What color is #383538?

#383538 is a dark gray, closest to the named color Moonless Night. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #383538?

The RGB value is 56, 53, 56: 56 red, 53 green and 56 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #383538?

The complementary color is #353835, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #383538?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.73:1 and white text 12.11:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#383538 color

#383538 rgb(56, 53, 56)

Shades of gray

The hex color #383538 is a dark gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 22% red, 20.8% green and 22% blue (56, 53, 56).

Its hue angle is 300°, with 3% saturation and 21% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 5% magenta, 0% yellow and 78% black.

The closest named color is Moonless Night (#3C393D), a difference of 1.5 ΔE, which is barely visible.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 12.11:1).

#383538 color codes

HEX	`#383538`
RGB	`rgb(56, 53, 56)`
RGB percent	`rgb(22%, 20.8%, 22%)`
HSL	`hsl(300, 3%, 21%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(300, 5%, 22%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 5%, 0%, 78%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(22.56, 1.99, -1.41)`
CIE LCH	`lch(22.56, 2.44, 324.69)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(3.618, 3.673, 4.259)`
Decimal	`3683640`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #383538, 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 #383538	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.73:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	12.11:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

#383538 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	12.11:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.73:1	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 #383538 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #383538; }
.text { color: #383538; }
.border { border: 2px solid #383538; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(56 53 56 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #383538, #383537); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Jet Black.

Questions

What color is #383538?: #383538 is a dark gray, closest to the named color Moonless Night. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #383538?: The RGB value is 56, 53, 56: 56 red, 53 green and 56 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #383538?: The complementary color is #353835, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #383538?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 1.73:1 and white text 12.11:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.