#666666

Color Profile: #666666

Common Name: Charcoal Grey / Standard Gray

RGB: 102, 102, 102

HSL: ~0°, ~0%, ~40%

Contrast vs White: 12.6:1 (Passes WCAG AA+AAA)
Contrast vs Black: 1.2:1 (Fails AA/AAA)

Mood & Feel:
Balanced, cool-headed, and industrial—#666666 plays neutral like a pro. Universally recognizable and web-safe, it's more timeless than trendy. A calm but assertive hue that stays out of the spotlight while holding its ground in the grayscale spectrum.

Close Matches:

• Kelly Moore - Charcoal Gray #666565 (ΔE=0.52)
• Behr - Not So Innocent #676666 (ΔE=0.42)
• Pantone FHI - Micron #656665 (ΔE=0.74)
• Dulux Trade - Night Jewels 2 #656565 (ΔE=0.41)
• Matthews - Metalshop Grey #686868 (ΔE=0.81)

• Why Designers Use It.
#666666 is the grayscale workhorse—minimalist, accessible, and built for contrast. Often deployed in UI/UX design for secondary elements or muted typography, it strikes the ideal middle-ground without veering too light or too dark. Its neutrality gives it legs in corporate, editorial, and data visualization contexts, where hierarchy and clarity matter. While not flashy, its web-safe heritage gives it a dependable reputation, particularly in older digital platforms or style guides. You’ll spot this shade in backend dashboards, OS system trays, footers, code editors, and documentation themes. It's like that solid line in a sketch—foundational, understated, and confident in its quiet strength. From matte-coated hardware to concrete architecture, #666666 can channel urban textures or polished metal depending on the setting. Not tied to a particular region or culture, it’s the international middle-grey—neither too cold nor warm. While not “trendy,” it's persistently modern. As for origin? Think steel filings, pencil graphite, dusk sky, or soft asphalt—its real-world cousins are functional and no-nonsense.