#004040Rich Black (#004040) is a very dark, muted blue-green with an OKLCH hue of 195°, lightness 0.34 and chroma 0.057. It sits on the cool side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as a grounding tone — suited to text, outlines, and shadowed surfaces.
| HEX | #004040 |
|---|---|
| RGB | rgb(0, 64, 64) |
| HSL | hsl(180, 100%, 13%) |
| HSV | hsv(180, 100%, 25%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(100%, 0%, 0%, 75%) |
| CIE Lab | lab(23.8 -17.9 -5.2) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.336 0.057 195) |
Under warm 2700K interior light Rich Black shifts subtly: leans toward green; in north-facing or shaded light it shifts subtly: leans toward sky blue. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1), so it is a lighting-stable choice.
#0f3e3b — ΔE 1.0, shifts subtly: leans toward green#08403f — ΔE 0.4, shifts subtly: leans toward green#004040 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged#004041 — ΔE 0.2, shifts subtly: leans toward sky blueTest Rich Black in the color lighting simulator — sweep it through daylight, warm 2700K light, 4000K LED, and shade alongside the rest of your palette.
Against white it measures 11.62:1 and against black 1.81:1, so white text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid black text on this color entirely.
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.
#7ea2a1 · #547e7d · #2b5b5a · #004040 · #001818 · #000202
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.
#647a9c · #476c89 · #285e74 · #00505c · #004040 · #003028
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.
#95adc3 · #5e9796 · #487297 · #415465 · #004040 · #002424
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.
#a4bcbb · #b4787c · #465858 · #004040 · #002222 · #000808
The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.
#f9efef · #aebbbb · #867f80 · #445252 · #004040 · #261f1f
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.
#e2f7f6 · #b7cfce · #87a3a2 · #004040 · #000606 · #e54d66
The same quiet ground carrying one bright gold voice — the high-energy pairing a cool or muted anchor cannot reach through its own temperature.
#e2f7f6 · #b7cfce · #87a3a2 · #004040 · #000606 · #eebc4d
The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.
#ffeded · #dca9ac · #aa6f73 · #6d4044 · #004040 · #052626
The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.
#ffeded · #d5a9c1 · #a8735c · #684057 · #004040 · #301b11
Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.
#f8eefd · #c7add3 · #9c7b4d · #634924 · #004040 · #271b2d
Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.
#f0f0ff · #b3b3de · #aa6f73 · #545125 · #004040 · #30191b
#2E5C5C · #527979 · #769897 · #9CB7B6 · #C2D7D7
#003636 · #002D2D · #002424 · #001B1B · #001212
#153E3E · #213C3C · #2B3B3A
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.