#B5B5C2 is a light neutral with only a whisper of temperate cast. On the Color Lab it reads clean and engineered, restrained and easy to live with. It holds up as a large surface and is too pale to lead as a primary accent.
Not just a swatch — here's how #B5B5C2 works with other colors. Named schemes with #B5B5C2 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
Ash 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.
Ash Gray opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.
Ash 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 Ash Gray.
Ash Gray keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.
Ash 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 Ash Gray carrying the quiet middle.
How #B5B5C2 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 #B5B5C2 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #B5B5C2;
--color-base-rgb: 181 181 194;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(77.7% 0.018 286.0);
--color-50: #F7F7F8;
--color-100: #E8E8ED;
--color-200: #D2D2DA;
--color-300: #B1B1BE;
--color-400: #9191A1;
--color-500: #727283;
--color-600: #5B5B67;
--color-700: #43434B;
--color-800: #2E2E33;
--color-900: #1D1D20;
--color-on-base: #141310;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
ash-gray: {
50: '#F7F7F8',
100: '#E8E8ED',
200: '#D2D2DA',
300: '#B1B1BE',
400: '#9191A1',
500: '#727283',
600: '#5B5B67',
700: '#43434B',
800: '#2E2E33',
900: '#1D1D20',
},
}
$base: #B5B5C2; $base-ink: #141310; $base-50: #F7F7F8; $base-100: #E8E8ED; $base-200: #D2D2DA; $base-300: #B1B1BE; $base-400: #9191A1; $base-500: #727283; $base-600: #5B5B67; $base-700: #43434B; $base-800: #2E2E33; $base-900: #1D1D20; $base-hover: #8D8DA1; $base-subtle: #EAEAED;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#B5B5C2",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#141310",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#F7F7F8",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#E8E8ED",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#D2D2DA",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#B1B1BE",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#9191A1",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#727283",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#5B5B67",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#43434B",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#2E2E33",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#1D1D20",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}