Color Details and Palettes for #DBDBDB

Details about the color Gainsboro

Closest web-safe match: #CCCCCC

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About Color Hex #dbdbdb

The color Gainsboro, with hexadecimal code #dbdbdb, falls within the silver range—a cool, luminous neutral that suggests precision and modernity, popular in tech and automotive branding. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation and Friendliness. With negligible saturation (0%), this color is effectively achromatic—a pure neutral that pairs with any hue without competition. Its high lightness of 86% gives it a pale, ethereal quality—airy and delicate, best used as a tinted background or subtle accent. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation, or Friendliness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.

The RGB values for Gainsboro are (219, 219, 219), providing a combination of red: 219, green: 219, and blue: 219. In HSL format, it has a hue of 0.00°, saturation of 0.00%, and lightness of 86.00%.

The HSV representation includes a hue of 0.00°, saturation of 0.00%, and value of 86.00%. Its CMYK composition is cyan: 0.00%, magenta: 0.00%, yellow: 0.00%, and black: 14.00%.

The calculated luminance of #dbdbdb is 0.708, 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 #CCCCCC. Its contrast ratio is 15.17:1 against black and 1.38:1 against white. It works well on dark backgrounds but may be less readable on lighter ones.

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

Considering its saturation and lightness, #dbdbdb exhibits pastel qualities, giving it a gentle, soft appearance often associated with calmness and approachability.

History, Usage, Psychology & Design Ideas for #DBDBDB

Gainsboro (#DBDBDB) belongs to the Silver color family.

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

Historical Background

Silver tones have been revered since antiquity; the metal itself was used as currency across Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. In heraldry, silver (argent) represents sincerity and peace. The Art Deco era of the 1920s–30s popularized silver finishes in architecture and product design, lending a sense of machine-age elegance that persists in modern automotive and tech aesthetics.

Design & Usage Tips

Silver and light-gray tones serve as sophisticated neutrals for professional interfaces—dashboards, SaaS platforms, and enterprise tools use silver dividers, input fields, and card backgrounds. Pairing silver with deep navy or charcoal text ensures legibility while maintaining an upscale, muted palette.

Psychological Impact

Silver conveys modernity, precision, and restraint. It feels cooler and more technological than warm grays, making it popular in tech branding. It can also evoke maturity and reliability, which is why financial and engineering firms gravitate toward silver-toned palettes.

Its high lightness of 86% makes it appear almost washed-out in bright environments, so it is best used as a background tint or gentle highlight rather than a foreground element.

Creative Design Ideas

Create a gradient from silver to white for subtle hero-section backgrounds that add depth without distraction. Use silver metallic accents on packaging to signal premium quality. In web design, silver hover states on buttons provide elegant feedback without competing with the primary brand color.

#DBDBDB Color Conversions

Every way to write Gainsboro — copy Gainsboro 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
#DBDBDB

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(219, 219, 219)

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(0, 0%, 86%)

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(0, 0%, 86%)

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(0 86% 14%)

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%, 0%, 0%, 14%)

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(89.14% 0.000 89.88)

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

OKLab Modern
oklab(89.14% 0.000 0.000)

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: 87.41, a: 0.00, b: -0.01

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

LCH Perceptual
L: 87.41, C: 0.01, H: 296.81

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

XYZ CIE Science
X: 67.33, Y: 70.84, Z: 77.14

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
14408667

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

RGB Color Percentages for #dbdbdb

RGB Color Percentages for Gainsboro (HEX Code: #dbdbdb) 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 33.33% of the total composition. The complete breakdown of RGB contributions is:

Red:
33.33%
Green:
33.33%
Blue:
33.33%

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

CMYK Ink Levels & Print Guide for #dbdbdb

CMYK Ink Levels for Gainsboro (HEX Code: #dbdbdb) provide a breakdown of the percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks needed for accurate print reproduction. The composition of Gainsboro 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: 0%, Yellow: 0%, and Black: 14.12%.

Luminance & Contrast for #DBDBDB

Relative luminance gauges how bright Gainsboro 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 0.708
0 · dark1 · light
Aa
Black text 15.17:1
AA AAA Large
Aa
White text 1.38:1
AA AAA Large

Quick CSS Snippets for #DBDBDB

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

Background background-color: #DBDBDB;
Text color: #DBDBDB;
Border border: 2px solid #DBDBDB;
RGB background-color: rgb(219, 219, 219);
HSL background-color: hsl(0, 0%, 86%);
Variable --color: #DBDBDB;

#dbdbdb 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.

#fbfbfb
#f6f6f6
#f1f1f1
#ebebeb
#e6e6e6
#e0e0e0
#dbdbdb Original
#bababa
#999999
#787878
#585858
#373737
#161616

#dbdbdb 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.

#dbdbdb Original
#000000

#dbdbdb 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.

#dbdbdb Original
#000000

#dbdbdb 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.

#dbdbdb Original
#000000

#dbdbdb 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.

#dbdbdb Original
#000000

Color Blindness Simulation for #dbdbdb

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 Gainsboro (#dbdbdb) 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 #dbdbdb

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)

#DBDBDB Nearby Colors

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

#eeeeee White Smoke
#cccccc Light Gray
#ffffff White
#bbbbbb Silver
#ddddee Velvet Scarf
#dddddd Gainsboro
#eeddee Minute Mauve
#ccccdd Iron Maiden

Colors Similar to #dbdbdb

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

#dcdbdb Gainsboro
#dbdcdb Gainsboro
#dbdbdc Gainsboro
#dadbdb Gainsboro
#dbdadb Gainsboro
#dbdbda Gainsboro
#ecdbdb Hyper Light Drifter
#dbecdb Vanishing Point
#dbdbec Velvet Scarf
#cadbdb Shark
#dbcadb Decadial Pink
#dbdbca Wild Wheat

Looking for more Silver shades? Browse Silver colors →

Explore Vibrant Images Featuring Gainsboro (#dbdbdb)

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