#161617 Color

#161617 is rgb(22, 22, 23) in RGB, hsl(240, 2%, 9%) in HSL, and about cmyk(4%, 4%, 0%, 91%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Soft Black (#131313), below the threshold most people can see at ΔE 1.56. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#161617

HEX#161617

RGBrgb(22, 22, 23)

HSLhsl(240, 2%, 9%)

HSVhsv(240, 4%, 9%)

CMYKcmyk(4%, 4%, 0%, 91%)

OKLCHoklch(20.1% 0.002 286.2)

LABlab(7.28% 0.19 -0.68)

LCHlch(7.28% 0.71 285.25)

What #161617 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #161617, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Soft Black#131313ΔE 1.56 Off Black#1A1A1AΔE 2.11 Eerie Black#1B1B1BΔE 2.59 Jet Black#0A0A0AΔE 4.59 Smoky Black#100C08ΔE 4.67 Licorice#1A1110ΔE 4.93

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every black in the library.

#161617 Channel Values

How #161617 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 22 · G 22 · B 23	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 240° · S 2% · L 9%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 240° · S 4% · V 9%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 4% · M 4% · Y 0% · K 91%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	18.08:1 vs white · 1.16:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #161617 background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text18.08:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text1.16:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #161617 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #161617

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #161617; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #161617

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #161617.

How #161617 Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#161617

Protanopia#161617

Protanomaly#161617

Deuteranopia#161617

Deuteranomaly#161617

Tritanopia#161616

Tritanomaly#161616

Achromatopsia#161616

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #161617 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-161617: #161617;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #161617;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-161617': '#161617' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.086, green: 0.086, blue: 0.090)

Android XML<color name="color_161617">#161617</color>

SVG fillfill="#161617"

More Black Colors

#161617 sits in the black family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

030303 242424 050505 242124 080808 212121 0a0a0a 1c1c1c 0d0d0d 1b1b1b 0f0f0f 1a1a1a 131313 171717 18181b 000000

#161617 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #161617?

#161617 is a darkest black — rgb(22, 22, 23) in RGB and hsl(240, 2%, 9%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Soft Black (#131313), which is below the threshold most people can see at a CIE76 distance of 1.56.

What is the RGB value of #161617?

#161617 is rgb(22, 22, 23) — red 22, green 22, and blue 23 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #161617?

#161617 converts to approximately cmyk(4%, 4%, 0%, 91%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #161617 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #161617 scores 18.08:1 against white and 1.16:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #161617 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #161617 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is black (#000000) at a CIE76 distance of 7.31, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #161617 in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every black in the color library, the guide to shades of black, or the full color library.