Color reference

#BDBDAD color reference

Light Neutral

This is a light neutral because its OKLCH chroma falls below the deterministic hue-family threshold. Its closest standardized CSS named color is Silver (#C0C0C0), measured with straight-line OKLab distance.

Descriptive label
Light Neutral
Recommended text
Black · 11.05:1
Relative luminance
0.502311
Build a palette from #BDBDAD in Palette Generator Convert #BDBDAD in Color Converter
Formats UI preview Contrast 50–900 scale Harmonies Matches Related colors Color vision Exports

Copyable values

#BDBDAD in common color formats

Values are calculated from the same opaque sRGB color. Display rounding does not alter the internal calculations.

Color conversions for #BDBDAD
Format Value Action
HEX #BDBDAD
RGB rgb(189 189 173)
HSL hsl(60 10.81% 70.98%)
HSV hsv(60 8.47% 74.12%)
HWB hwb(60 67.84% 25.88%)
XYZ D65 color(xyz-d65 0.467246 0.502312 0.467706)
LAB lab(76.2754% -2.1145 8.1237)
LCH lch(76.2754% 8.3944 104.5896)
OKLAB oklab(79.39% -0.006415 0.021125)
OKLCH oklch(79.39% 0.022078 106.8921)

Real-world test

Try #BDBDAD on interface components

Preview the source as a primary action, subtle status, form treatment, and card surface. Persistent state controls help touch and keyboard users inspect the same normal, hover, and active colors.

Normal state uses #BDBDAD with black text at 11.05:1.

Action

Primary button

Use the controls above or point to and press the button to inspect its visual states.

Status

Subtle alert badge

A 12% source tint over white provides the background; readable text is selected separately.

Ready for review

Form

Border and focus ring

Source ring on white: 1.9:1 · does not meet the 3:1 non-text threshold where applicable.

Surface

Card component

The selected state becomes the card surface with its strongest black-or-white text pairing.

Design system Color decision ready Review states and surrounding surfaces before shipping.

Accessibility diagnostics

WCAG contrast for exact color pairs

Each result applies only to the named foreground, background, text size, and requirement. It is not a complete accessibility or component-conformance claim.

Source #BDBDAD Exact pair assessment Results for source text on white appear below.

On white

1.9:1

  • Fail AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Fail AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Fail AA large text · 3:1
  • Fail UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1
Source #BDBDAD Exact pair assessment Results for source text on black appear below.

On black

11.05:1

  • Pass AA normal text · 4.5:1
  • Pass AAA normal text · 7:1
  • Pass AA large text · 3:1
  • Pass UI/non-text where applicable · 3:1

Use guidance

What this color may be suitable for

Not recommended

Normal-sized text

#BDBDAD does not reach 4.5:1 on white or Hue Codex paper, so it should not be used there for normal-sized text.

Needs a boundary

Controls and interface graphics

Against Hue Codex paper, the color reaches only 1.82:1. Use a contrasting border or another non-color boundary for meaningful controls and graphics.

Readable pairing available

Colored surface or button fill

Black text provides the stronger black/white pairing on #BDBDAD at 11.05:1. This validates only that text pair, not hover, focus, disabled, or adjacent-color states.

Restrained neutral

Palette role

Its OKLCH chroma of 0.0221 is restrained, which is generally more suitable for surfaces, borders, or neutral system roles than for a vivid accent.

Pair available

Color used as foreground

The stronger black/white background is black at 11.05:1. Always retest against the actual rendered background and text size.

Tested backgrounds

Foreground pairing comparison

#BDBDAD foreground contrast on tested backgrounds
Pair Background Contrast ratio
Black#000000 11.05:1
Hue Codex ink#10212B 8.67:1
White#FFFFFF 1.9:1
Hue Codex paper#FBFAF5 1.82:1
Soft neutral#F2EFE6 1.65:1
Check #BDBDAD on another background in Contrast Checker

Design-system starting point

A perceptual 50–900 reference scale

The source color is preserved at the nearest lightness step. Other swatches keep its OKLCH hue, moderate chroma toward the extremes, and reduce chroma only when needed to remain in sRGB.

50
100
200 #BDBDAD Source
300
400
500
600
700
800
900

This is a Hue Codex reference scale, not a claim that the values match Tailwind, Material, or another framework’s named palette.

Adjust the #BDBDAD scale in Tints, Shades & Tones

Color relationships

Complementary, analogous, and triadic colors

Hue rotations use OKLCH while preserving lightness and requested chroma. When a rotated result falls outside sRGB, chroma is reduced deterministically and disclosed.

Complementary

Source #BDBDAD
Complement

Analogous

Source #BDBDAD
Analogous −30°
Analogous +30°

Triadic

Source #BDBDAD
Triad +120°
Triad +240°

Applied pairing

A small interface check

The source anchors the main action while the complement marks a secondary status. Contrast is selected separately for each fill.

Project color Light Neutral
Complement
Explore #BDBDAD in Color Harmonies

Distance matching

Closest standardized and framework colors

Matches use straight-line OKLab distance ×100. A smaller value means the coordinates are closer in this model; it is not a claim that two tokens are interchangeable in a design system.

CSS named color

Silver

#C0C0C0

OKLab distance ×100: 2.61

Tailwind v4 default

olive-400

oklch(73.7% 0.021 106.9)

OKLab distance ×100: 5.69 · sRGB preview #ABAB9C

Print boundary

Pantone match not estimated

Reliable print matching needs licensed reference data plus a defined ink, paper, profile, and viewing condition.

Read the print methodology

Color-vision screening

Approximate color-vision-deficiency views

These encoded-sRGB matrix previews are screening approximations. They help reveal possible color-only distinctions but do not reproduce every person’s vision or establish accessibility conformance.

Original#BDBDAD
Approx.

Protanopia

Red-vision deficiency approximation

Original#BDBDAD
Approx.

Deuteranopia

Green-vision deficiency approximation

Original#BDBDAD
Approx.

Tritanopia

Blue-yellow deficiency approximation

Original#BDBDAD
Approx.#BBBBBB

Achromatopsia

Monochromatic-vision approximation

Test #BDBDAD with a complete palette in the CVD Simulator

Ready to use

Copy framework-ready color tokens

Exports preserve the source, readable foreground, and generated 50–900 scale. Tailwind v4 CSS-first and Tailwind v3 JavaScript-config formats are labeled separately.

CSS custom properties

Semantic aliases and the complete 50–900 scale.

:root {
  --color-primary: #BDBDAD;
  --color-on-primary: #000000;
  --color-primary-oklch: oklch(79.39% 0.022078 106.8921);
  --color-primary-50: #F6F6EC;
  --color-primary-100: #DFDFD2;
  --color-primary-200: #BDBDAD;
  --color-primary-300: #ACAC9D;
  --color-primary-400: #939385;
  --color-primary-500: #7B7B6E;
  --color-primary-600: #646457;
  --color-primary-700: #4E4E42;
  --color-primary-800: #39392E;
  --color-primary-900: #25251B;
}

Tailwind v4 CSS-first theme

Current @theme syntax for bg-brand, text-brand, and scale utilities.

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-brand: #BDBDAD;
  --color-brand-foreground: #000000;
  --color-brand-50: #F6F6EC;
  --color-brand-100: #DFDFD2;
  --color-brand-200: #BDBDAD;
  --color-brand-300: #ACAC9D;
  --color-brand-400: #939385;
  --color-brand-500: #7B7B6E;
  --color-brand-600: #646457;
  --color-brand-700: #4E4E42;
  --color-brand-800: #39392E;
  --color-brand-900: #25251B;
}

Tailwind v3 / legacy config

CommonJS theme.extend.colors for JavaScript-config projects.

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        brand: {
          '50': '#F6F6EC',
          '100': '#DFDFD2',
          '200': '#BDBDAD',
          '300': '#ACAC9D',
          '400': '#939385',
          '500': '#7B7B6E',
          '600': '#646457',
          '700': '#4E4E42',
          '800': '#39392E',
          '900': '#25251B',
          DEFAULT: '#BDBDAD',
          foreground: '#000000',
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Sass variables

Semantic source, foreground, OKLCH, and scale variables.

$color-primary: #BDBDAD;
$color-on-primary: #000000;
$color-primary-oklch: oklch(79.39% 0.022078 106.8921);
$color-primary-50: #F6F6EC;
$color-primary-100: #DFDFD2;
$color-primary-200: #BDBDAD;
$color-primary-300: #ACAC9D;
$color-primary-400: #939385;
$color-primary-500: #7B7B6E;
$color-primary-600: #646457;
$color-primary-700: #4E4E42;
$color-primary-800: #39392E;
$color-primary-900: #25251B;

Modern color-mix()

Static fallbacks followed by OKLab tint and shade declarations.

:root {
  --color-primary: #BDBDAD;
  --color-primary-tint: #BDBDAD;
  --color-primary-tint: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 72%, white);
  --color-primary-shade: #4E4E42;
  --color-primary-shade: color-mix(in oklab, var(--color-primary) 82%, black);
}

JSON design data

Source formats, readable text, and the generated scale.

{
    "name": "Light Neutral",
    "hex": "#BDBDAD",
    "rgb": "rgb(189 189 173)",
    "oklch": "oklch(79.39% 0.022078 106.8921)",
    "recommendedText": "#000000",
    "scale": {
        "50": "#F6F6EC",
        "100": "#DFDFD2",
        "200": "#BDBDAD",
        "300": "#ACAC9D",
        "400": "#939385",
        "500": "#7B7B6E",
        "600": "#646457",
        "700": "#4E4E42",
        "800": "#39392E",
        "900": "#25251B"
    }
}

Continue the decision

Use #BDBDAD in a complete workflow

Reference values are a starting point. Test the color in its real role, background, states, typography, and surrounding palette before shipping.

Adjust #BDBDAD in Color PickerStart with this exact color and white as the working background for role and accessibility decisions. Build a palette from #BDBDAD in Palette GeneratorUse this exact HEX as the seed for a deterministic, role-based palette. Check #BDBDAD on white in Contrast CheckerStart with this color as the foreground and white as the background, then test the real pair.