Colors Encyclopedia

Named color

Charcoal Blue

Charcoal Blue is a dark blue color with HEX #263238. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it has RGB 38, 50, 56, HSL 200, 19%, 18%, cool temperature, and is useful for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces.

#263238 blue cool dark
HEX #263238
RGB rgb(38, 50, 56)
HSL hsl(200 19% 18%)
CMYK cmyk(32, 11, 0, 78)
Luminance 0.0298
Contrast Black 1.6:1White 13.16:1

CSS Utilities

--color-charcoal-blue: #263238;
.bg-charcoal-blue { background-color: #263238; }
.text-charcoal-blue { color: #263238; }
Open CSS utility pageReusable variables, classes, examples, and implementation notes

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Color Data (JSON)

Perfect for CSS, design systems, automation, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.0298
Black text1.6:1AA Fail
White text13.16:1AA 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
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Color systems
{
  "hex": "#263238",
  "rgb": [
    38,
    50,
    56
  ],
  "hsl": [
    200,
    19,
    18
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    32,
    11,
    0,
    78
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0298,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.6,
    "white": 13.16
  }
}
WCAG
{
  "AA": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5"
  ],
  "AAA": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#F5F5F5"
  ]
}
Harmonies
{
  "complementary": "#372B25",
  "analogous": [
    "#253734",
    "#252837"
  ],
  "triadic": [
    "#372531",
    "#313725"
  ],
  "tetradic": [
    "#342537",
    "#372B25",
    "#283725"
  ],
  "splitComplementary": [
    "#372528",
    "#373425"
  ],
  "monochromatic": [
    "#4A626D",
    "#263238",
    "#000000"
  ]
}
Variants
{
  "light": "#4A626D",
  "dark": "#000000",
  "saturated": "#1B3441",
  "desaturated": "#2E2E2E",
  "pastel": "#696F72",
  "neon": "#005885"
}
Pairings
{
  "best": [
    "#FFFFFF",
    "#372B25",
    "#253734",
    "#252837"
  ],
  "avoid": [
    "#2E2E2E",
    "#4A626D"
  ],
  "neutral": [
    "#1A1A1A",
    "#F5F5F5",
    "#E8E8E4"
  ],
  "highContrast": [
    "#FFFFFF"
  ],
  "lowContrast": [
    "#4A626D",
    "#2E2E2E"
  ]
}
Knowledge graph
{
  "nearestColors": [
    "gunmetal",
    "jet",
    "asphalt",
    "onyx",
    "slate-black"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "charcoal-blue"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "british-racing-green-vs-charcoal-blue",
    "charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal",
    "charcoal-blue-vs-jet"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/blue",
    "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/charcoal-blue",
    "/wcag/charcoal-blue",
    "/css/colors/charcoal-blue",
    "/hex/263238"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/blue",
      "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/charcoal-blue"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/gunmetal",
      "/colors/jet",
      "/colors/asphalt",
      "/colors/onyx",
      "/colors/slate-black",
      "/compare/british-racing-green-vs-charcoal-blue",
      "/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal",
      "/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-jet",
      "/harmonies/charcoal-blue",
      "/wcag/charcoal-blue",
      "/css/colors/charcoal-blue",
      "/hex/263238"
    ]
  }
}
Full JSON dataset 
{
  "slug": "charcoal-blue",
  "name": "Charcoal Blue",
  "hex": "#263238",
  "uses": [
    "backgrounds",
    "typography",
    "product surfaces"
  ],
  "psychology": {
    "associations": [
      "restraint",
      "clarity",
      "balance"
    ],
    "contexts": [
      "interfaces",
      "architecture",
      "editorial design",
      "packaging"
    ],
    "avoidIn": [
      "high-energy accent-only 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 and editorial color systems."
  },
  "family": "blue",
  "temperature": "cool",
  "tone": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "editorialNotes": "Curated internal color record with computed technical properties.",
  "tags": [
    "blue",
    "cool",
    "dark",
    "backgrounds",
    "typography",
    "product-surfaces",
    "restraint",
    "clarity",
    "balance"
  ],
  "popularity": 84,
  "rgb": [
    38,
    50,
    56
  ],
  "hsl": [
    200,
    19,
    18
  ],
  "cmyk": [
    32,
    11,
    0,
    78
  ],
  "luminance": 0.0298,
  "contrast": {
    "black": 1.6,
    "white": 13.16
  },
  "harmonies": {
    "complementary": "#372B25",
    "analogous": [
      "#253734",
      "#252837"
    ],
    "triadic": [
      "#372531",
      "#313725"
    ],
    "tetradic": [
      "#342537",
      "#372B25",
      "#283725"
    ],
    "splitComplementary": [
      "#372528",
      "#373425"
    ],
    "monochromatic": [
      "#4A626D",
      "#263238",
      "#000000"
    ]
  },
  "variants": {
    "light": "#4A626D",
    "dark": "#000000",
    "saturated": "#1B3441",
    "desaturated": "#2E2E2E",
    "pastel": "#696F72",
    "neon": "#005885"
  },
  "wcag": {
    "AA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ],
    "AAA": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#F5F5F5"
    ]
  },
  "css": {
    "variable": "--color-charcoal-blue: #263238;",
    "utility": ".bg-charcoal-blue { background-color: #263238; }",
    "textUtility": ".text-charcoal-blue { color: #263238; }"
  },
  "nearestColors": [
    "gunmetal",
    "jet",
    "asphalt",
    "onyx",
    "slate-black"
  ],
  "generatedPalettes": [
    "charcoal-blue"
  ],
  "generatedComparisons": [
    "british-racing-green-vs-charcoal-blue",
    "charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal",
    "charcoal-blue-vs-jet"
  ],
  "relatedFamilies": [
    "/colors/by-family/blue",
    "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
    "/colors/by-tone/dark"
  ],
  "relatedTools": [
    "/harmonies/charcoal-blue",
    "/wcag/charcoal-blue",
    "/css/colors/charcoal-blue",
    "/hex/263238"
  ],
  "semanticRelations": {
    "broader": [
      "/colors/by-family/blue",
      "/colors/by-temperature/cool",
      "/colors/by-tone/dark"
    ],
    "narrower": [
      "/palettes/charcoal-blue"
    ],
    "related": [
      "/colors/gunmetal",
      "/colors/jet",
      "/colors/asphalt",
      "/colors/onyx",
      "/colors/slate-black",
      "/compare/british-racing-green-vs-charcoal-blue",
      "/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal",
      "/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-jet",
      "/harmonies/charcoal-blue",
      "/wcag/charcoal-blue",
      "/css/colors/charcoal-blue",
      "/hex/263238"
    ]
  },
  "pairings": {
    "best": [
      "#FFFFFF",
      "#372B25",
      "#253734",
      "#252837"
    ],
    "avoid": [
      "#2E2E2E",
      "#4A626D"
    ],
    "neutral": [
      "#1A1A1A",
      "#F5F5F5",
      "#E8E8E4"
    ],
    "highContrast": [
      "#FFFFFF"
    ],
    "lowContrast": [
      "#4A626D",
      "#2E2E2E"
    ]
  }
}
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

Color meaning and use

About Charcoal Blue Color

Charcoal Blue sits in the blue family with cool temperature and dark visual character. Charcoal Blue is a commonly used color name in design references, palettes, and editorial color systems.

Its common associations include restraint, clarity, and balance, which makes it relevant for interfaces and architecture. In design work, Charcoal Blue is most useful for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, especially when paired with white text for stronger contrast.

Related Color Guides

Blue color familyBrowse named blue colors and compare nearby swatches.Cool colorsExplore colors with cool temperature behavior.Dark colorsFind colors with dark visual character.Charcoal Blue accessibilityCheck contrast and WCAG text options for #263238.Charcoal Blue CSS utilitiesUse Charcoal Blue in CSS variables and utility classes.#263238 HEX atlasOpen the permanent HEX atlas record for conversions and variants.Charcoal Blue paletteOpen the generated palette based on Charcoal Blue.Charcoal Blue harmoniesExplore complementary, analogous, triadic, and tetradic harmonies.

WCAG Accessibility

Contrast checks for Charcoal Blue against black and white text.

Black text1.6:1AA Fail
White text13.16:1AA Pass
AA text options#FFFFFF, #F5F5F5
AAA text options#FFFFFF, #F5F5F5
Open WCAG pageDetailed contrast notes, warnings, alternatives, and UI examples

Similar Colors

Gunmetal#2A3439
Jet#343434
Asphalt#2B2B2B
Onyx#353839
Slate Black#26282A

Color Harmonies

#372B25#372B25
#253734#253734
#252837#252837
#372531#372531
#313725#313725
Open full Charcoal Blue harmony pageComplementary, analogous, triadic, tetradic, split, and monochromatic sets

Variants

#4A626D#4A626D
Black#000000
#1B3441#1B3441
#2E2E2E#2E2E2E
#696F72#696F72
#005885#005885

Pairings

White#FFFFFF
#372B25#372B25
#253734#253734
#252837#252837
Matte Black#1A1A1A
White Smoke#F5F5F5