#4E554A is a mid neutral with only a whisper of temperate cast. On the Color Lab it reads restrained and easy to live with. It reproduces cleanly in print.
Not just a swatch — here's how #4E554A works with other colors. Named schemes with #4E554A in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
Iron Gray leads this botanical set among foliage greens and a terracotta accent, softened by cream and grounded in bark brown.
Iron 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 Iron Gray.
Iron 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.
Iron 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.
Iron 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 Iron Gray carrying the quiet middle.
How #4E554A 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 #4E554A at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #4E554A;
--color-base-rgb: 78 85 74;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(44.0% 0.020 134.0);
--color-50: #F7F8F7;
--color-100: #EAECE9;
--color-200: #D5D9D3;
--color-300: #B6BCB3;
--color-400: #979F93;
--color-500: #798174;
--color-600: #60655D;
--color-700: #474A45;
--color-800: #30322F;
--color-900: #1E201D;
--color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
iron-gray: {
50: '#F7F8F7',
100: '#EAECE9',
200: '#D5D9D3',
300: '#B6BCB3',
400: '#979F93',
500: '#798174',
600: '#60655D',
700: '#474A45',
800: '#30322F',
900: '#1E201D',
},
}
$base: #4E554A; $base-ink: #FFFFFF; $base-50: #F7F8F7; $base-100: #EAECE9; $base-200: #D5D9D3; $base-300: #B6BCB3; $base-400: #979F93; $base-500: #798174; $base-600: #60655D; $base-700: #474A45; $base-800: #30322F; $base-900: #1E201D; $base-hover: #3E443B; $base-subtle: #C9CDC7;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#4E554A",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#FFFFFF",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#F7F8F7",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#EAECE9",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#D5D9D3",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#B6BCB3",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#979F93",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#798174",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#60655D",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#474A45",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#30322F",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#1E201D",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}