Is #78747A accessible for body text on white?

#78747A has a contrast ratio of 4.59:1 against white, which is sufficient for WCAG AA body text (4.5:1).

What is the complementary color of #78747A?

The complement of #78747A is #767A74.

#78747A Steel

rgb(120, 116, 122)

Color conversions

HEX: #78747A
RGB: rgb(120, 116, 122)
RGBA: rgba(120, 116, 122, 1)
HSL: hsl(280, 3%, 47%)
HSV / HSB: hsv(280, 5%, 48%)
CMYK: cmyk(2%, 5%, 0%, 52%)

Wide-gamut spaces

XYZ: xyz(17.503, 17.889, 20.939)
LAB: lab(49.36 2.74 -2.75)
LCH: lch(49.36 3.88 314.86)
OKLAB: oklab(56.45% 0.0072 -0.0073)
OKLCH: oklch(56.45% 0.0103 314.74)
Nearest name: Steel

Shades, tints and tones

Shades

Tints

Tones

Color harmonies

Complementary

The hue directly opposite on the color wheel. Maximum contrast, ideal for a single accent against a dominant brand color.

Analogous

Neighbouring hues that share a temperature. The safest harmony for calm, cohesive interfaces.

Triadic

Three hues evenly spaced 120 degrees apart. Vibrant and balanced — use one as dominant and the other two sparingly.

Split Complementary

The complement split into two adjacent hues. Nearly the contrast of complementary with noticeably less tension.

Square (Tetradic)

Four hues at 90-degree intervals. A rich set for illustration, data visualisation, and category coding.

Rectangle (Tetradic)

Two complementary pairs offset by 60 degrees. Gives two warm and two cool options in one system.

Monochromatic

A single hue across five lightness levels. The foundation of most UI scales and the most accessible starting point.

Similar colors

Closest matches

Opacity variations

#78747a1a

#78747a33

#78747a4d

#78747a66

#78747a80

#78747a99

#78747ab3

#78747acc

#78747ae6

#78747aff

On white

4.59:1

Body text AA · Large text AA

On black

4.58:1

Body text AA · Large text AA

White-on-color contrast is 4.59:1.

Color blindness preview

Protanopia

No red cones — ~1% of men

Protanomaly

Reduced red sensitivity — ~1% of men

Deuteranopia

No green cones — ~1% of men

Deuteranomaly

Reduced green sensitivity — ~5% of men

Tritanopia

No blue cones — very rare

Tritanomaly

Reduced blue sensitivity — very rare

Achromatopsia

No color perception — ~1 in 30,000

Achromatomaly

Partial color perception — rare

Meaning, psychology and brand usage

The structural colour every interface actually runs on

Neutral grays carry no emotional charge, which is precisely their value: they let content and brand colour do the signalling. Their temperature matters more than designers expect — a cool gray beside a warm brand colour reads as a mistake.

Neutrality, professionalism, and precision. Overuse reads as noncommittal or unfinished.

Payne's gray, mixed rather than mined, became the painter's shortcut for atmospheric shadow. Swiss modernism turned systematic gray scales into a design methodology.

Build a full gray ramp before choosing a brand colour. Match the gray's temperature to the brand hue and reserve the darkest steps for type rather than large fills.

Common industries: Enterprise, Architecture, Automotive, Consulting, Hardware. Pairs well with a single saturated accent, warm white for text surfaces, near-black for hierarchy.

Code exports

CSS

:root {
  --color-steel: #78747a;
  --color-steel-rgb: 120 116 122;
  --color-steel-hsl: 280 3% 47%;
  --color-steel-oklch: 56.45% 0.0103 314.74;
}

.element {
  color: #78747a;
  background-color: hsl(280, 3%, 47%);
  border: 1px solid rgb(120 116 122 / 40%);
}

SCSS

$steel: #78747a;
$steel-light: #bcbabd;
$steel-dark: #3c3a3d;

.element {
  color: $steel;
  background: rgba($steel, 0.12);

  &:hover {
    color: darken($steel, 8%);
  }
}

LESS

@steel: #78747a;
@steel-light: lighten(@steel, 12%);
@steel-dark: darken(@steel, 12%);

.element {
  color: @steel;
  background: fade(@steel, 12%);
}

Tailwind CSS

/* Tailwind v4 — src/styles.css */
@theme {
  --color-steel-50: #e4e3e4;
  --color-steel-100: #d7d5d7;
  --color-steel-200: #c9c7ca;
  --color-steel-300: #aeacaf;
  --color-steel-400: #939095;
  --color-steel-500: #78747a;
  --color-steel-600: #6c686e;
  --color-steel-700: #545155;
  --color-steel-800: #3c3a3d;
  --color-steel-900: #242325;
}

/* Usage */
<div class="bg-steel-500 text-steel-50 ring-steel-600" />

/* Arbitrary value, no config needed */
<div class="bg-[#78747a]" />

Bootstrap

// Bootstrap 5 — _variables.scss (before importing bootstrap)
$steel: #78747a;
$primary: $steel;

$theme-colors: map-merge($theme-colors, (
  "steel": $steel
));

// Generates .text-steel, .bg-steel, .btn-steel
@import "bootstrap/scss/bootstrap";

Flutter

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

const Color steel = Color(0xFF78747A);

// As a MaterialColor swatch
const MaterialColor steelSwatch = MaterialColor(0xFF78747A, <int, Color>{
  50: Color(0xFFE4E3E4),
  100: Color(0xFFD7D5D7),
  200: Color(0xFFC9C7CA),
  300: Color(0xFFAEACAF),
  400: Color(0xFF939095),
  500: Color(0xFF78747A),
  600: Color(0xFF6C686E),
  700: Color(0xFF545155),
  800: Color(0xFF3C3A3D),
  900: Color(0xFF242325),
});

Swift / SwiftUI

import SwiftUI

extension Color {
    /// #78747a — Steel
    static let steel = Color(
        red: 0.4706,
        green: 0.4549,
        blue: 0.4784
    )
}

// UIKit
extension UIColor {
    static let steel = UIColor(
        red: 0.4706,
        green: 0.4549,
        blue: 0.4784,
        alpha: 1.0
    )
}

Android

<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<resources>
    <color name="steel">#78747A</color>
    <color name="steel_translucent">#8078747A</color>
</resources>

<!-- Jetpack Compose -->
val Steel = Color(0xFF78747A)

JavaScript

export const STEEL = {
  hex: "#78747a",
  rgb: [120, 116, 122],
  hsl: [280, 3, 47],
  oklch: "oklch(56.45% 0.0103 314.74)",
};

JSON tokens

{
  "$schema": "https://design-tokens.org/schema.json",
  "steel": {
    "$type": "color",
    "$value": "#78747a",
    "$description": "Steel — generated by ColorVerse AI"
  }
}