brand-600: #767F76;
  --brand-700: #636963;
  --brand-800: #4F544F;
  --brand-900: #393d39;
  --brand-950: #252725;
  --brand: #393d39;
  --brand-ink: #ffffff;
}

Colors that work with #393d39

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#ffffff
White wins here
Surface#F7F8F7
Tinted page background
Border#D5D8D5
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#6F776F
Captions on the surface
Accent#3D373F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3E423E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F2F3F2
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1B1D1B
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #393d39

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Body text and links on white
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading surfaces
  • Headers, footers and dark-mode surfaces
  • Neutral UI chrome and typography
Use with care
  • Text on black or near-black surfaces
  • Black text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#3D393D
Analogous left#3B3D39
Analogous right#393D3B
Split-complement 1#3B393D
Split-complement 2#3D393B
Triadic 1#39393D
Triadic 2#3D3939
Tetradic#393B3D

RGB percentages

Red22.4%
Green23.9%
Blue22.4%

CMYK percentages

Cyan6.6%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow6.6%
Key (black)76.1%

Color previews

#393d39 text on a black background

contrast 1.90:1

Card sample

#393d39 text on a white background

contrast 11.05:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #393d39;
Background color
Panel with #393d39 background
background-color: #393d39;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #393d39;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(57, 61, 57, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(57, 61, 57, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #393d39;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #393d39, #393D3C);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #393d39

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#393d39 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
EditorialArchitectureEnterpriseLuxury goods
Common UI roles
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#393d39, answered

What color is #393d39?

#393d39 is a deep muted gray, closest to Dark Slate Gray (ΔE2000 11.2). It sits at 120° on the hue wheel with 3% saturation and 23% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #393d39?

rgb(57, 61, 57) — 57 red, 61 green and 57 blue out of 255, or 22.4% / 23.9% / 22.4% by channel.

Is #393d39 a light or a dark color?

It is a dark color. Relative luminance is 0.0450 and perceived brightness is 23%, so white text on it reaches 11.05:1.

Should I use black or white text on #393d39?

White. It scores 11.05:1 against #393d39, versus 1.90:1 for black — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #393d39?

#3D393D sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #3B393D and #3D393B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #393d39?

For interface work: #F7F8F7 as the surface, #D5D8D5 for borders, #6F776F for secondary text, #3D373F as an accent and #3E423E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3B3D39 and #393D3B stays calm, while #3D393D is the loudest partner.

What is #393d39 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(7%, 0%, 7%, 76%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #393d39 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 51 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #493F37; nudged cooler, #2E363D.

Work with #393d39 in the Color Lab