Dim Gray Color Codes

Dim Gray is a dark neutral grey with the hex code #696969, RGB values of 105, 105, 105 and an HSL value of hsl(0, 0%, 41%).

HEX	#696969
RGB	105, 105, 105
HSL	hsl(0, 0%, 41%)
HSV	0°, 0%, 41%
CMYK	0%, 0%, 0%, 59%
LAB	44.41, -0.00, 0.00
CIELCHuv	44.41, 0.00, 146.36°

Nearest Pantone: PMS 431 C ΔE 3.5 · approximate
Nearest CSS name: dimgray ΔE 0.0

Source CSS Color Module Level 4 keyword 'DimGray'

Dim Gray Color Hex Code

The Dim Gray color hex code is #696969. Those six digits are three pairs, 69 for red, 69 for green and 69 for blue, which is the same triplet a browser reads from the CSS value below.

#696969

Dim Gray Color RGB Code

The Dim Gray RGB code is rgb(105, 105, 105). Red carries the most light at 105 of 255, which is what puts this color where it sits on the wheel.

rgb(105, 105, 105)

Dim Gray Color HSV Code

The Dim Gray HSV code is 0°, 0%, 41%. Read it as a hue of 0 degrees, 0% saturation and 41% value, which is the form most color pickers use because moving one number changes one thing.

0°, 0%, 41%

Dim Gray Color CIELChuv Code

The Dim Gray CIELCHuv code is 44.41, 0.00, 146.36°. Unlike hex or RGB this one is perceptual: lightness 44 means mid-toned to the eye rather than to the screen, and chroma 0 is how far it sits from grey.

44.41, 0.00, 146.36°

Tonal scale

What are Dim Gray Color Palettes?

A shade mixes toward black, a tint toward white, a tone toward grey. Every step keeps the hue and is copy-ready.

Shades, toward black

Tints, toward white

Tones, toward grey

Open in the shades & tints generator →

Palettes

What are Dim Gray Color Palette Codes?

Each of these is a hue rotation from #696969. They are generated, not curated, so they are exact.

Complementary

Directly opposite sits #696969, a dark neutral grey. No other pairing separates two hues further, so this is the one to reach for when a single element has to win attention. Neither is especially saturated, so this pairing stays calm enough for large areas of both.

Analogous

#696969 and #696969 sit 30 degrees either side. All three share most of their hue, so the set reads as one family instead of three separate decisions. Good for backgrounds and for state variations that should not announce themselves.

Triadic

#696969 and #696969 complete an even 120 degree split. Three fully independent hues, so one has to lead: keep this base dominant and let the other two appear in small quantities.

Split-complementary

Instead of the direct complement, this takes the two hues either side of it: #696969 and #696969. Almost the same contrast, without the edge shimmer a true complementary pair produces at high saturation.

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs forming a rectangle: this base with #696969, and #696969 with #696969. The richest of the five and the hardest to balance, so treat this base as the lead and hold the other three well back.

See these on the color wheel →

Accessibility

Measured against white and against black, with a separate verdict for each element type. Small text, large text and UI components have different thresholds, so one pass or fail for the whole color would be wrong roughly a third of the time.

White background

5.49:1

5.49

contrast ratio on white background

Element	AA	AAA
Small text needs 4.5:1 / 7:1	Passes	Fails
Large text needs 3:1 / 4.5:1	Passes	Passes
UI component needs 3:1	Passes	n/a

Black background

3.83:1

3.83

contrast ratio on black background

Element	AA	AAA
Small text needs 4.5:1 / 7:1	Fails	Fails
Large text needs 3:1 / 4.5:1	Passes	Fails
UI component needs 3:1	Passes	n/a

Dim Gray clears WCAG AA against white at 5.49:1, so it is safe for body copy as well as headings. Text placed on it should be white, which gives 5.49:1. With very little saturation it behaves as a neutral, which makes it a good background or a supporting tone alongside a stronger accent.

Check Dim Gray against another color →

Color vision

How Dim Gray looks with color blindness

Around 300 million people see color differently from the way it is specified. Each card shows the actual color beside how it appears, and how common that form of vision is.

Protanopia

About 1% of men

actual

#696969

Dim Gray holds up almost unchanged here. ΔE 0.0

No working red cones. Reds darken sharply and drift toward the same muddy olive as green.

Deuteranopia

About 1% of men

actual

#696969

Dim Gray holds up almost unchanged here. ΔE 0.0

No working green cones. With the milder deuteranomaly at nearer 6% of men, this is by far the most common form, and the one worth designing around.

Tritanopia

About 1 in 10,000

actual

#696969

Dim Gray holds up almost unchanged here. ΔE 0.0

No working blue cones. Blues shift toward green and yellows toward pink. Rare, and unlike the others it is not sex-linked, so it affects men and women equally.

Achromatopsia

About 1 in 30,000

actual

#696969

Dim Gray holds up almost unchanged here. ΔE 0.0

No color vision at all. Also a fair proxy for how the color survives a greyscale print or a failing screen.

Dim Gray is stable under the common forms of color blindness: to a deuteranope it reads as #696969, a shift of only ΔE 0.0, which is close to imperceptible. The widest shift is under protanopia, at ΔE 0.0. The rule this leads to needs no simulator: never let color be the only thing carrying a message. Add a label, an icon, or a clear difference in lightness, and the problem disappears for everyone.

Simulate a whole palette →

Snippets

Using Dim Gray in code

:root {
  --dim-gray: #696969;
}

.example {
  color: var(--dim-gray);
}

// tailwind.config.js
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      'dim-gray': '#696969',
    },
  },
}

// SwiftUI takes 0–1 components, not 0–255.
let dimGray = Color(
    red: 0.412,
    green: 0.412,
    blue: 0.412
)

<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="dim_gray">#696969</color>

// Flutter wants ARGB: FF for full opacity, then the hex.
const dimGray = Color(0xFF696969);

Meaning

What is the Meaning of Dim Gray Color?

Dim Gray reads as formality. It is muted enough to work as a background rather than a signal, and at 0% saturation with a perceptual lightness of 44 it behaves as a neutral color, which is the practical reason it turns up where it does.

What are Other Names of Dim Gray Color?

In CSS you can write DimGray instead of the hex and get the same color: the two are 0.0 apart, which no eye resolves. For print the nearest Pantone is PMS 431 C at #666D70. The name Dim Gray comes from the community color-name index rather than a standards body, so you will meet it under other names elsewhere.

How is Dim Gray Color Made?

On a screen Dim Gray is made by additive light: 105 red, 105 green and 105 blue out of 255, with red leading and 105 as the floor. In print it is subtractive instead, mixed as 0%, 0%, 0%, 59%. Starting from the pure hue at 0 degrees, Dim Gray is a tone, so it is that hue knocked back with grey.