Charcoal Color Palette
Charcoal Color Palette built around #36454F, a dark cool neutral anchor (WCAG contrast 2.12:1 against black). The set combines a light tint + a deep shade + a softened complement + a neutral ground so any palette position has a text-safe pairing.
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #B0B7BD | |
| surface | #48565F | |
| text | #1D272E | |
| text-muted | #49413C | |
| primary | #36454F | |
| secondary | #49413C | |
| accent | #48565F |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #b0b7bd;
--surface: #48565f;
--text: #1d272e;
--text-muted: #49413c;
--primary: #36454f;
--secondary: #49413c;
--accent: #48565f;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #36454F | #B0B7BD | #1D272E | #49413C | #48565F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #36454F | 1.0 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| #B0B7BD | 4.9 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 4.9 | 3.7 |
| #1D272E | 1.5 | 7.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| #49413C | 1.0 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| #48565F | 1.3 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the charcoal color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #36454F, #B0B7BD, #1D272E, #49413C, #48565F.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.