Liquorice
Liquorice (#0A0502) is a very dark, neutral black with a warm-leaning neutral feel. It has a hue angle of 23° and a lightness of 12%. As a neutral it supports other colors rather than competing with them.
About this color
What Liquorice looks like, feels like and where it works.
Description
Liquorice (#0A0502) is a very dark, neutral black with a warm-leaning neutral feel. It has a hue angle of 23° and a lightness of 12%. 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, Liquorice feels weighty and serious.
Meaning
Black stands for elegance, power and sophistication, and for mourning in the West.
Why use this color
Liquorice 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 Liquorice has a contrast ratio of 20.28:1 (AAA); black text has 1.03:1 (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.
Variations of Liquorice
Tailwind-style scale
Color harmonies of Liquorice
Want to explore these on a wheel? Open the color wheel.
Color blindness simulator
These are approximations to help you check that meaning never depends on color alone. Real vision varies from person to person.