Charcoal and White color palette
darkslategray · 0.033
white · 0
A 9.9 to 1 ratio is what makes this pairing so reliable for screens. Charcoal #36454F is dark enough to read as near-black, but its slight blue undertone keeps it softer than true black against a white background. That small detail matters at body-text sizes, where pure black can feel harsh.
The pair clears AAA for text, so it works for long-form reading, dense dashboards, and any UI where legibility is non-negotiable. In a Tailwind setup, charcoal slots in around the 700-800 range and white anchors the page, leaving the 50-300 steps free for surfaces and dividers.
If you need a neutral midtone for borders or secondary text, the blend lands on a cool gray (#949DA3).
See Charcoal and White in use
better
Charcoal Tailwind scale (50-900)
White Tailwind scale (50-900)
Charcoal to White blend
A continuous interpolation from Charcoal to White, sampled into the 10 steps below. Tap any swatch to copy its hex.
Why Charcoal and White blend best in OKLab
The same two colors blended three ways. This site uses OKLab, which keeps the blend smooth and evenly lit. The other two are shown so you can see what to avoid: sRGB darkens and muddies the middle, and HSL detours through colors that are not in your palette.
Accessibility
Charcoal and White can be used together as text and background.
Contrast pairing grid
Rows are Charcoal steps, columns are White steps. Each mark is a Charcoal step shown on a White step: a check means it clears WCAG AA for text (4.5:1). If you can read the mark, the pairing is legible.
| 50 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 | 800 | 900 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 100 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 200 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| 300 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| 400 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| 500 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 600 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 700 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 800 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 900 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
✓ passes AA ✗ fails AA
Copy for Tailwind
Tailwind v4 — @theme (paste into your CSS)
@theme {
--color-charcoal-50: #F2F3F4;
--color-charcoal-100: #E5E7E8;
--color-charcoal-200: #CFD3D5;
--color-charcoal-300: #B1B7BC;
--color-charcoal-400: #8A949A;
--color-charcoal-500: #36454F;
--color-charcoal-600: #2A373F;
--color-charcoal-700: #1E272E;
--color-charcoal-800: #0D1317;
--color-charcoal-900: #030406;
--color-white-50: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-100: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-200: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-300: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-400: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-500: #FFFFFF;
--color-white-600: #D1D1D1;
--color-white-700: #9E9E9E;
--color-white-800: #5D5D5D;
--color-white-900: #292929;
}
Tailwind v3 — tailwind.config.js
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'charcoal': {
50: '#F2F3F4',
100: '#E5E7E8',
200: '#CFD3D5',
300: '#B1B7BC',
400: '#8A949A',
500: '#36454F',
600: '#2A373F',
700: '#1E272E',
800: '#0D1317',
900: '#030406',
},
'white': {
50: '#FFFFFF',
100: '#FFFFFF',
200: '#FFFFFF',
300: '#FFFFFF',
400: '#FFFFFF',
500: '#FFFFFF',
600: '#D1D1D1',
700: '#9E9E9E',
800: '#5D5D5D',
900: '#292929',
},
},
},
},
};
CSS variables
:root {
--charcoal-50: #F2F3F4;
--charcoal-100: #E5E7E8;
--charcoal-200: #CFD3D5;
--charcoal-300: #B1B7BC;
--charcoal-400: #8A949A;
--charcoal-500: #36454F;
--charcoal-600: #2A373F;
--charcoal-700: #1E272E;
--charcoal-800: #0D1317;
--charcoal-900: #030406;
--white-50: #FFFFFF;
--white-100: #FFFFFF;
--white-200: #FFFFFF;
--white-300: #FFFFFF;
--white-400: #FFFFFF;
--white-500: #FFFFFF;
--white-600: #D1D1D1;
--white-700: #9E9E9E;
--white-800: #5D5D5D;
--white-900: #292929;
}SCSS variables
$charcoal-50: #F2F3F4; $charcoal-100: #E5E7E8; $charcoal-200: #CFD3D5; $charcoal-300: #B1B7BC; $charcoal-400: #8A949A; $charcoal-500: #36454F; $charcoal-600: #2A373F; $charcoal-700: #1E272E; $charcoal-800: #0D1317; $charcoal-900: #030406; $white-50: #FFFFFF; $white-100: #FFFFFF; $white-200: #FFFFFF; $white-300: #FFFFFF; $white-400: #FFFFFF; $white-500: #FFFFFF; $white-600: #D1D1D1; $white-700: #9E9E9E; $white-800: #5D5D5D; $white-900: #292929;
JSON tokens
{
"charcoal": {
"50": "#F2F3F4",
"100": "#E5E7E8",
"200": "#CFD3D5",
"300": "#B1B7BC",
"400": "#8A949A",
"500": "#36454F",
"600": "#2A373F",
"700": "#1E272E",
"800": "#0D1317",
"900": "#030406"
},
"white": {
"50": "#FFFFFF",
"100": "#FFFFFF",
"200": "#FFFFFF",
"300": "#FFFFFF",
"400": "#FFFFFF",
"500": "#FFFFFF",
"600": "#D1D1D1",
"700": "#9E9E9E",
"800": "#5D5D5D",
"900": "#292929"
}
}How we name colors
There is no single official authority for naming colors. We use the common, widely recognized name as the primary label for each color (here, Charcoal and White); many common names are themselves W3C CSS named colors. For transparency we also show the nearest W3C CSS named color and the perceptual distance, ΔE, measured in OKLab. A small ΔE means the name is essentially exact; a larger one means it is the closest standard name rather than a perfect match.
Sources: W3C CSS Color Module Level 4 and the open color-name-list dataset, used to verify every color sits near a recognized name.