Color Details and Palettes for #4E4148

Details about the color Pitch Black

Closest web-safe match: #663333

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 #4E4148
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About Color Hex #4e4148

The color Pitch Black, with hexadecimal code #4e4148, belongs to the charcoal family—a deep, warm neutral softer than black. Charcoal tones lend authority and understated elegance to any composition. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Love, Affection, Kindness and Playfulness. With negligible saturation (9%), this color is effectively achromatic—a pure neutral that pairs with any hue without competition. Its low lightness of 28% produces a deep, rich appearance—conveying gravity and luxury, particularly effective in dark-mode designs and premium packaging. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Love, Affection, Kindness, or Playfulness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Pitch Black are (78, 65, 72), providing a combination of red: 78, green: 65, and blue: 72. In HSL format, it has a hue of 328.00°, saturation of 9.00%, and lightness of 28.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 328.00°, saturation of 17.00%, and value of 31.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 17.00%, yellow: 8.00%, and black: 69.00%.

The calculated luminance of #4e4148 is 0.059, offering a brightness level suitable for various design requirements.

This color is not part of the web-safe color palette. The closest web-safe color to this is the color HEX #663333. Its contrast ratio is 2.17:1 against black and 9.66:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #4e4148 reads as neutral. When it comes to accessibility, testing against standard guidelines suggests that using white text meets typical WCAG contrast standards. Additionally, the ideal foreground color for improved legibility on #4e4148 is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #4e4148 appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #4E4148

Pitch Black (#4E4148) belongs to the Charcoal color family.

As an achromatic shade, this color carries a timeless, versatile neutrality that anchors any palette it joins.

Historical Background

Charcoal, the drawing medium, has been used since prehistoric cave art at Lascaux and Altamira—making it one of humanity's oldest creative tools. As a color, deep charcoal became fashionable in Victorian-era menswear and later in mid-century modern furniture upholstery, where it provided a softer alternative to stark black.

Design & Usage Tips

Charcoal is an excellent substitute for pure black in typography and backgrounds—it feels warmer and reduces eye strain on screens. Dark-mode interfaces frequently use charcoal (#222–#333) rather than true black (#000) to avoid OLED screen smearing and to soften contrast.

Psychological Impact

Charcoal communicates authority and gravitas without the starkness of black. It suggests understated confidence, making it ideal for luxury brands, law firms, and editorial publications that want sophistication without drama.

Its low lightness of 28% gives it a deep, intense presence. Deep tones like this excel as dark-mode backgrounds, header bars, and anywhere a sense of gravity or luxury is desired.

Creative Design Ideas

Use charcoal as a dark-mode background paired with crisp white text and a single vivid accent (electric blue, lime green, or coral). For print, charcoal paper stock with metallic foil stamping creates tactile, premium business cards and invitations.

#4E4148 Color Conversions

Every way to write Pitch Black — copy Pitch Black as RGB, HSL, HSV, HWB, CMYK, OKLCH, OKLab, CIELAB, LCH, XYZ or a decimal integer. One-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.

12 formats
HEX Web
#4E4148

Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.

RGB Screen
rgb(78, 65, 72)

RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.

HSL Web
hsl(328, 9%, 28%)

HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.

HSV HSB Design
hsv(328, 17%, 31%)

HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.

HWB CSS 4
hwb(328 25% 69%)

HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.

CMYK Print
cmyk(0%, 17%, 8%, 69%)

CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.

OKLCH Modern
oklch(39.13% 0.021 344.48)

OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.

OKLab Modern
oklab(39.13% 0.020 -0.006)

OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.

CIELAB L*a*b* Perceptual
L: 29.08, a: 7.00, b: -2.16

CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.

LCH Perceptual
L: 29.08, C: 7.32, H: 342.85

LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.

XYZ CIE Science
X: 6.20, Y: 5.87, Z: 6.94

CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.

Decimal int Code
5128520

The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.

RGB Color Percentages for #4e4148

RGB Color Percentages for Pitch Black (HEX Code: #4e4148) display the relative contribution of Red, Green, and Blue in forming the color. Understanding these percentages provides insight into the color's visual balance and primary components.

This color is primarily dominated by Red, making up 36.28% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
36.28%
Green:
30.23%
Blue:
33.49%

This analysis highlights the influence of each primary color, offering a deeper understanding of the visual characteristics of Pitch Black.

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #4e4148

CMYK Ink Levels for Pitch Black (HEX Code: #4e4148) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Pitch Black prominently features Key, reflecting its dominant color characteristic. This information is invaluable for optimizing ink usage and achieving precise color results in printed materials.

The exact CMYK values are: Cyan: 0%, Magenta: 16.67%, Yellow: 7.69%, and Black: 69.41%.

Luminance & Contrast for #4E4148

Relative luminance gauges how bright Pitch Black is, while the WCAG contrast ratios show how legible black or white text is on it — and which accessibility levels (AA / AAA) it passes.

Relative luminance 0.059
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 2.17:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 9.66:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #4E4148

Copy-and-paste CSS for Pitch Black — backgrounds, text, borders and a custom property. Each line is ready to drop into your stylesheet.

Background background-color: #4E4148;
Text color: #4E4148;
Border border: 2px solid #4E4148;
RGB background-color: rgb(78, 65, 72);
HSL background-color: hsl(328, 9%, 28%);
Variable --color: #4E4148;

#4e4148 Monochrome Palette

The Monochrome Palette consists of shades created by adjusting the brightness. These include lighter, original, and darker shades of the color. This layout helps to visualize the color's range and its potential use in design.

#edeced
#d3d0d1
#b8b3b6
#9e979a
#837a7f
#695e63
#4e4148 Original
#42373d
#372e32
#2b2428
#1f1a1d
#141012
#080707

#4e4148 Complementary Palette

The Complementary Palette is made up of two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors create high contrast and vibrant designs, making them perfect for attention-grabbing elements and dynamic visuals.

#4e4148 Original
#414e47

#4e4148 Analogic Palette

The Analogic Palette consists of colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. These colors typically create harmonious and subtle designs, often used to evoke calmness and unity in your visual projects.

#4e4148 Original
#4e4141
#4d414e
#4e4741
#47414e
#4e4d41
#41414e

#4e4148 Triadic Palette

The Triadic Palette is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination provides a vibrant and balanced color scheme, often used for dynamic and energetic designs while maintaining harmony.

#4e4148 Original
#484e41
#41484e

#4e4148 Quad Palette

The Quad Palette, also known as tetradic, consists of four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This combination offers a diverse and bold color scheme, ideal for creating rich, complex designs with multiple accents while still maintaining balance.

#4e4148 Original
#4e4d41
#414e47
#41414e

Color Blindness Simulation for #4e4148

Colors are perceived differently by individuals with various forms of color blindness. Use the dropdown below to see how this color may look through the eyes of someone with color vision deficiency. Explore how Pitch Black (#4e4148) might appear to people with different visual experiences, and gain deeper insights into color accessibility for your designs!

Each color box displays a "Friendly" or "Not Friendly" tag in the bottom-right corner. A "Friendly" tag indicates that the color difference is distinguishable to individuals with the specific type of color blindness. Conversely, a "Not Friendly" tag means that the color difference might not be distinguishable, potentially causing accessibility issues in your design.

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia (Green Weakness)

Friendly

Protanopia (Red Weakness)

Friendly

Tritanopia (Blue-Yellow Weakness)

Friendly

Achromatopsia (Total Color Blindness)

Friendly

Color Harmonies for #4e4148

Color harmonies refer to the visually pleasing combinations of colors that are derived from specific relationships on the color wheel. These harmonious schemes, such as complementary, triadic, and analogous colors, create a balanced and engaging visual experience in design.

Complementary

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic (Quad)

#4E4148 Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #4E4148 — each one nudges the brightness, richness, or shade a little while still feeling like the same color. Use the buttons on any swatch to copy its hex or open its full color page.

#555555 Stone Cold
#443333 Cowboy
#665566 Fedora
#332233 Voodoo
#554444 Chinotto
#444444 Black Panther
#664455 Wine Stain
#443344 Voodoo

Colors Similar to #4e4148

These colors are close neighbours of #4E4148 in the RGB color space. Each subtle variation can produce a noticeably different mood in your design while remaining harmonious with the original Charcoal tone.

#4f4148 Pitch Black
#4e4248 Pitch Black
#4e4149 Pitch Black
#4d4148 Pitch Black
#4e4048 Pitch Black
#4e4147 Pitch Black
#5f4148 Plum Intended
#4e5248 Ancient Pine
#4e4159 Nightly Walk
#3d4148 Do Not Disturb
#4e3048 Shadow Purple
#4e4137 Batch Brew

Looking for more Charcoal shades? Browse Charcoal colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Pitch Black (#4e4148)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Pitch Black, but also embody its unique mood and personality. Each carefully curated photo is selected to highlight the richness and diversity of this color, offering inspiration for design, art, and creative projects.