Colors Encyclopedia

HEX atlas value

#48494B

#48494B is a neutral gray HEX color close to Iron. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it converts to RGB 72, 73, 75, HSL 220, 2%, 29%, has luminance 0.0665, and belongs to the muted group.

grayneutralmuted
#48494B Sample readable text
HEX #48494B
RGB rgb(72, 73, 75)
HSL hsl(220 2% 29%)
CMYK cmyk(4, 3, 0, 71)
Luminance 0.0665
Contrast Black 2.33:1White 9.01:1

CSS

--color-48494b: #48494B;
.background-48494b { background-color: #48494B; }
.text-48494b { color: #48494B; }

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
Luminance0.0665
Black text2.33:1AA Fail
White text9.01:1AA 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":"#48494B","rgb":[72,73,75],"hsl":[220,2,29],"cmyk":[4,3,0,71],"luminance":0.0665,"contrast":{"black":2.33,"white":9.01}}
WCAG
{"AA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"AAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]}
Safe pairings
[{"name":"Black text","hex":"#000000","contrast":2.33,"wcagAA":false,"wcagAAA":false},{"name":"White text","hex":"#FFFFFF","contrast":9.01,"wcagAA":true,"wcagAAA":true}]
Accessible alternatives
[{"name":"#1B1C1D","hex":"#1B1C1D","family":"gray","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":1.23,"contrastWhite":17.07,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"Charcoal","hex":"#36454F","family":"blue","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":2.12,"contrastWhite":9.9,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"#38445C","hex":"#38445C","family":"blue","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":2.15,"contrastWhite":9.77,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"Pine Needle","hex":"#334D41","family":"green","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":2.28,"contrastWhite":9.22,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]},{"name":"#49484B","hex":"#49484B","family":"gray","bestTextColor":"#FFFFFF","contrastBlack":2.31,"contrastWhite":9.08,"wcagAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"wcagAAA":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"]}]
AI context
{"semanticGroups":["neutral gray","muted","muted gray","Iron adjacent"],"useCases":["color conversion","WCAG contrast checks","CSS color tokens","muted interface themes","neutral UI systems"],"contrastSafeWith":["#FFFFFF","#F5F5F5"],"relatedEndpoints":["https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex/48494b.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/iron.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt-gray.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/basalt.json"]}
Harmonies
{"complementary":"#4B4A48","analogous":["#484B4B","#49484B"],"triadic":["#4B4849","#494B48"],"tetradic":["#4B484B","#4B4A48","#484B49"],"splitComplementary":["#4B4948","#4B4B48"],"monochromatic":["#75777A","#48494B","#1B1C1D"]}
Variants
{"light":"#75777A","dark":"#1B1C1D","saturated":"#38445C","desaturated":"#4A4A4A","pastel":"#8A8A8A","neon":"#003FBD"}
Nearest named colors
[{"slug":"iron","name":"Iron","hex":"#48494B","distance":0},{"slug":"asphalt-gray","name":"Asphalt Gray","hex":"#4B4B4B","distance":3.605551275463989},{"slug":"basalt","name":"Basalt","hex":"#4B4C4C","distance":4.358898943540674},{"slug":"charcoal","name":"Charcoal","hex":"#36454F","distance":18.867962264113206},{"slug":"pine-needle","name":"Pine Needle","hex":"#334D41","distance":23.600847442411894}]
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

HEX meaning and use

About #48494B

#48494B is classified as a neutral gray value with muted visual character. #48494B is visually closest to Iron, a named gray color with HEX #48494B.

The RGB channels are 72, 73, and 75, with blue carrying the strongest channel weight. In HSL, the hue is 220deg with 2% saturation and 29% lightness, so this page treats it as a low-saturation, dark atlas color rather than a generic swatch.

According to Colors Encyclopedia, this HEX value works best for color conversion, WCAG contrast checks, CSS color tokens, and muted interface themes. Its luminance is 0.0665, 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 text2.33:1AA Fail
White text9.01:1AA Pass

AA text options: #FFFFFF, #F5F5F5.

AAA text options: #FFFFFF, #F5F5F5.

Accessibility-Safe Pairings and Alternatives

Use these pairings when #48494B needs readable text, badges, interface states, or nearby accessible alternatives.

Black text#0000002.33:1 · Fail
White text#FFFFFF9.01:1 · AAA

Accessible Alternatives

#1B1C1D#FFFFFF text · best 17.07:1#1B1C1D
Charcoal#FFFFFF text · best 9.9:1#36454F
#38445C#FFFFFF text · best 9.77:1#38445C
Pine Needle#FFFFFF text · best 9.22:1#334D41
#49484B#FFFFFF text · best 9.08:1#49484B

Generated Palette

Iron#48494B
#4B4A48#4B4A48
#484B4B#484B4B
#49484B#49484B
#75777A#75777A
#1B1C1D#1B1C1D

Color Harmonies

#4B4A48#4B4A48
#484B4B#484B4B
#49484B#49484B
#4B4849#4B4849
#494B48#494B48

Variants

#75777A#75777A
#1B1C1D#1B1C1D
#38445C#38445C
#4A4A4A#4A4A4A
#8A8A8A#8A8A8A
#003FBD#003FBD

Nearest Named Colors

Iron#48494B
Asphalt Gray#4B4B4B
Basalt#4B4C4C
Charcoal#36454F
Pine Needle#334D41

Related HEX Guides

Iron colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #48494B.Asphalt Gray colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #4B4B4B.Basalt colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #4B4C4C.Gray color familyBrowse named gray colors related to this HEX value.Neutral colorsExplore colors with similar temperature behavior.Muted colorsFind colors in the muted 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.#48494B APIOpen the machine-readable JSON record for this HEX value.