What color is #B9B5AD?

#B9B5AD is a light gray, closest to the named color Burnt Letters. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B9B5AD?

The RGB value is 185, 181, 173: 185 red, 181 green and 173 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B9B5AD?

The complementary color is #ADB1B9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B9B5AD?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.28:1 and white text 2.04:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B9B5AD color

#B9B5AD rgb(185, 181, 173)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B9B5AD is a light gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 72.5% red, 71% green and 67.8% blue (185, 181, 173).

Its hue angle is 40°, with 8% saturation and 70% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 2% magenta, 6% yellow and 27% black.

The closest named color is Burnt Letters (#B8B5AD), a difference of 0.5 ΔE, which is barely visible.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.28:1).

#B9B5AD color codes

HEX	`#B9B5AD`
RGB	`rgb(185, 181, 173)`
RGB percent	`rgb(72.5%, 71%, 67.8%)`
HSL	`hsl(40, 8%, 70%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(40, 6%, 73%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 2%, 6%, 27%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(73.79, -0.03, 4.57)`
CIE LCH	`lch(73.79, 4.57, 90.33)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(44.073, 46.379, 46.157)`
Decimal	`12170669`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B9B5AD, 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 #B9B5AD	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.28:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.04:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B9B5AD as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2.04:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.28:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

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 #B9B5AD looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b9b5ad; }
.text { color: #b9b5ad; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b9b5ad; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(185 181 173 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b9b5ad, #b7b9ad); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Greige.

Questions

What color is #B9B5AD?: #B9B5AD is a light gray, closest to the named color Burnt Letters. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B9B5AD?: The RGB value is 185, 181, 173: 185 red, 181 green and 173 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B9B5AD?: The complementary color is #ADB1B9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B9B5AD?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.28:1 and white text 2.04:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.