Graphite #383428

Graphite (#383428) is a grey neutral with an OKLCH hue of 92°, lightness 0.33 and chroma 0.021. In practice it behaves as a grounding tone — suited to text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces.

Color values

HEX#383428
RGBrgb(56, 52, 40)
HSLhsl(45, 17%, 19%)
HSVhsv(45, 29%, 22%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 7%, 29%, 78%)
CIE Lablab(21.8 -0.6 8.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.325 0.021 92)

How Graphite behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Graphite 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.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 12.43:1 and against black 1.69:1, 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 Graphite

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.

#9d9a90 · #78756a · #555246 · #383428 · #171309 · #020100

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.

#536d4d · #4d5a31 · #484614 · #383428 · #3a2400 · #321700

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.

#97ad96 · #95875e · #4f764e · #425442 · #383428 · #241b00

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.

#b9b3a0 · #999077 · #4c5885 · #383428 · #1d190d · #080400

Quiet Support

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

#eff2f9 · #bab7ac · #7d7f84 · #4f4c41 · #383428 · #1c1e24

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.

#f4f2ec · #ccc9c3 · #a09d96 · #383428 · #070501 · #e4c14d

Complementary

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

#edf1ff · #a9b5de · #6f7dad · #3f4a6f · #383428 · #251d07

Split-complementary

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

#edf1ff · #95bcda · #8775a5 · #2a506b · #383428 · #211a2d

Triadic

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

#e2f6fb · #8ac2cd · #9a6f93 · #603f5b · #383428 · #032328

Tetradic

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

#e2f7f3 · #8cc4b9 · #6f7dad · #683d49 · #383428 · #181d30

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#545045 · #726F64 · #918E85 · #B2AFA8 · #D4D2CC

Shades

#2F2C21 · #27241A · #1F1C14 · #17150D · #100E08

Using Graphite

As a deep tone it works for grounding elements — text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces — rather than open fields. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.

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