Colors Encyclopedia

HEX atlas value

#383838

#383838 is a neutral gray HEX color nearest Graphite. RGB 56, 56, 56, HSL 0° 0% 22%, luminance 0.0395; view contrast and conversions.

grayneutraldark
#383838 Sample readable text
HEX #383838
RGB rgb(56, 56, 56)
HSL hsl(0 0% 22%)
CMYK cmyk(0, 0, 0, 78)
Luminance 0.0395
Contrast Black 1.79:1White 11.73:1

CSS

--color-383838: #383838;
.background-383838 { background-color: #383838; }
.text-383838 { color: #383838; }

HEX meaning and use

About #383838

#383838 is classified as a neutral gray value with dark visual character. #383838 is visually closest to Graphite, a named gray color with HEX #383838.

The RGB channels are 56, 56, and 56, with red carrying the strongest channel weight. In HSL, the hue is 0deg with 0% saturation and 22% lightness, so this page treats it as a low-saturation, dark atlas color rather than a generic swatch.

Practical uses for this HEX value include color conversion, WCAG contrast checks, CSS color tokens, and dark theme accents. Its luminance is 0.0395, white text provides the stronger contrast for readable interface or documentation use, and Its nearest named-color distance is 0.00, which helps separate this atlas value from adjacent named color records.

WCAG Accessibility

Black text1.79:1AA Fail
White text11.73:1AA Pass

AA text options: #FFFFFF, #F5F5F5.

AAA text options: #FFFFFF, #F5F5F5.

Accessibility-Safe Pairings and Alternatives

Use these pairings when #383838 needs readable text, badges, interface states, or nearby accessible alternatives.

Black text#0000001.79:1 · Fail
White text#FFFFFF11.73:1 · AAA

Accessible Alternatives

#0A0A0A#0A0A0A · #FFFFFF text · best 19.81:1Peat#3B2F2F · #FFFFFF text · best 12.85:1#442C2C#442C2C · #FFFFFF text · best 12.79:1Gunmetal#2A3439 · #FFFFFF text · best 12.74:1Jet#343434 · #FFFFFF text · best 12.46:1

Generated Palette

Graphite#383838
#666666#666666
#0A0A0A#0A0A0A

Color Harmonies

Graphite#383838
Graphite#383838
Graphite#383838
Graphite#383838
Graphite#383838

Variants

#666666#666666
#0A0A0A#0A0A0A
#442C2C#442C2C
Graphite#383838
#787878#787878
Crimson Red#990000

Nearest Named Colors

Graphite#383838
Onyx#353839
Jet#343434
Peat#3B2F2F
Gunmetal#2A3439

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable HEX Data (JSON)

Structured HEX color data for conversion, WCAG checks, CSS generation, automation, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.0395
Black text1.79:1AA Fail
White text11.73:1AA 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":"#383838","rgb":[56,56,56],"hsl":[0,0,22],"cmyk":[0,0,0,78],"luminance":0.0395,"contrast":{"black":1.79,"white":11.73}}
WCAG
{"AA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"AAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]}
Safe pairings
[{"name":"Black text","hex":"#000000","contrast":1.79,"wcagAA":false,"wcagAAA":false},{"name":"White text","hex":"#FFFFFF","contrast":11.73,"wcagAA":true,"wcagAAA":true}]
Accessible alternatives
[{"name":"#0A0A0A","hex":"#0A0A0A","family":"gray","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.06,"contrastWhite":19.81,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"Peat","hex":"#3B2F2F","family":"red","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.63,"contrastWhite":12.85,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"#442C2C","hex":"#442C2C","family":"red","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.64,"contrastWhite":12.79,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"Gunmetal","hex":"#2A3439","family":"blue","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.65,"contrastWhite":12.74,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"Jet","hex":"#343434","family":"gray","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.69,"contrastWhite":12.46,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]}]
AI context
{"semanticGroups":["neutral gray","dark","dark gray","Graphite adjacent"],"useCases":["color conversion","WCAG contrast checks","CSS color tokens","dark theme accents","neutral UI systems"],"contrastSafeWith":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"relatedEndpoints":["https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex/383838.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/graphite.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/onyx.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/jet.json"]}
Harmonies
{"complementary":"#383838","analogous":["#383838","#383838"],"triadic":["#383838","#383838"],"tetradic":["#383838","#383838","#383838"],"splitComplementary":["#383838","#383838"],"monochromatic":["#666666","#383838","#0A0A0A"]}
Variants
{"light":"#666666","dark":"#0A0A0A","saturated":"#442C2C","desaturated":"#383838","pastel":"#787878","neon":"#990000"}
Nearest named colors
[{"slug":"graphite","name":"Graphite","hex":"#383838","distance":0},{"slug":"onyx","name":"Onyx","hex":"#353839","distance":3.1622776601683795},{"slug":"jet","name":"Jet","hex":"#343434","distance":6.928203230275509},{"slug":"peat","name":"Peat","hex":"#3B2F2F","distance":13.076696830622021},{"slug":"gunmetal","name":"Gunmetal","hex":"#2A3439","distance":14.594519519326424}]
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

Related HEX Guides

Graphite colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #383838.Onyx colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #353839.Jet colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #343434.Gray color familyBrowse named gray colors related to this HEX value.Neutral colorsExplore colors with similar temperature behavior.Dark colorsFind colors in the dark group.Color palettesBrowse palette systems related to generated color combinations.Compare colorsCompare named colors near this HEX value.Accessible colorsBrowse WCAG-friendly named colors and safe text options.#383838 APIOpen the machine-readable JSON record for this HEX value.