Named color

Carbon Black

Carbon Black is a dark gray color with HEX #0C0C0C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it has RGB 12, 12, 12, HSL 0, 0%, 5%, neutral temperature, and is useful for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes.

#0C0C0C gray neutral dark

HEX #0C0C0C

RGB rgb(12, 12, 12)

HSL hsl(0 0% 5%)

CMYK cmyk(0, 0, 0, 95)

Luminance 0.0037

Contrast Black 1.07:1White 19.55:1

CSS Utilities

--color-carbon-black: #0C0C0C;
.bg-carbon-black { background-color: #0C0C0C; }
.text-carbon-black { color: #0C0C0C; }

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

Luminance0.0037

Black text1.07:1AA Fail

White text19.55:1AA 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": "#0C0C0C",
  "rgb": [
    12,
    12,
    12
  ],
  "hsl": [
    0,
    0,
    5
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    0,
    0,
    95
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0037,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.07,
    "white": 19.55
  }
}

WCAG

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

Harmonies

{
  "complementary": "#0D0D0D",
  "analogous": [
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ],
  "triadic": [
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ],
  "tetradic": [
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ],
  "splitComplementary": [
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ],
  "monochromatic": [
    "#3B3B3B",
    "#0C0C0C",
    "#000000"
  ]
}

Variants

{
  "light": "#3B3B3B",
  "dark": "#000000",
  "saturated": "#100A0A",
  "desaturated": "#0D0D0D",
  "pastel": "#4D4D4D",
  "neon": "#420000"
}

Pairings

{
  "best": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ],
  "avoid": [
    "#0D0D0D",
    "#3B3B3B"
  ],
  "neutral": [
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#E8E8E4"
  ],
  "highContrast": [
    "#FFFFFF"
  ],
  "lowContrast": [
    "#3B3B3B",
    "#0D0D0D"
  ]
}

Knowledge graph

{
  "nearestColors": [
    "black",
    "matte-black",
    "carbon-fiber",
    "raisin",
    "rubber"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "carbon-black"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "black-vs-carbon-black",
    "carbon-black-vs-matte-black"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/gray",
    "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/carbon-black",
    "/wcag/carbon-black",
    "/css/colors/carbon-black",
    "/hex/0c0c0c"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/gray",
      "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/carbon-black"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/black",
      "/colors/matte-black",
      "/colors/carbon-fiber",
      "/colors/raisin",
      "/colors/rubber",
      "/compare/black-vs-carbon-black",
      "/compare/carbon-black-vs-matte-black",
      "/harmonies/carbon-black",
      "/wcag/carbon-black",
      "/css/colors/carbon-black",
      "/hex/0c0c0c"
    ]
  }
}

Full JSON dataset

{
  "slug": "carbon-black",
  "name": "Carbon Black",
  "hex": "#0C0C0C",
  "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": [
    12,
    12,
    12
  ],
  "hsl": [
    0,
    0,
    5
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    0,
    0,
    0,
    95
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0037,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.07,
    "white": 19.55
  },
  "harmonies": {
    "complementary": "#0D0D0D",
    "analogous": [
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ],
    "triadic": [
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ],
    "tetradic": [
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ],
    "splitComplementary": [
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ],
    "monochromatic": [
      "#3B3B3B",
      "#0C0C0C",
      "#000000"
    ]
  },
  "variants": {
    "light": "#3B3B3B",
    "dark": "#000000",
    "saturated": "#100A0A",
    "desaturated": "#0D0D0D",
    "pastel": "#4D4D4D",
    "neon": "#420000"
  },
  "wcag": {
    "AA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ],
    "AAA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ]
  },
  "css": {
    "variable": "--color-carbon-black: #0C0C0C;",
    "utility": ".bg-carbon-black { background-color: #0C0C0C; }",
    "textUtility": ".text-carbon-black { color: #0C0C0C; }"
  },
  "nearestColors": [
    "black",
    "matte-black",
    "carbon-fiber",
    "raisin",
    "rubber"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "carbon-black"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "black-vs-carbon-black",
    "carbon-black-vs-matte-black"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/gray",
    "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/carbon-black",
    "/wcag/carbon-black",
    "/css/colors/carbon-black",
    "/hex/0c0c0c"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/gray",
      "/colors/by-temperature/neutral",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/carbon-black"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/black",
      "/colors/matte-black",
      "/colors/carbon-fiber",
      "/colors/raisin",
      "/colors/rubber",
      "/compare/black-vs-carbon-black",
      "/compare/carbon-black-vs-matte-black",
      "/harmonies/carbon-black",
      "/wcag/carbon-black",
      "/css/colors/carbon-black",
      "/hex/0c0c0c"
    ]
  },
  "pairings": {
    "best": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ],
    "avoid": [
      "#0D0D0D",
      "#3B3B3B"
    ],
    "neutral": [
      "#1A1A1A",
      "#F5F5F5",
      "#E8E8E4"
    ],
    "highContrast": [
      "#FFFFFF"
    ],
    "lowContrast": [
      "#3B3B3B",
      "#0D0D0D"
    ]
  }
}

Color meaning and use

About Carbon Black Color

Carbon Black sits in the gray family with neutral temperature and dark visual character. Carbon Black 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, Carbon Black is most useful for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, especially when paired with white text for stronger contrast.