Color #12151C Color / Colour Code #12151C
This page shows the hex color code for color #12151c (#12151C). The colour is a blue tone with 22% saturation and 9% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #12151C against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#12151C paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 192, 222, and 252 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 222, 342, and 102 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #12151C
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 222 and saturation at 22%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 222 to 267 degrees create a warm, unified palette. This analogous scheme works for marketing materials, seasonal campaigns, and any design that needs visual warmth without clashing colors.
Combines the base color at hue 222 with its complement at 42 and two adjacent cool tones. This split-complementary approach provides strong visual contrast while remaining more balanced than a pure complementary scheme.
Five evenly spaced hues at 40% saturation and 80% lightness. Pastels are gentle on the eyes and work well for dashboards, onboarding screens, category tags, and any interface where multiple distinct colors are needed without visual aggression.
Shades & Tints of #12151C
Lightness variations at hue 222 and 22% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #12151C
Design Use Cases for #12151C
Muted Accent Color
With 22% saturation, #12151C has a subtle, sophisticated quality. This level of desaturation works well for secondary buttons, inactive states, subtle borders, and backgrounds that need a hint of color without being distracting. Muted colors communicate restraint and professionalism.
Dark Mode Background
At just 9% lightness, #12151C works as a dark mode background or overlay color. Dark backgrounds reduce eye strain in low-light environments and make bright accent colors pop. Pair with light text (minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio) for readability.
Trust & Professional Identity
#12151C sits in the blue range (hue 222). Blue is the world's most popular color for corporate identities because it conveys trust, stability, and competence. Use it for navigation bars, link text, form focus states, and any element where user confidence matters. Financial, healthcare, and technology brands rely heavily on this hue range.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #12151C (hue 222) to its complement at hue 42. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 252. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #12151c, #1c1912);
CSS Code for #12151C
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #12151C based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #12151C across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #12151C (#12151C)
#12151C is a blue color (colour) with RGB channel values of 18 red, 21 green, and 28 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 222 degrees with 22% saturation and 9% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #12151C is 21/255 using the ITU-R BT.601 luma formula (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B). This appears dark to the human eye, so pair it with light text for adequate readability. For print production, the CMYK equivalent is 36% cyan, 25% magenta, 0% yellow, and 89% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #12151C against white is 18.26:1 and against black is 1.15:1. This exceeds the AAA requirement (7:1) for normal text on white, making it excellent for body text and small UI labels on light backgrounds.
The complementary colour #1C1912 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #12151C. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #121A1C and #14121C, which sit 30 degrees on either side of the hue wheel. To build a complete design system, start with the monochromatic scale above for consistent shade variations, then add one complementary or triadic accent for interactive elements.
How to Explore Color #12151C
- Enter your color value in HEX format.
- The tool converts it to RGB, HSL, CMYK format in real time.
- Copy the converted value to your clipboard.
What is HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK color conversion
Converting from HEX to RGB, HSL, CMYK translates a color value between two different color models. Different color models are used in web design (HEX, RGB), print (CMYK), and color theory (HSL, HSV).
Related Tools & Colors
Frequently Asked Questions
- What color / colour is #12151C?
- #12151C is Color #12151C, a blue color (colour) with RGB(18, 21, 28), HSL(222, 22%, 9%), and CMYK(36%, 25%, 0%, 89%). Its perceived brightness is 21/255.
- Is #12151C accessible for text?
- Against white, #12151C has a contrast ratio of 18.26:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 1.15:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #12151C?
- The complementary colour is #1C1912 (hue 42). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #121A1C and #14121C. The triadic palette adds #1C1215 and #151C12 for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #12151C in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #12151c; or rgb(18, 21, 28); or hsl(222, 22%, 9%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 222 22% 9%; then use it as hsl(var(--color-primary)).
- Is this color / colour explorer free?
- Yes, completely free with no signup required. All colour calculations run in your browser. You can explore any valid hex color code, not just the pre-generated palette.