Color Details and Palettes for #5E596A

Details about the color Smoky

Closest web-safe match: #666666

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 #5E596A
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About Color Hex #5e596a

The color Smoky, with hexadecimal code #5e596a, 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 Luxury, Royalty, Spirituality, Imagination and Wisdom. With negligible saturation (9%), this color is effectively achromatic—a pure neutral that pairs with any hue without competition. Its low lightness of 38% 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 Luxury, Royalty, Spirituality, Imagination, or Wisdom. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Smoky are (94, 89, 106), providing a combination of red: 94, green: 89, and blue: 106. In HSL format, it has a hue of 258.00°, saturation of 9.00%, and lightness of 38.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 258.00°, saturation of 16.00%, and value of 42.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 11.00%, magenta: 16.00%, yellow: 0.00%, and black: 58.00%.

The calculated luminance of #5e596a is 0.106, 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 #666666. Its contrast ratio is 3.11:1 against black and 6.75:1 against white. It works well on light backgrounds but may be challenging on darker ones.

In terms of color temperature, #5e596a 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 #5e596a is white.

Considering its saturation and lightness, #5e596a appears more vivid and energetic, making it stand out in designs that aim to capture attention.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #5E596A

Smoky (#5E596A) 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.

With a mid-range lightness of 38%, this tone is highly versatile: dark enough to serve as body text on white, yet light enough to stand out on charcoal or navy backgrounds.

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.

#5E596A Color Conversions

Every way to write Smoky — copy Smoky 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
#5E596A

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(94, 89, 106)

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(258, 9%, 38%)

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(258, 16%, 42%)

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(258 35% 58%)

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(11%, 16%, 0%, 58%)

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(47.49% 0.028 298.79)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(47.49% 0.013 -0.024)

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: 38.84, a: 5.73, b: -8.99

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 38.84, C: 10.66, H: 302.52

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 10.79, Y: 10.57, Z: 15.11

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
6183274

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

RGB Color Percentages for #5e596a

RGB Color Percentages for Smoky (HEX Code: #5e596a) 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 Blue, making up 36.68% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
32.53%
Green:
30.8%
Blue:
36.68%

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

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #5e596a

CMYK Ink Levels for Smoky (HEX Code: #5e596a) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Smoky 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: 11.32%, Magenta: 16.04%, Yellow: 0%, and Black: 58.43%.

Luminance & Contrast for #5E596A

Relative luminance gauges how bright Smoky 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 0.106
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 3.11:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 6.75:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #5E596A

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

Background background-color: #5E596A;
Text color: #5E596A;
Border border: 2px solid #5E596A;
RGB background-color: rgb(94, 89, 106);
HSL background-color: hsl(258, 9%, 38%);
Variable --color: #5E596A;

#5e596a 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.

#efeef0
#d7d6da
#bfbdc3
#a6a4ad
#8e8b97
#767280
#5e596a Original
#504c5a
#423e4a
#34313a
#26242a
#18161b
#09090b

#5e596a 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.

#5e596a Original
#646a58

#5e596a 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.

#5e596a Original
#66586a
#585c6a
#6a5864
#58646a
#6a585c
#586a66

#5e596a 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.

#5e596a Original
#6a5d58
#586a5d

#5e596a 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.

#5e596a Original
#6a585c
#646a58
#586a66

Color Blindness Simulation for #5e596a

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 Smoky (#5e596a) 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 #5e596a

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)

#5E596A Nearby Colors

A handful of colors just a step away from #5E596A — 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.

#666677 Venus Mist
#554455 Black Magic
#777788 Flying Carpet
#444455 Gun Powder
#665577 Plummy
#555566 Black Orchid
#665566 Fedora
#555555 Stone Cold

Colors Similar to #5e596a

These colors are close neighbours of #5E596A 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.

#5f596a Smoky
#5e5a6a Smoky
#5e596b Smoky
#5d596a Smoky
#5e586a Freefall
#5e5969 Smoky
#6f596a Hibernation
#5e6a6a Wrapped in Twilight
#5e597b Berry Jam
#4d596a Inkjet
#5e486a Your Majesty
#5e5959 Smokescreen

Looking for more Charcoal shades? Browse Charcoal colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Smoky (#5e596a)

Discover a vibrant gallery of images that not only showcase the captivating hue of Smoky, 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.