Black #000000

Black (#000000) is a near-black neutral with an OKLCH hue of 0°, lightness 0 and chroma 0. In practice it behaves as a grounding tone — suited to text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces.

Color values

HEX#000000
RGBrgb(0, 0, 0)
HSLhsl(0, 0%, 0%)
HSVhsv(0, 0%, 0%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 100%)
CIE Lablab(0 0 0)
OKLCHoklch(0.000 0.000 0)

How Black behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Black is virtually unchanged; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 0), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 21:1 and against black 1:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Palettes built from Black

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#a4a4a4 · #7f7f7f · #5b5b5b · #3a3a3a · #1b1b1b · #000000

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#313006 · #281e00 · #1c0e00 · #180600 · #210400 · #000000

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#8d7e65 · #825650 · #5d420e · #49201b · #1f1402 · #000000

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#88d2de · #604d4a · #472e2b · #2b1210 · #0b0202 · #000000

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#eaf4f5 · #b5a8a6 · #656c6d · #382c2b · #010304 · #000000

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#f2f2f2 · #d5d5d5 · #a8a8a8 · #2b2b2b · #000000 · #e25044

Gold Accent

The same quiet ground carrying one bright gold voice — the high-energy pairing a cool or muted anchor cannot reach through its own temperature.

#f2f2f2 · #d5d5d5 · #a8a8a8 · #2b2b2b · #000000 · #dac64e

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#e1f6fa · #7eb7bf · #2a7681 · #00373e · #0a0000 · #000000

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#e1f6fa · #82b8ab · #3d7191 · #003930 · #00050f · #000000

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#e8f6e9 · #92b797 · #586996 · #222e50 · #000400 · #000000

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#f0f4e3 · #a8b186 · #2a7681 · #34284b · #000405 · #000000

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#2b2b2b · #555555 · #808080 · #aaaaaa · #d5d5d5

Shades

#000000 · #000000 · #000000 · #000000 · #000000

Using Black

As a deep tone it works for grounding elements — text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces — rather than open fields.

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