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#B5BBAF Color

#B5BBAF is rgb(181, 187, 175) in RGB, hsl(90, 8%, 71%) in HSL, and about cmyk(3%, 0%, 6%, 27%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Ash Gray (#B2BEB5), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 2.96. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#B5BBAF
HEX#B5BBAF
RGBrgb(181, 187, 175)
HSLhsl(90, 8%, 71%)
HSVhsv(90, 6%, 73%)
CMYKcmyk(3%, 0%, 6%, 27%)
OKLCHoklch(78.4% 0.018 128.7)
LABlab(75.14% -3.82 5.34)
LCHlch(75.14% 6.56 125.56)

What #B5BBAF 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 #B5BBAF, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

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

#B5BBAF Channel Values

How #B5BBAF 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 181 · G 187 · B 1758-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 90° · S 8% · L 71%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 90° · S 6% · V 73%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 3% · M 0% · Y 6% · K 27%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance1.96:1 vs white · 10.69:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #B5BBAF 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.

Fails AAWhite text1.96:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text10.69:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #B5BBAF in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #B5BBAF

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #B5BBAF; 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 #B5BBAF

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 #B5BBAF.

How #B5BBAF 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#B5BBAF
Protanopia#BABAAF
Protanomaly#B8BAAF
Deuteranopia#B9B9AF
Deuteranomaly#B7BAAF
Tritanopia#B7BABA
Tritanomaly#B6BAB5
Achromatopsia#B9B9B9

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #B5BBAF in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-b5bbaf: #B5BBAF;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #B5BBAF;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-b5bbaf': '#B5BBAF' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.710, green: 0.733, blue: 0.686)
Android XML<color name="color_b5bbaf">#B5BBAF</color>
SVG fillfill="#B5BBAF"

More Gray Colors

#B5BBAF sits in the gray family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

#B5BBAF Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #B5BBAF?

#B5BBAF is a light gray — rgb(181, 187, 175) in RGB and hsl(90, 8%, 71%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Ash Gray (#B2BEB5), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 2.96.

What is the RGB value of #B5BBAF?

#B5BBAF is rgb(181, 187, 175) — red 181, green 187, and blue 175 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #B5BBAF?

#B5BBAF converts to approximately cmyk(3%, 0%, 6%, 27%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #B5BBAF be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #B5BBAF scores 1.96:1 against white and 10.69:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #B5BBAF as a CSS color keyword?

No. #B5BBAF 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 silver (#C0C0C0) at a CIE76 distance of 7.04, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #B5BBAF in a Tool

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