Light Gray Hex Codes: 29 Light, airy shades
29 light, airy shades of gray with names, hex codes, contrast on white and the best text color for each.
These are the light, airy shades of gray in Tintly's color library: 29 of the 89 gray shades. Light shades make quiet backgrounds, surfaces and highlights. They rarely carry text, so pair them with a dark neutral.
Light gray shades with hex codes
| Name | Hex | On white | Text on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove | #B3ADA7 | 2.22:1 | #111111 |
| Casper | #AAB5B8 | 2.09:1 | #111111 |
| Ash | #BEBAA7 | 1.94:1 | #111111 |
| Cosmic | #B8B9CB | 1.93:1 | #111111 |
| Metal | #BABFBC | 1.86:1 | #111111 |
| Mothy | #CEBBB3 | 1.84:1 | #111111 |
| Silver | #C0C0C0 | 1.81:1 | #111111 |
| Ghost | #C0BFC7 | 1.82:1 | #111111 |
| Foil | #C0C3C4 | 1.77:1 | #111111 |
| Dim | #C8C2BE | 1.76:1 | #111111 |
| Brume | #C6C6C2 | 1.71:1 | #111111 |
| Windy | #BDD1D2 | 1.58:1 | #111111 |
| Murmur | #C7CFC7 | 1.59:1 | #111111 |
| Malt | #DDCFBC | 1.52:1 | #111111 |
| Kefir | #D5D5CE | 1.47:1 | #111111 |
| Medlar | #D5D7BF | 1.46:1 | #111111 |
| Luna | #D4D8CE | 1.44:1 | #111111 |
| Fog | #D6D7D2 | 1.44:1 | #111111 |
| Zen | #CFD9DE | 1.43:1 | #111111 |
| Bone | #E0D7C6 | 1.42:1 | #111111 |
| Gin | #D9DFCD | 1.36:1 | #111111 |
| Feta | #DBE0D0 | 1.34:1 | #111111 |
| Airy | #DAE6E9 | 1.27:1 | #111111 |
| Tofu | #E6E5D6 | 1.26:1 | #111111 |
| Spa | #CEECE7 | 1.25:1 | #111111 |
| Pita | #F5E7D2 | 1.21:1 | #111111 |
| Tutu | #F8E4E3 | 1.22:1 | #111111 |
| Bride | #EFE7EB | 1.21:1 | #111111 |
| Salt | #EFEDE6 | 1.17:1 | #111111 |
How to use them
Use a light shade as a page or card tint and a darker shade of the same family for the text on it, so the two feel related.
Standouts in this group
- Darkest: Dove (#B3ADA7), at 75% lightness.
- Lightest: Salt (#EFEDE6), at 95% lightness.
- Most saturated: Medlar (#D5D7BF).
- Best text color on white: Dove (#B3ADA7), at 2.22:1.
What the numbers say
Across all 89 gray shades in the library, lightness runs from 24% to 95%. 38 of them reach 4.5 to 1 on white, so they can be used as text on a light page, and 50 reach 4.5 to 1 on near-black, so they can be used as text on a dark page. The rest are for fills, surfaces and large type, where the requirement is lower. Within the light, airy shades the figures are different: 0 of 29 pass on white.
Pairing with other families
The base gray (#7C8590) separates best from beige (2.66:1), yellow (2.27:1) and brown (1.96:1). Because gray stands for balance, neutrality and maturity, those pairings carry the most contrast of both color and meaning.
- Gray and beige: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.
- Gray and yellow: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.
- Gray and brown: see the combinations in soft, bold and dark versions.