ColrShiftE0E0E0 — RGB, HSL, CMYK and Contrast
A neutral at 88% lightness and 0% saturation, which puts it at 1.32:1 against white and 15.91:1 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 | E0E0E0 |
| RGB | rgb(224, 224, 224) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 88%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 12%) |
| Relative luminance | 0.7454 |
| Perceived brightness | 87.8 / 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 | 1.32:1 | fail | fail | fail |
| #000000 | black | 15.91:1 | pass | pass | pass |
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 | #949494 | hsl(0, 0%, 58%) | 3.03:1 |
| shade -20 | #adadad | hsl(0, 0%, 68%) | 2.24:1 |
| shade -10 | #c7c7c7 | hsl(0, 0%, 78%) | 1.69:1 |
| tint +10 | #fafafa | hsl(0, 0%, 98%) | 1.04:1 |
| tint +20 | #ffffff | hsl(0, 0%, 100%) | 1.00:1 |
| tint +30 | #ffffff | hsl(0, 0%, 100%) | 1.00:1 |
Harmonies
| Scheme | Hex |
|---|---|
| Complementary | #e0e0e0 |
| Analogous −30 | #e0e0e0 |
| Analogous +30 | #e0e0e0 |
| Triadic −120 | #e0e0e0 |
| Triadic +120 | #e0e0e0 |
Measured rather than eyeballed: hue 0.0°, saturation 0.0%, lightness 87.8%, relative luminance 0.7454 — four decimals is the precision the WCAG formula actually needs — and perceived brightness 87.8 out of 100. Entry 65 of 69 in this library, it scores 1.32:1 on white and 15.91:1 on black, a 14.59 spread. The complementary #e0e0e0 sits 180° away on the wheel, and the scale brackets it with #949494 below and #ffffff above.
Nearby colours
Frequently asked questions
What text colour should sit on E0E0E0?
Black gives 15.91:1 and white gives 1.32:1, so black wins at 15.91:1. That clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold for normal text and the 7:1 AAA threshold as well.
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.