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#686E78 Color

#686E78 is rgb(104, 110, 120) in RGB, hsl(218, 7%, 44%) in HSL, and about cmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 53%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Steel (#71797E), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.09. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#686E78
HEX#686E78
RGBrgb(104, 110, 120)
HSLhsl(218, 7%, 44%)
HSVhsv(218, 13%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 53%)
OKLCHoklch(53.7% 0.017 260.7)
LABlab(46.17% -0.71 -6.40)
LCHlch(46.17% 6.44 263.67)

What #686E78 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 #686E78, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Steel#71797EΔE 5.09Black Coral#54626FΔE 6.63Dim Gray#696969ΔE 6.68Cadet#536872ΔE 6.89Granite Gray#676767ΔE 6.94Sonic Silver#757575ΔE 7.13

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

#686E78 Channel Values

How #686E78 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 104 · G 110 · B 1208-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 218° · S 7% · L 44%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 218° · S 13% · V 47%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 13% · M 8% · Y 0% · K 53%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance5.13:1 vs white · 4.09:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #686E78 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 text5.13:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
Fails AABlack text4.09:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #686E78 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #686E78

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #686E78; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base
#686E78
Complementary
#787268
Analogous
#687678
Analogous
#6A6878
Triadic
#78686E
Triadic
#6E7868
Split comp.
#786A68
Split comp.
#767868

Tints & Shades of #686E78

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

#7C828D
#8F949E
#A5A9B1
#BBBEC4
#D1D3D7
#E4E5E7

Shades

#5A5F68
#4E535A
#40444A
#323539
#242629
#18191B

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #686E78.

How #686E78 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#686E78
Protanopia#6D6D78
Protanomaly#6B6D78
Deuteranopia#6C6C78
Deuteranomaly#6A6D78
Tritanopia#676F6F
Tritanomaly#676F73
Achromatopsia#6E6E6E

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #686E78 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-686e78: #686E78;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #686E78;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-686e78': '#686E78' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.408, green: 0.431, blue: 0.471)
Android XML<color name="color_686e78">#686E78</color>
SVG fillfill="#686E78"

More Gray Colors

#686E78 sits in the gray family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

27272ad9d9d9292524d8d8d8292929d6d6d62a2d2fd6d3d12b2b2bd4d4d82e2e2ed4d4d435383943494e51484f5c5c5c6b6e707968788389968e8c84a1a1a1acacacbebebed1d1d1

#686E78 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #686E78?

#686E78 is a mid-tone gray — rgb(104, 110, 120) in RGB and hsl(218, 7%, 44%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Steel (#71797E), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.09.

What is the RGB value of #686E78?

#686E78 is rgb(104, 110, 120) — red 104, green 110, and blue 120 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #686E78?

#686E78 converts to approximately cmyk(13%, 8%, 0%, 53%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #686E78 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #686E78 scores 5.13:1 against white and 4.09:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #686E78 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #686E78 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 dimgray (#696969) at a CIE76 distance of 6.68, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #686E78 in a Tool

Hex to RGBHex to HSLHex to CMYKHex to OKLCHHex to PantoneBuild a paletteMake a gradient

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