Gray 500 Color / Colour Code #6B7280
This page shows the hex color code for gray 500 (#6B7280). The colour is a neutral tone with 9% saturation and 46% lightness. Explore its conversions, colour palettes, gradients, accessibility data, and CSS code below.
Color Conversions
Accessibility Contrast
WCAG contrast ratios for #6B7280 against common backgrounds.
Complementary Colors
#6B7280 paired with its color wheel opposite for maximum contrast.
Analogous Colors
Hues at 190, 220, and 250 degrees for harmonious combinations.
Triadic Palette
Three colors at 220, 340, and 100 degrees.
Color Palettes Using #6B7280
Five shades at lightness levels 15% through 85% while keeping hue at 220 and saturation at 9%. Use the darkest shade for text and the lightest for backgrounds to build a cohesive single-hue design system.
Adjacent hues from 220 to 265 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 220 with its complement at 40 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 #6B7280
Lightness variations at hue 220 and 9% saturation.
CSS Gradients with #6B7280
Design Use Cases for #6B7280
Neutral Foundation Color
#6B7280 has almost no saturation (9%), 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 46% lightness, #6B7280 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.
Trust & Professional Identity
#6B7280 sits in the blue range (hue 220). 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 #6B7280 (hue 220) to its complement at hue 40. For a subtler effect, try pairing with an analogous color at hue 250. Use CSS: background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6b7280, #80796b);
CSS Code for #6B7280
Similar Colors
Colors visually similar to #6B7280 based on RGB, lightness, and hue variations.
Use This Color in Design Tools
Apply #6B7280 across image editing and color design tools.
About Gray 500 (#6B7280)
#6B7280 is a neutral color (colour) with RGB channel values of 107 red, 114 green, and 128 blue. The blue channel is dominant with a relatively balanced channel distribution. In HSL terms, the hue sits at 220 degrees with 9% saturation and 46% lightness, placing it in the cool range of the colour spectrum.
The perceived brightness of #6B7280 is 114/255 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 16% cyan, 11% magenta, 0% yellow, and 50% key (black).
The WCAG contrast ratio of #6B7280 against white is 4.83:1 and against black is 4.34:1. This meets the AA requirement (4.5:1) for normal text on white. For AAA compliance, consider darkening to at least 32% lightness.
The complementary colour #80796B creates maximum visual tension when paired with #6B7280. For more harmonious color combinations, use the analogous colours #6B7C80 and #6E6B80, 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 #6B7280
- 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 #6B7280?
- #6B7280 is Gray 500, a neutral color (colour) with RGB(107, 114, 128), HSL(220, 9%, 46%), and CMYK(16%, 11%, 0%, 50%). Its perceived brightness is 114/255.
- Is #6B7280 accessible for text?
- Against white, #6B7280 has a contrast ratio of 4.83:1 (passes AA for normal text). Against black, it has 4.34:1 (fails AA). Use the contrast checker tool for custom background pairings.
- What colours pair well with #6B7280?
- The complementary colour is #80796B (hue 40). For subtle color combinations, use analogous colours #6B7C80 and #6E6B80. The triadic palette adds #806B72 and #72806B for vibrant variety.
- How do I use #6B7280 in CSS?
- Use any format: color: #6b7280; or rgb(107, 114, 128); or hsl(220, 9%, 46%). For CSS custom properties: --color-primary: 220 9% 46%; 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.