What color is #042A2A?

#042A2A is a very dark, vivid cyan. In RGB it is rgb(4, 42, 42), and in HSL hsl(180, 83%, 9%).

Is #042A2A accessible as text?

On white, #042A2A has a contrast ratio of 15.33:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.37:1 (fails). For text placed on #042A2A, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #042A2A?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is teal-950 (#022F2E).

What colors go well with #042A2A?

#042A2A pairs cleanly with neutrals — cream, taupe, charcoal and cool grays — and with its complementary #2A0404. In UI, a softer accent is often easier to use than the exact complement. Explore the harmonies, shades, tints and ready-made palettes for #042A2A below.

Is #042A2A good for buttons?

#042A2A works well for buttons and highlights, but use white text on #042A2A — black text only reaches 1.37:1, below the 4.5:1 needed for normal-size labels.

Is #042A2A the same as CSS darkslategray?

No — #042A2A is not the CSS named color darkslategray, but darkslategray (#2F4F4F) is the closest CSS named color by perceptual color distance — it sits in a different color family, so treat it as a rough reference, not a match.

#042A2A Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #042A2A

Not just a swatch — here's how #042A2A works with other colors. Named schemes with #042A2A in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Coastal Morning Lead · 5 colors

Lead #042A2A Accent #A6C4BD Surface #E0DABE Secondary #9AA0A0 Anchor #1D3549

Graphite opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.

Nordic Calm Accent · 5 colors

Accent #042A2A Secondary #AEB4B8 Surface #F1F2F0 Support #7A94A4 Anchor #2E3236

Graphite keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.

Vintage Leather Lead · 5 colors

Lead #042A2A Secondary #725018 Surface #E4DCC0 Accent #3A5142 Anchor #552340

Graphite plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.

Luxury Packaging Feature · 5 colors

Feature #042A2A Anchor #141210 Accent #B8AA4D Secondary #1D2C2C Surface #F1EDE3

Graphite carries the depth in this luxury scheme, offset by a brass accent and near-black and held together by a deep neutral and an off-white surface.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F6F4EF Accent #042A2A Secondary #3F4A4A Support #979286 Ink #16140F

Graphite is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Graphite carrying the quiet middle.

Build a working theme in the generator →

Color Lab

How #042A2A actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.

Warmth 40/100

Neutral

Balanced temperature — flexible, sits between warm and cool schemes.

Softness 27/100

Low

Firm and assertive — carries weight and contrast.

Depth 70/100

High

Deep and grounding — anchors a layout, strong dark-mode base.

Naturalness 8/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 27/100

Low

A faint retro warmth without tipping into sepia.

Luxury 72/100

High

Restrained and premium — deep, quiet, high-end packaging and fashion.

Brand distinctiveness 16/100

Very low

Quiet and neutral — a supporting tone, not a signature.

UI accent fit 19/100

Very low

Weak as an action color — too pale, too dark or too muted to signal.

Surface fit 56/100

Moderate

Usable as a tinted surface in measured doses.

Print safety 90/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #042A2A

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #042A2A with

Castleton Green Graphite Platinum Dark Slate Gray

UI roles & guardrails

Primary action Safe as a filled button with white label. AAA

Body text Passes on white at 16px and above. Pass

Large display Fine for headings 24px+ on white. Pass

Background Pair with white text at 15.3:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #B5ECEC for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #041D2A — the hue gap is too small to read as intentional. Clash

In real applications

Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #042A2A at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.

Website / UI

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Dashboard

Revenue

$48.2k ▲ 12%

Brand

AVELINE

Studio

Poster

Nov 14 · 8PM

NIGHT
MARKET

Packaging

BLOOM

Botanical Wash

250 ml

Interior

Every model

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #042A2A;
  --color-base-rgb: 4 42 42;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(26.0% 0.041 194.9);
  --color-50: #F0FEFE;
  --color-100: #D9FDFD;
  --color-200: #B4F8F8;
  --color-300: #82EDED;
  --color-400: #54DEDE;
  --color-500: #31C3C3;
  --color-600: #2D9595;
  --color-700: #266969;
  --color-800: #1C4444;
  --color-900: #132A2A;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  graphite: {
    50: '#F0FEFE',
    100: '#D9FDFD',
    200: '#B4F8F8',
    300: '#82EDED',
    400: '#54DEDE',
    500: '#31C3C3',
    600: '#2D9595',
    700: '#266969',
    800: '#1C4444',
    900: '#132A2A',
  },
}

$base: #042A2A;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F0FEFE;
$base-100: #D9FDFD;
$base-200: #B4F8F8;
$base-300: #82EDED;
$base-400: #54DEDE;
$base-500: #31C3C3;
$base-600: #2D9595;
$base-700: #266969;
$base-800: #1C4444;
$base-900: #132A2A;
$base-hover: #032222;
$base-subtle: #8DE5E5;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#042A2A",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F0FEFE",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#D9FDFD",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#B4F8F8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#82EDED",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#54DEDE",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#31C3C3",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#2D9595",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#266969",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#1C4444",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#132A2A",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #042A2A

Color Lab

Pairs with #042A2A

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export