CSS named color

Dim Gray #696969

The CSS keyword dimgray is #696969. It is a gray in the neutral family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.521 with chroma 0.000, too low for hue to matter.

Relative luminance
0.1413
OKLCH L · C · h
0.521 · 0.000 · —
Best text
White 5.48:1
Hue family
Neutral
Inspect this color Check contrast

#696969 color codes

HEX
#696969
RGB
rgb(105, 105, 105)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 41%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.521 0.000 0)
OKLab
oklab(0.521 0.000 0.000)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 44.41, a* 0.00, b* 0.00
XYZ (D65)
X 13.43, Y 14.13, Z 15.38
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 59%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #696969 accessible?

White text on it reaches 5.48:1, passing AA. Black text manages only 3.82:1, enough for large text only.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    3.82:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +26

  • White text on it

    5.48:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −82

  • As text on black

    3.82:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −24

  • As text on white

    5.48:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +77

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #696969 5.48:1

    It already reaches 5.48:1 on white, so no change is needed.

  • For text on black

    #757575 4.55:1

    Lightening its OKLCH lightness from 0.52 to 0.56 reaches 4.55:1 on black, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #696969 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #696969

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #696969 sits at step 600.

  1. 50#F5F5F5
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.26
  2. 100#EBEBEB
    White
    1.19
    Black
    17.61
  3. 200#D7D7D7
    White
    1.43
    Black
    14.59
  4. 300#BEBEBE
    White
    1.85
    Black
    11.29
  5. 400#A1A1A1
    White
    2.58
    Black
    8.12
  6. 500#868686
    White
    3.64
    Black
    5.76
  7. 600This color#696969
    White
    5.48
    Black
    3.82
  8. 700#585858
    White
    7.11
    Black
    2.95
  9. 800#404040
    White
    10.36
    Black
    2.02
  10. 900#292929
    White
    14.54
    Black
    1.44
  11. 950#161616
    White
    18.09
    Black
    1.16

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #696969 can get

A gray has no hue, so no gamut holds a more vivid version of #696969: more chroma would make it another color.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.000
sRGB edge
No hue
Display P3 edge
No hue
Rec. 2020 edge
No hue
Dominant wavelength
None, near white
Excitation purity
0%
Chromaticity
x 0.3127, y 0.3290

Mixing

Mixing #696969

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#B4B4B4
  • OKLab50%#B1B1B1
  • OKLCH50%#B1B1B1

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#353535
  • OKLab50%#242424
  • OKLCH50%#242424
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #696969, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #696969 50%, white);

In use

#696969 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.48:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:15.48:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:15.48:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:15.48:1 Passes

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.48:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:13.41:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:13.41:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:13.41:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #7D7D7D 4.55:1

Color vision

How #696969 looks with color blindness

As a neutral it barely changes under any simulation, ΔE2000 0.0 at most.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #696969 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as gray

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #696969 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as gray

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #696969 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as gray

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #696969 ΔE2000 0.0

    Imperceptible

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

A near-neutral has no complementary hue to pair with, so tell it apart from neighboring grays by lightness contrast alone.

Harmony

Color harmonies for #696969

A neutral has no hue to rotate, so every harmony collapses back to the same gray. Pair it with an accent color instead.

Or pair it by lightness: steps of its own scale as text on it, and what each can carry.

Build a lightness scale in Harmony Studio

  • Step 950 #161616 · 3.29:1

    Large text, icons and borders

  • Step 700 #585858 · 1.29:1

    Decoration only, under 3:1

  • Step 300 #BEBEBE · 2.95:1

    Decoration only, under 3:1

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-dimgray: #696969;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        dimgray: '#696969',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-dimgray: oklch(0.521 0.000 0);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "dimgray": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.4118, 0.4118, 0.4118],
        "hex": "#696969"
      },
      "$description": "CSS named color dimgray"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let dimgray = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.412, green: 0.412, blue: 0.412, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Dimgray = Color(0xFF696969)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #696969 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.