What color is #272B28?

#272B28 is a dark gray, closest to the named color Bitter Liquorice. It belongs to the black family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #272B28?

The RGB value is 39, 43, 40: 39 red, 43 green and 40 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #272B28?

The complementary color is #2B272A, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #272B28?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.46:1 and white text 14.36:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#272B28 color

#272B28 rgb(39, 43, 40)

Shades of black

The hex color #272B28 is a dark gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 15.3% red, 16.9% green and 15.7% blue (39, 43, 40).

Its hue angle is 135°, with 5% saturation and 16% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 9% cyan, 0% magenta, 7% yellow and 83% black.

The closest named color is Bitter Liquorice (#262926), a difference of 0.8 ΔE, which is barely visible.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 14.36:1).

#272B28 color codes

HEX	`#272B28`
RGB	`rgb(39, 43, 40)`
RGB percent	`rgb(15.3%, 16.9%, 15.7%)`
HSL	`hsl(135, 5%, 16%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(135, 9%, 17%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(9%, 0%, 7%, 83%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(17.05, -2.51, 1.34)`
CIE LCH	`lch(17.05, 2.85, 151.84)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(2.084, 2.312, 2.344)`
Decimal	`2566952`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #272B28, 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 #272B28	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.46:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	14.36:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

#272B28 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	14.36:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.46:1	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 #272B28 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #272b28; }
.text { color: #272b28; }
.border { border: 2px solid #272b28; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(39 43 40 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #272b28, #272b2a); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Onyx.

Questions

What color is #272B28?: #272B28 is a dark gray, closest to the named color Bitter Liquorice. It belongs to the black family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #272B28?: The RGB value is 39, 43, 40: 39 red, 43 green and 40 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #272B28?: The complementary color is #2B272A, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #272B28?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.46:1 and white text 14.36:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.