Carbon `#333333`

Carbon (#333333) is a grey neutral with an OKLCH hue of 90°, lightness 0.32 and chroma 0. In practice it behaves as a grounding tone — suited to text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces.

Color values

HEX	`#333333`
RGB	`rgb(51, 51, 51)`
HSL	`hsl(0, 0%, 20%)`
HSV	`hsv(0, 0%, 20%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 80%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(21.2 0 0)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.321 0.000 90)`

How Carbon behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Carbon is virtually unchanged; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 0.8), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #35312f — ΔE 0.8, is virtually unchanged
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #353332 — ΔE 0.4, is virtually unchanged
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #333333 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
Blue-sky shade (cool daylight (~10000K proxy)): → #333334 — ΔE 0.2, is virtually unchanged

Test Carbon in the color lighting simulator — sweep it through daylight, warm 2700K light, 4000K LED, and shade alongside the rest of your palette.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 12.63:1 and against black 1.66:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.

Colors that go with Carbon

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.

#9a9a9a · #757575 · #525252 · #333333 · #141414 · #010101

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.

#536c4b · #4d582f · #484512 · #333333 · #3a2300 · #321600

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.

#97ac94 · #95855c · #50744c · #425340 · #333333 · #241900

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.

#b8b19f · #988f76 · #495784 · #333333 · #1d180c · #0b0500

Quiet Support

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

#eff2f9 · #bab6ac · #7c7e84 · #4e4a40 · #333333 · #1b1d23

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 · #c9c9c9 · #9c9c9c · #333333 · #030303 · #e7c04d

Complementary

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

#edf2ff · #a7b5de · #6d7cac · #3d496e · #333333 · #241c06

Split-complementary

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

#edf2ff · #94bcd9 · #8574a5 · #274f6a · #333333 · #20192c

Triadic

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

#e1f6fa · #89c1cc · #986e94 · #5e3e5b · #333333 · #022227

Tetradic

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

#e3f7f2 · #8cc4b8 · #6d7cac · #673b49 · #333333 · #161c2f

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#555555 · #777777 · #999999 · #bbbbbb · #dddddd

Shades

#2b2b2b · #222222 · #1a1a1a · #111111 · #090909

Using Carbon

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