Tints & Shades
50
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Scale from white (50) through Slate Gray (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #708090
- RGB
- rgb(112, 128, 144)
- HSL
- hsl(210, 13%, 50%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.593 0.031 248)
- CMYK
- cmyk(22%, 11%, 0%, 44%)
--color-slate-graybg-[#708090]Accessibility
Score: 39/100On White (#FFF)
4.05:1
On Black (#000)
5.18:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
3.72:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #708090
color: #708090
bg-[#708090] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #708090
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Mushroom
#A09080
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Gray is the color of balance, intelligence, and maturity. Unlike black or white, gray makes no strong statement — it allows other design elements to speak. Light grays are versatile backgrounds that convey modernity and cleanliness; mid-grays feel sophisticated and professional; dark charcoals carry authority without the extremity of black. Gray's emotional neutrality has made it the dominant color of Apple's design language and most premium technology hardware. Cool grays (blue-tinted) feel modern and urban; warm grays (brown-tinted, often called "greige") feel approachable and cozy. Gray can feel dull and lifeless without colorful accents — context determines whether it reads as timeless or uninspired. Its near-neutral saturation gives it a versatile, subdued character that works as a sophisticated accent without dominating a composition.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Slate Gray is applied in professional design.
- Premium technology hardware and devices
- Architectural and interior design services
- Automotive brands emphasizing refinement
- Financial and professional services
- Typography and editorial design
- Industrial and engineering companies
- Minimalist fashion and luxury apparel
- Enterprise software UI neutral elements
Accessibility Considerations
Normal Text
Fails AA
4.5:1 minimum required
Large Text
Passes AA Large
3:1 minimum required
UI Components
Meets 1.4.11
3:1 for non-text UI
Slate Gray is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (5.18:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #708090;Text
color: #708090;Border
border: 2px solid #708090;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #70809040;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #708090, #9fafc0);Tailwind-style
--color-slate-gray: #708090;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Slate Gray without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#708090]Text
text-[#708090]Border
border-[#708090]Ring
ring-[#708090]Fill
fill-[#708090]From (gradient)
from-[#708090]Via (gradient)
via-[#708090]To (gradient)
to-[#708090]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Slate Gray design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-slate-gray: #708090;
--color-slate-gray-rgb: 112, 128, 144;
--color-slate-gray-hsl: 210, 13%, 50%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-slate-gray: #708090; $color-slate-gray-rgb: 112, 128, 144; $color-slate-gray-hsl: 210, 13%, 50%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'slate-gray': '#708090',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-slate-gray: #708090;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"slate-gray": {
"value": "#708090",
"type": "color",
"description": "Slate Gray — #708090"
}
}Related Palettes & Combinations
Color Combinations
Accessible Color Pairs
More gray colors
View all →What Does Slate Gray Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Slate Gray at #708090 is a statement of restraint in a spectrum of declarations. Gray-family tones project neutrality not by commanding attention but by organizing it—creating hierarchy, breathing space, and the visual silence that allows other elements to be seen clearly.
- Gray is design's great enabler—the neutral foundation on which other colors perform. In corporate contexts it projects professionalism without warmth (contrasted with blue) or assertiveness (contrasted with black). In luxury design, sophisticated warm grays signal refinement and editorial taste.
- In Japanese aesthetics, gray (haiiro) is deeply valued for its understated elegance—a key component of the wabi-sabi philosophy of imperfect, restrained beauty. Chinese ink painting depends on the full spectrum of gray tones as an expressive medium in itself.
- Slate Gray's medium lightness (50%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies neutrality, professionalism, sophistication, and balance at its most direct.
- At 13% saturation, Slate Gray reads as muted—All grays are inherently muted, but mid-tones in the 40-60% lightness range do the heaviest lifting in sophisticated design systems—providing contrast, hierarchy, and structure without ever competing with the palette's primary colors.
Slate Gray lets everything else be what it is. That generosity is its design superpower.
How to Use Slate Gray in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Slate Gray is the backbone of professional design systems—the color that makes typography legible, spacing visible, and content hierarchy clear. Its neutrality is a feature, not a limitation.
- UI components: neutral backgrounds, disabled states, secondary text—Slate Gray performs reliably in all these roles with its medium tonal character.
- Brand & identity: professional service identities, technology UIs, editorial layouts—contexts where Slate Gray's muted quality creates the right register.
- Typography: Slate Gray as text requires a dark background; its 50% lightness means it provides 4.0:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
- Slate Gray creates strong legibility with black text overlays (5.2:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Proportional use: Slate Gray's muted quality means it scales well across proportions—from full-bleed backgrounds to single-pixel borders—making it an unusually versatile palette component.
Slate Gray lets everything else be what it is. That generosity is its design superpower.
Slate Gray Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Slate Gray (#708090) reaches 5.18:1 contrast with black text—meeting WCAG 2.1 AA minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. It clears standard production accessibility requirements. Relative luminance: 20.9%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 4.05:1 — AA (large text only)
- As text on black (#000000): 5.18:1 — AA ✓
- Best text color on Slate Gray background: Black (#000000) at 5.18:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 20.9% — mid-range luminance—it sits in the transition zone where both dark and light text approaches require testing against the 4.5:1 WCAG threshold
- Slate Gray qualifies for normal body text and all larger sizes (AA).
Always verify Slate Gray at its final intended size and weight using a real contrast checker—font weight and rendering environment affect perceived legibility beyond what raw ratios capture.
Slate Gray in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Slate Gray's brand positioning falls squarely in the territory of neutrality, professionalism, sophistication, and balance. Industry data supports its strongest performance in technology, finance, luxury categories, where the muted saturation calibrates the message at a medium, considered level.
- Technology: Gray dominates technology UI design because it provides the neutral canvas on which colorful, dynamic interface elements perform. Apple's aluminum aesthetic established gray as the physical language of precision engineering, an association that has persisted across all of tech. (examples: Notion, Slack, Salesforce) Cool grays signal digital precision; warm grays feel more approachable and human—choice depends on product personality.
- Finance & Professional Services: Gray communicates the seriousness of people who manage important things—it's the suit of the professional world. Financial services, consulting, and legal firms use it to project competence, precision, and the absence of emotional noise. (examples: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Visa) Dark charcoal is more authoritative than mid-gray for premium financial brands; lighter grays communicate approachable modernity.
- Luxury & Automotive: Luxury brands use sophisticated warm grays as an alternative to the expected black—it signals refinement, editorial taste, and the confidence that doesn't need to shout. Automotive brands use it for the same reason: gray cars signal understated premium quality. (examples: Porsche, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz) The specific undertone of a luxury gray (warm vs cool, light vs dark) determines whether it reads as contemporary or classic.
- Brand positioning: Slate Gray is best suited for brands projecting precision, reliability, sophistication. Categories outside this positioning—color-forward consumer brands that need warmth and personality—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Slate Gray works effectively in architectural visualization, automotive branding, luxury product design—contexts where professionalism serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, Slate Gray is a commitment to neutrality, professionalism, sophistication, and balance. Match it with industries that make that promise and it will pay dividends consistently.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Slate Gray? ▾
- The hex code for Slate Gray is #708090. Its RGB values are rgb(112, 128, 144) and its HSL values are hsl(210, 13%, 50%).
- What does Slate Gray mean in design? ▾
- Gray is the color of balance, intelligence, and maturity. Unlike black or white, gray makes no strong statement — it allows other design elements to speak. Light grays are versatile backgrounds that convey modernity and cleanliness; mid-grays feel sophisticated and professional; dark charcoals carry authority without the extremity of black. Gray's emotional neutrality has made it the dominant color of Apple's design language and most premium technology hardware. Cool grays (blue-tinted) feel modern and urban; warm grays (brown-tinted, often called "greige") feel approachable and cozy. Gray can feel dull and lifeless without colorful accents — context determines whether it reads as timeless or uninspired. Its near-neutral saturation gives it a versatile, subdued character that works as a sophisticated accent without dominating a composition.
- Is Slate Gray WCAG accessible? ▾
- Slate Gray (#708090) passes WCAG AA-large on white with a 4.05:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 39/100.
- What colors go well with Slate Gray? ▾
- Slate Gray pairs well with its complementary color Mushroom (#A09080). Analogous colors like Iron Gray and Glacier also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Slate Gray used for? ▾
- Slate Gray is commonly used for: Premium technology hardware and devices; Architectural and interior design services; Automotive brands emphasizing refinement; Financial and professional services; Typography and editorial design.
- What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Slate Gray? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #708090` or `background-color: #708090`. The CSS custom property is `--color-slate-gray: #708090`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#708090]` for backgrounds or `text-[#708090]` for text.