Named color

Asphalt

Asphalt is a dark gray color with HEX #2B2B2B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it has RGB 43, 43, 43, HSL 0, 0%, 17%, neutral temperature, and is useful for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes.

#2B2B2B gray neutral dark

HEX #2B2B2B

RGB rgb(43, 43, 43)

HSL hsl(0 0% 17%)

CMYK cmyk(0, 0, 0, 83)

Luminance 0.0242

Contrast Black 1.48:1White 14.15:1

CSS Utilities

--color-asphalt: #2B2B2B;
.bg-asphalt { background-color: #2B2B2B; }
.text-asphalt { color: #2B2B2B; }

Open CSS utility pageReusable variables, classes, examples, and implementation notes

Luminance0.0242

Black text1.48:1AA Fail

White text14.15:1AA Pass

hexCanonical HEX value

rgbRed, green, blue channels

hslHue, saturation, lightness

cmykApproximate print conversion

wcagAA and AAA contrast options

harmoniesMathematical harmony sets

variantsGenerated tone variants

nearestColorsKnowledge graph neighbors

Structured sections

Color systems

{
  "hex": "#2B2B2B",
  "rgb": [
    43,
    43,
    43
  ],
  "hsl": [
    0,
    0,
    17
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    0,
    0,
    83
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0242,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.48,
    "white": 14.15
  }
}

WCAG

{
  "AA": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5"
  ],
  "AAA": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5"
  ]
}

Harmonies

{
  "complementary": "#2B2B2B",
  "analogous": [
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ],
  "triadic": [
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ],
  "tetradic": [
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ],
  "splitComplementary": [
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ],
  "monochromatic": [
    "#595959",
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#000000"
  ]
}

Variants

{
  "light": "#595959",
  "dark": "#000000",
  "saturated": "#352222",
  "desaturated": "#2B2B2B",
  "pastel": "#6B6B6B",
  "neon": "#800000"
}

Pairings

{
  "best": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ],
  "avoid": [
    "#2B2B2B",
    "#595959"
  ],
  "neutral": [
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#E8E8E4"
  ],
  "highContrast": [
    "#FFFFFF"
  ],
  "lowContrast": [
    "#595959",
    "#2B2B2B"
  ]
}

Knowledge graph

{
  "nearestColors": [
    "slate-black",
    "rubber",
    "raisin",
    "charcoal-blue",
    "jet"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "asphalt"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "asphalt-vs-rubber",
    "asphalt-vs-slate-black"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/gray",
    "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/asphalt",
    "/wcag/asphalt",
    "/css/colors/asphalt",
    "/hex/2b2b2b"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/gray",
      "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/asphalt"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/slate-black",
      "/colors/rubber",
      "/colors/raisin",
      "/colors/charcoal-blue",
      "/colors/jet",
      "/compare/asphalt-vs-rubber",
      "/compare/asphalt-vs-slate-black",
      "/harmonies/asphalt",
      "/wcag/asphalt",
      "/css/colors/asphalt",
      "/hex/2b2b2b"
    ]
  }
}

Full JSON dataset

{
  "slug": "asphalt",
  "name": "Asphalt",
  "hex": "#2B2B2B",
  "uses": [
    "industrial design",
    "safety systems",
    "hardware palettes"
  ],
  "psychology": {
    "associations": [
      "utility",
      "visibility",
      "precision"
    ],
    "contexts": [
      "transportation",
      "tools",
      "hardware",
      "signage"
    ],
    "avoidIn": [
      "soft wellness palettes"
    ]
  },
  "aliases": [],
  "sourceType": "curated",
  "confidence": "medium",
  "reviewStatus": "manual",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/assets/colors.json",
  "origin": {
    "type": "common",
    "notes": "Curated common color reference used in design, material, cultural, and editorial color systems."
  },
  "family": "gray",
  "temperature": "neutral",
  "tone": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "editorialNotes": "Curated internal color record with computed technical properties.",
  "tags": [
    "gray",
    "neutral",
    "dark",
    "industrial-design",
    "safety-systems",
    "hardware-palettes",
    "utility",
    "visibility",
    "precision"
  ],
  "popularity": 84,
  "rgb": [
    43,
    43,
    43
  ],
  "hsl": [
    0,
    0,
    17
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    0,
    0,
    83
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0242,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.48,
    "white": 14.15
  },
  "harmonies": {
    "complementary": "#2B2B2B",
    "analogous": [
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ],
    "triadic": [
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ],
    "tetradic": [
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ],
    "splitComplementary": [
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ],
    "monochromatic": [
      "#595959",
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#000000"
    ]
  },
  "variants": {
    "light": "#595959",
    "dark": "#000000",
    "saturated": "#352222",
    "desaturated": "#2B2B2B",
    "pastel": "#6B6B6B",
    "neon": "#800000"
  },
  "wcag": {
    "AA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ],
    "AAA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ]
  },
  "css": {
    "variable": "--color-asphalt: #2B2B2B;",
    "utility": ".bg-asphalt { background-color: #2B2B2B; }",
    "textUtility": ".text-asphalt { color: #2B2B2B; }"
  },
  "nearestColors": [
    "slate-black",
    "rubber",
    "raisin",
    "charcoal-blue",
    "jet"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "asphalt"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "asphalt-vs-rubber",
    "asphalt-vs-slate-black"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/gray",
    "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/asphalt",
    "/wcag/asphalt",
    "/css/colors/asphalt",
    "/hex/2b2b2b"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/gray",
      "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/asphalt"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/slate-black",
      "/colors/rubber",
      "/colors/raisin",
      "/colors/charcoal-blue",
      "/colors/jet",
      "/compare/asphalt-vs-rubber",
      "/compare/asphalt-vs-slate-black",
      "/harmonies/asphalt",
      "/wcag/asphalt",
      "/css/colors/asphalt",
      "/hex/2b2b2b"
    ]
  },
  "pairings": {
    "best": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ],
    "avoid": [
      "#2B2B2B",
      "#595959"
    ],
    "neutral": [
      "#1A1A1A",
      "#F5F5F5",
      "#E8E8E4"
    ],
    "highContrast": [
      "#FFFFFF"
    ],
    "lowContrast": [
      "#595959",
      "#2B2B2B"
    ]
  }
}

Color meaning and use

About Asphalt Color

Asphalt sits in the gray family with neutral temperature and dark visual character. Asphalt is a commonly used color name in design references, palettes, and editorial color systems.

Its common associations include utility, visibility, and precision, which makes it relevant for transportation and tools. In design work, Asphalt is most useful for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, especially when paired with white text for stronger contrast.