Color #4E4E49 Color / Colour Code #4E4E49
This page shows the hex color code for color #4e4e49 (#4E4E49). The colour is a yellow tone with 3% saturation and 30% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #4E4E49 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#4E4E49 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 30, 60, and 90 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 60, 180, and 300 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #4E4E49
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 60 and saturation at 3%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 60 to 105 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 60 with its complement at 240 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 #4E4E49
Lightness variations at hue 60 and 3% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #4E4E49
Design Use Cases for #4E4E49
Neutral Foundation Color
#4E4E49 has almost no saturation (3%), making it an excellent neutral. Use it for page backgrounds, card surfaces, divider lines, and any element that should recede visually. Neutrals like this form the foundation of every professional design system.
Primary Interface Color
At 30% lightness, #4E4E49 is in the mid-range, making it ideal for interactive elements like buttons, links, and selected states. This lightness level ensures good contrast against both light and dark adjacent elements in most layouts.
Attention & Optimism
#4E4E49 is in the yellow spectrum (hue 60). Yellow attracts attention faster than any other color. Use it for warning labels, featured content markers, star ratings, and tooltip backgrounds. Pair with dark text since yellow often fails contrast checks against white.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #4E4E49 (hue 60) to its complement at hue 240. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 90. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #4e4e49, #4a4a4f);
CSS Code for #4E4E49
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #4E4E49 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #4E4E49 across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #4E4E49 (#4E4E49)
#4E4E49 is a yellow color (colour) with RGB channel values of 78 red, 78 green, and 73 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 60 degrees with 3% saturation and 30% lightness, placing it in the neutral-to-cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #4E4E49 is 77/255 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 0% cyan, 0% magenta, 6% yellow, and 69% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #4E4E49 against white is 8.37:1 and against black is 2.51:1. 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 #4A4A4F creates maximum visual tension when paired with #4E4E49. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #4F4D4A and #4D4F4A, 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 #4E4E49
- 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 #4E4E49?
- #4E4E49 is Color #4E4E49, a yellow color (colour) with RGB(78, 78, 73), HSL(60, 3%, 30%), and CMYK(0%, 0%, 6%, 69%). Its perceived brightness is 77/255.
- Is #4E4E49 accessible for text?
- Against white, #4E4E49 has a contrast ratio of 8.37:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 2.51:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #4E4E49?
- The complementary colour is #4A4A4F (hue 240). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #4F4D4A and #4D4F4A. The triadic palette adds #4A4F4F and #4F4A4F for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #4E4E49 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #4e4e49; or rgb(78, 78, 73); or hsl(60, 3%, 30%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 60 3% 30%; 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.