What color is #173938?

#173938 is a very dark, desaturated cyan, closest to the named color Botanical Night. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #173938?

The RGB value is 23, 57, 56: 23 red, 57 green and 56 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #173938?

The complementary color is #391718, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #173938?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.68:1 and white text 12.51:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#173938 color

#173938 rgb(23, 57, 56)

Shades of gray

The hex color #173938 is a very dark, desaturated cyan.

In the RGB color model it is made of 9% red, 22.4% green and 22% blue (23, 57, 56).

Its hue angle is 178°, with 43% saturation and 16% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 60% cyan, 0% magenta, 2% yellow and 78% black.

The closest named color is Botanical Night (#12403C), a difference of 3.6 ΔE, a small difference.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 12.51:1).

#173938 color codes

HEX	`#173938`
RGB	`rgb(23, 57, 56)`
RGB percent	`rgb(9%, 22.4%, 22%)`
HSL	`hsl(178, 43%, 16%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(178, 60%, 22%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(60%, 0%, 2%, 78%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(21.56, -12.59, -3.16)`
CIE LCH	`lch(21.56, 12.98, 194.07)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(2.53, 3.394, 4.262)`
Decimal	`1521976`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #173938, based on their position on the color wheel.

Complementary

The color opposite on the color wheel (180°). Strongest contrast.

Analogous

Neighbors 30° either side. Calm, natural combinations.

Split complementary

The two colors next to the complement (150° and 210°).

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced, 120° apart.

Tetradic (square)

Four colors 90° apart.

Shades, tints and tones

Shades (darker, mixed with black)

Tints (lighter, mixed with white)

Tones (mixed with gray)

Contrast and accessibility

Text on #173938	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.68:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	12.51:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

#173938 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	12.51:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.68:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

WCAG 2 asks for 4.5:1 for normal text (AA), 7:1 for AAA, and 3:1 for large text. Check other pairs.

Color blindness simulation

How #173938 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #173938; }
.text { color: #173938; }
.border { border: 2px solid #173938; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(23 57 56 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #173938, #172939); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Dark Slate Gray.

Questions

What color is #173938?: #173938 is a very dark, desaturated cyan, closest to the named color Botanical Night. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #173938?: The RGB value is 23, 57, 56: 23 red, 57 green and 56 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #173938?: The complementary color is #391718, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #173938?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.68:1 and white text 12.51:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.