# #281b23

A color — warm, muted, dark, editorial, elegant, luxury, bold. Deterministic analysis from BrandSweets (no inference).

## Values

- Hex: `#281b23`
- RGB: rgb(40, 27, 35)
- HSL: hsl(323, 19%, 13%)
- OKLCH: oklch(0.242 0.025 341.7)
- Relative luminance: 0.0136
- Nearest named color: Black Cherry (#2c1620, Δ 1.663) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/black-cherry
- Moods: warm, muted, dark, editorial, elegant, luxury, bold
- Page: https://brandsweets.com/colors/281b23

## Tints & shades

- Tints (toward white): #432d3b, #5b3e50, #765168, #8f617d, #a47994, #b592a7, #c7adbd, #d8c5d1, #eae1e7, #fbf9fa
- Shades (toward black): #241920, #21171d, #1e151b, #1b1318, #1b1318, #181115, #150e13, #120c10, #0f0a0d, #0c080b

## Harmonies

- Complementary: #1b2720
- Analogous: #261b27, #271b1c
- Triadic: #23271b, #1b2327
- Split-complementary: #1c271b, #1b2726
- Tetradic: #27261b, #1b2720, #1b1c27

## Colors that go with #281b23

Named partners (harmony on the OKLCH wheel, co-occurrence in curated palettes and brand systems, and the neutrals that carry it), best first:

- **Charcoal** #36454f [role, pool] — Charcoal is the text near-black that reads cleanly against #281b23 without the hard edge of pure #000. Seen in: HubSpot (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/hubspot-com), Lamborghini (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/lamborghini-com), Audi (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/audi-com), Gusto (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/gusto-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/charcoal
- **Amber** #ffbf00 [pool] — Amber is paired with #281b23 in 18 real palettes, including Google's brand system and Wikipedia's brand system, as the accent. Seen in: Google (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/google-com), Wikipedia (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/wikipedia-org), Warner Bros. (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/warnerbros-com), Trailhead (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/warm#trailhead). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/amber
- **Blue** #0000ff [pool] — 23 real palettes, including Bumble's brand system and Rolex's brand system put Blue beside #281b23, as the supporting colour. Seen in: Bumble (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/bumble-com), Rolex (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/rolex-com), Signal (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/signal-org), CVS (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/cvs-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/blue
- **Blue Violet** #8a2be2 [pool] — Blue Violet is paired with #281b23 in 10 real palettes, including ClickUp's brand system and Yahoo's brand system, as the lead colour. Seen in: ClickUp (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/clickup-com), Yahoo (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/yahoo-com), Prepare your taste buds... (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/grubhub-com), Klarna US (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/klarna-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/blueviolet
- **Blush Pink** #e8b4b8 [pool] — 6 real palettes, including Graphite Mono and Estate put Blush Pink beside #281b23, as the accent. Seen in: Graphite Mono (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/neutral#graphite-mono), Estate (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/luxury#estate), Blush (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/light#blush), Cartier (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/cartier-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/blush-pink
- **Brown** #a52a2a [pool] — 5 real palettes, including Woodsmoke and Typewriter put Brown beside #281b23, as the accent. Seen in: Woodsmoke (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/dark#woodsmoke), Typewriter (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/editorial#typewriter), State Farm (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/statefarm-com), Garnet (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/warm#garnet). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brown
- **Burgundy** #800020 [pool] — 4 real palettes, including Candlelight and Qatar Airways's brand system put Burgundy beside #281b23, as the lead colour. Seen in: Candlelight (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/warm#candlelight), Qatar Airways (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/qatarairways-com), Mailchimp (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/mailchimp-com), Rare Beauty (https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/rarebeauty-com). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/burgundy
- **Burlywood** #deb887 [pool] — Burlywood is paired with #281b23 in 6 real palettes, including Kiln and Coffee Bar, as the accent. Seen in: Kiln (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/dark#kiln), Coffee Bar (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/dark#coffee-bar), Chalkboard (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/dark#chalkboard), Coastal (https://brandsweets.com/palettes/cool#coastal). — https://brandsweets.com/colors/burlywood

## Contrast (WCAG 2.x, as text)

- On white (#ffffff): 16.52:1 — AA pass, AA-large pass, AAA pass
- On black (#000000): 1.27:1 — AA fail, AA-large fail, AAA fail. Fix: AA: text → #986785 (4.61:1); AA: background → #878787 (4.6:1); AAA: text → #b18ca2 (7.14:1); AAA: background → #ababab (7.19:1)

## Brands using this color

- **Allbirds** — primary #241c24 (Δ 0.847) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/allbirds-com
- **Pinterest** — text #211922 (Δ 1.689) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/pinterest-com
- **Apple** — primary #221e1f (Δ 1.893) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/apple-com
- **Victoria's Secret** — primary #221d1d (Δ 1.975) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/victoriassecret-com
- **Victoria's Secret** — text #221d1d (Δ 1.975) — https://brandsweets.com/colors/brands/victoriassecret-com

## Curated palettes containing it

- **Golden Hour** (sunset, warm, vivid, light) — #f4a259, #f25f5c, #5b3758, #fff7ec, #2b1a2b — Apricot into coral into plum — a sunset flattened to three tokens, with the plum doubling as the twilight text colour. — tool: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/f4a259-f25f5c-5b3758-fff7ec-2b1a2b — collection: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/sunset
- **Candlelight** (wedding, warm, luxury, elegant) — #7a1f2e, #c9a227, #f2d7c9, #fffaf3, #2e1a1a — Burgundy, gold and a blush on warm white — the evening wedding set; burgundy carries the formality, blush the softness. — tool: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/7a1f2e-c9a227-f2d7c9-fffaf3-2e1a1a — collection: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/wedding

## Fonts for this mood

- warm: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/warm
- editorial: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/editorial
- elegant: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/elegant
- luxury: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/luxury
- bold: https://brandsweets.com/fonts/mood/bold

## Palette tool

Open this color locked as the lead with four explored companions: https://brandsweets.com/palettes/new/281b23-c19fb0-6dcb62-2d1f22-f0e9f1?lock=0&style=vibrant
(Humans lock/regenerate in the tool; the URL is the state — read `lock=` back to see what they kept.)

## Connect an agent

Point any MCP client at the BrandSweets colors endpoint for the same engine:

- Endpoint: https://mcp.brandsweets.com/colors/mcp
- Tools: `analyze_color` (e.g. `analyze_color({ color: "#281b23" })`), `check_contrast` (with fixes), `generate_palette` (explore around locks), `suggest_palette` (mood/industry → curated-first), `list_palettes`.