#283039 is a mid neutral with only a whisper of temperate cast. On the Color Lab it reads clean and engineered, quietly premium. It is too muted to lead as a primary accent and reproduces cleanly in print.
Not just a swatch — here's how #283039 works with other colors. Named schemes with #283039 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
Gunmetal Gray is the vivid signal in this product UI — on a near-black surface with cool white, a slate grey and a lighter tint of Gunmetal Gray.
Gunmetal Gray plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.
Gunmetal Gray 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.
Gunmetal Gray opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.
Gunmetal Gray 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 Gunmetal Gray carrying the quiet middle.
How #283039 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.
Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #283039 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #283039;
--color-base-rgb: 40 48 57;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(30.5% 0.020 251.5);
--color-50: #F6F7F9;
--color-100: #E7EAEE;
--color-200: #CFD6DE;
--color-300: #ACB7C3;
--color-400: #8A98A8;
--color-500: #6B798A;
--color-600: #56606C;
--color-700: #40474F;
--color-800: #2C3035;
--color-900: #1C1E21;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
gunmetal-gray: {
50: '#F6F7F9',
100: '#E7EAEE',
200: '#CFD6DE',
300: '#ACB7C3',
400: '#8A98A8',
500: '#6B798A',
600: '#56606C',
700: '#40474F',
800: '#2C3035',
900: '#1C1E21',
},
}
$base: #283039; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #F6F7F9; $base-100: #E7EAEE; $base-200: #CFD6DE; $base-300: #ACB7C3; $base-400: #8A98A8; $base-500: #6B798A; $base-600: #56606C; $base-700: #40474F; $base-800: #2C3035; $base-900: #1C1E21; $base-hover: #20262E; $base-subtle: #B9C0CA;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#283039",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#F6F7F9",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#E7EAEE",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#CFD6DE",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#ACB7C3",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#8A98A8",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#6B798A",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#56606C",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#40474F",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#2C3035",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#1C1E21",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}