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Eight Ball

Eight Ball (#03050A) is a very dark, neutral black with a cool-leaning neutral feel. It has a hue angle of 223° and a lightness of 11%. As a neutral it supports other colors rather than competing with them.

#03050AEight Ball
Conversion

What Eight Ball looks like, feels like and where it works.

Description

Eight Ball (#03050A) is a very dark, neutral black with a cool-leaning neutral feel. It has a hue angle of 223° and a lightness of 11%. As a neutral it supports other colors rather than competing with them.

Psychology

Black is bold, formal and strong. It gives the highest contrast with light colors and feels premium; an off-black with a hint of hue is easier on the eye than pure black. As a dark shade, Eight Ball feels weighty and serious.

Meaning

Black stands for elegance, power and sophistication, and for mourning in the West.

Why use this color

Eight Ball is a flexible base. It carries white text well, so it works as a button, header or badge background. Pair it with its tints and shades for a complete scale.

Applications
  • Luxury and fashion
  • Typography and dark mode
  • Strong contrast and emphasis
  • Photography and film
History

Charcoal and soot were among the first pigments in cave art. Modern materials such as Vantablack, from 2014, absorb about 99.96 percent of light.

Accessibility

White text on Eight Ball has a contrast ratio of 20.38:1 (AAA); black text has 1.02:1 (fails). WCAG AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and interface parts. Do not rely on color alone to carry meaning: pair it with text, an icon or a pattern.

ShadesMixed with black: darker and richer.
TintsMixed with white: lighter and softer.
TonesMixed with gray: quieter and less saturated.
HuesThe same lightness and strength, turned around the wheel.
TemperaturesPushed cooler on the left, warmer on the right.
50#F6F7F8100#E9EBEF200#D7DBE1300#BCC1CA400#9BA2AD500#7F8793600#696F7A700#535862800#3E434A900#2D3037950#03050A
Analogous
Complementary
Split complementary
Triadic
Tetradic
Square

Want to explore these on a wheel? Open the color wheel.

#03050A
Typical visionAs most people see it
#04050A
ProtanopiaReduced sensitivity to red
#03050A
DeuteranopiaReduced sensitivity to green
#020607
TritanopiaReduced sensitivity to blue
#050505
AchromatopsiaNo color, only light and dark

These are approximations to help you check that meaning never depends on color alone. Real vision varies from person to person.

White textQuote n. 31: there is no such thing as a bad color.
20.38:1
AAAAA
Normal textAAAAA
Large textAAAAA
Black textQuote n. 31: there is no such thing as a bad color.
1.02:1
AAAAA
Normal textFailFail
Large textFailFail
Open the contrast checker