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Black Colors

15 black colors in the library, 7 of them carrying a registered name. Every swatch opens a full breakdown: hex, RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK, LAB and OKLCH values, WCAG contrast, harmonies, tints and shades.

Like white, pure #000000 is rarely the right choice. The near-blacks here sit below about 15% lightness and usually carry a trace of blue or brown, which reads as deliberate rather than absent. In print the same logic applies for a different reason: single-channel black prints as a flat dark grey, so a "rich black" mixes in the other inks.

Named Black Colors

The blacks that carry a published name, from the CSS keywords through the paint and print registries. These are the ones worth referring to by name in a brief, because the person reading it can look them up.

Every Black by Lightness

The full black range grouped from darkest to lightest. Lightness is the L in HSL — the fastest way to find a black that will hold up as a background, a border, or body text against the rest of your palette.

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Working with Black

For the editorial guide — what black signals, where it works, and what to pair it with — read shades of black. To find a black by name rather than by eye, use the A-Z index of color names. To build a palette around one, open any swatch and use the palette generator or check it in the contrast checker.