Exploring the Color #3F3C43

#3F3C43 sits at 266° on the color wheel, placing it in the violet family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 6% saturation and 25% lightness, it reads as a heavily muted, shadowed tone — a quiet, restrained presence that recedes rather than competes. Its RGB mix of 63, 60, 67 produces a 10.83:1 contrast ratio against white, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #3F3C43 is a distant relative of CSS dim gray — about 72 units away from #696969. Designers reach for violet hues at this saturation when the brief calls for restraint and atmosphere, and at this lightness when they want weight, depth, and grounded contrast. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades