ColrShift616161 — RGB, HSL, CMYK and Contrast
A neutral at 38% lightness and 0% saturation, which puts it at 6.19:1 against white and 3.39:1 against black. The tables below give the notation conversions, the tints and shades that keep the hue intact, and the harmonies that pair with it.
Notation conversions
| Notation | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | 616161 |
| RGB | rgb(97, 97, 97) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 38%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 62%) |
| Relative luminance | 0.1195 |
| Perceived brightness | 38.0 / 100 |
Contrast against pure white and pure black
Pair this colour with the two extremes to see which is the safer text partner. AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; AAA raises that to 7:1 and 4.5:1.
| Against | Hex | Ratio | AA text | AA large | AAA text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #FFFFFF | white | 6.19:1 | pass | pass | fail |
| #000000 | black | 3.39:1 | fail | pass | fail |
Tints and shades
Lightness moves in ten-point steps while hue and saturation stay fixed, which keeps the colour recognisable in a scale. The last column is the ratio against white text, useful for deciding where a scale stops working as a background.
| Step | Hex | HSL | vs white text |
|---|---|---|---|
| shade -30 | #141414 | hsl(0, 0%, 8%) | 18.42:1 |
| shade -20 | #2e2e2e | hsl(0, 0%, 18%) | 13.58:1 |
| shade -10 | #484848 | hsl(0, 0%, 28%) | 9.15:1 |
| tint +10 | #7b7b7b | hsl(0, 0%, 48%) | 4.23:1 |
| tint +20 | #949494 | hsl(0, 0%, 58%) | 3.03:1 |
| tint +30 | #adadad | hsl(0, 0%, 68%) | 2.24:1 |
Harmonies
| Scheme | Hex |
|---|---|
| Complementary | #616161 |
| Analogous −30 | #616161 |
| Analogous +30 | #616161 |
| Triadic −120 | #616161 |
| Triadic +120 | #616161 |
Read back from the notation table, 616161 is rgb(97, 97, 97), which normalises to hue 0.0° at 0.0% saturation and 38.0% lightness. Its relative luminance of 0.1195 is what produces the two ratios above: 6.19:1 against white and 3.39:1 against black, a gap of 2.80. Position 60 of 69 in the colour library, it darkens to #141414 thirty points lower on the lightness axis and lifts to #adadad thirty higher, while the complementary rotation lands on #616161.
Nearby colours
Frequently asked questions
What text colour should sit on 616161?
Black gives 3.39:1 and white gives 6.19:1, so white wins at 6.19:1. That clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold for normal text, but not the 7:1 AAA threshold.
Do the CMYK numbers match a print workflow?
They are the naive conversion from RGB, which assumes no ink limit, no colour profile and no black generation strategy. Real print work needs a profile-aware conversion; the values here are the ones the converter reports and are best used as a starting point for a designer rather than a press-ready separations file.
Convert any other colour, or test a pair against each other, in the ColrShift colour converter and contrast checker. The colour library groups every entry on this site by hue family.