Color #6B686B Color / Colour Code #6B686B
This page shows the hex color code for color #6b686b (#6B686B). The colour is a purple tone with 1% saturation and 41% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #6B686B against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#6B686B paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 270, 300, and 330 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 300, 60, and 180 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #6B686B
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 300 and saturation at 1%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 300 to 345 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 300 with its complement at 120 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 #6B686B
Lightness variations at hue 300 and 1% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #6B686B
Design Use Cases for #6B686B
Neutral Foundation Color
#6B686B has almost no saturation (1%), 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 41% lightness, #6B686B 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.
Creativity & Premium Positioning
#6B686B falls in the purple spectrum (hue 300). Purple communicates creativity, wisdom, and luxury. It is effective for premium product highlights, creative portfolio accents, meditation app interfaces, and rewards program branding. Purple occupies a unique space between the energy of red and the calm of blue.
Gradient Pairing
Create a gradient from #6B686B (hue 300) to its complement at hue 120. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 330. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6b686b, #686a68);
CSS Code for #6B686B
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #6B686B based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #6B686B across image editing and color design tools.
About Color #6B686B (#6B686B)
#6B686B is a purple color (colour) with RGB channel values of 107 red, 104 green, and 107 blue. The red channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 300 degrees with 1% saturation and 41% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #6B686B is 105/255 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, 3% magenta, 0% yellow, and 58% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #6B686B against white is 5.50:1 and against black is 3.82:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 29% lightness.
The complementary colour #686A68 creates maximum visual tension when paired with #6B686B. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #69686A and #6A6869, 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 #6B686B
- 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 #6B686B?
- #6B686B is Color #6B686B, a purple color (colour) with RGB(107, 104, 107), HSL(300, 1%, 41%), and CMYK(0%, 3%, 0%, 58%). Its perceived brightness is 105/255.
- Is #6B686B accessible for text?
- Against white, #6B686B has a contrast ratio of 5.50:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 3.82:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #6B686B?
- The complementary colour is #686A68 (hue 120). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #69686A and #6A6869. The triadic palette adds #6A6A68 and #686A6A for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #6B686B in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #6b686b; or rgb(107, 104, 107); or hsl(300, 1%, 41%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 300 1% 41%; 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.