What color is #101916?

#101916 is a very dark low-chroma cool gray with a subtle cool cast. In RGB it is rgb(16, 25, 22), and in HSL hsl(160, 22%, 8%).

Is #101916 accessible as text?

On white, #101916 has a contrast ratio of 17.91:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.17:1 (fails). For text placed on #101916, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #101916?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is neutral-900 (#171717).

What colors go well with #101916?

As a neutral, #101916 pairs cleanly with white, off-white and light grays for text, and sits under accent hues like blue, violet, emerald or warm orange — use it as a dark surface or high-contrast base and let the accent carry the color.

Is #101916 the same as CSS midnightblue?

No — #101916 is not the CSS named color midnightblue, but midnightblue (#191970) 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.

#101916 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #101916

Not just a swatch — here's how #101916 works with other colors. Named schemes with #101916 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #101916 Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #586771 Accent #2D3633

Graphite is the vivid signal in this product UI — on a near-black surface with cool white, a slate grey and a lighter tint of Graphite.

Vintage Leather Lead · 5 colors

Lead #101916 Secondary #734F19 Surface #E4DBC0 Accent #3B5141 Anchor #5B231F

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.

Japanese Sand Base · 5 colors

Base #101916 Surface #EDEADC Highlight #F5F1E7 Secondary #B5B19F Ink #2A2723

Graphite sets a calm, sun-bleached base here, wrapped in bone and paper off-whites and a soft greige, with a single ink accent for wabi-sabi restraint.

Luxury Packaging Feature · 5 colors

Feature #101916 Anchor #141210 Accent #BCA84C Secondary #1F2C28 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 #F7F4EF Accent #101916 Secondary #363A38 Support #989286 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.

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Color Lab

How #101916 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 48/100

Neutral

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

Softness 23/100

Low

Firm and assertive — carries weight and contrast.

Depth 74/100

High

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

Naturalness 14/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 20/100

Very low

Clean and current — no dusty, aged cast.

Luxury 73/100

High

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

Brand distinctiveness 6/100

Very low

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

UI accent fit 8/100

Very low

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

Surface fit 67/100

High

Calm enough for large fills — backgrounds, cards, sections.

Print safety 97/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #101916

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #101916 with

Sacramento 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 17.9:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #C9D8D3 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #101919 — 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 #101916 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: #101916;
  --color-base-rgb: 16 25 22;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(20.3% 0.015 172.3);
  --color-50: #F6F9F8;
  --color-100: #E6EFEC;
  --color-200: #CDDFD9;
  --color-300: #A9C6BC;
  --color-400: #87AB9F;
  --color-500: #678E81;
  --color-600: #536F65;
  --color-700: #3F504A;
  --color-800: #2B3632;
  --color-900: #1C2220;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  graphite: {
    50: '#F6F9F8',
    100: '#E6EFEC',
    200: '#CDDFD9',
    300: '#A9C6BC',
    400: '#87AB9F',
    500: '#678E81',
    600: '#536F65',
    700: '#3F504A',
    800: '#2B3632',
    900: '#1C2220',
  },
}

$base: #101916;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F6F9F8;
$base-100: #E6EFEC;
$base-200: #CDDFD9;
$base-300: #A9C6BC;
$base-400: #87AB9F;
$base-500: #678E81;
$base-600: #536F65;
$base-700: #3F504A;
$base-800: #2B3632;
$base-900: #1C2220;
$base-hover: #0D1412;
$base-subtle: #ADC4BD;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#101916",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F6F9F8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#E6EFEC",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#CDDFD9",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#A9C6BC",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#87AB9F",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#678E81",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#536F65",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#3F504A",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#2B3632",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#1C2220",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #101916

Color Lab

Pairs with #101916

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export