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Taupe Gray Velvet
Color detail

Taupe Gray Velvet

Neutral gray · Hue 40
Metrics
S 5% · L 42%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white5.2:1AAon black4.1:1AA Large
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Taupe Gray Velvet (#706D66) belongs to the neutral grays — hue 40°, 5% saturation, 42% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-taupe-gray-velvet: #706D66;
  --colorarchive-taupe-gray-velvet-hsl: hsl(40, 5%, 42%);
  --colorarchive-taupe-gray-velvet-rgb: rgb(112, 109, 102);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Color Origins

Neutral family

Not a color, but the canvas every color lives on.

Heritage

Bone black, lamp black, and ivory black are the classical pigment lineage of black, with Mars black a 20th-century addition; lead white (now heavily restricted), zinc white, and titanium white are the whites; and every gray sits between them. Charcoal and graphite extend the lineage. Painters historically mixed their warm and cool grays rather than taking them from a tube — Vermeer tinted grays of lead white, black, and umber with ultramarine. Scandinavian and Japanese design traditions have refined the use of pure neutrals to the point of philosophy.

Across cultures

In Western culture black is mourning (since the Roman Empire), formal (since late-medieval European courts), and rebellious (since 20th-century counterculture). In China and much of East Asia white is the traditional funeral color, though Japan has worn black since the Meiji era. Black-and-white photography defined visual journalism for a century. Concrete gray, since Brutalism, has come to read as both serious-civic and dystopian, depending on context. Scandinavian interiors often lean on the calibration of warm vs cool grays.

In the wild

Apple's restraint is essentially a religion of neutrals — white packaging and, since it dropped the rainbow logo in 1999, a single-color Apple mark. Chanel built a fashion empire on black-and-white. Muji's identity is the absence of identity — the name means 'no-brand quality goods', and its color range is deliberately limited. Vercel, Linear, GitHub, and many modern developer tools dial the saturation way down to make their content shine. The film noir aesthetic and modern minimalist branding both converge on neutrals.

How it reads

Pure neutrals (true gray) are eye-rest colors — they carry no hue of their own. Warm neutrals (taupe, warm gray) read as inviting, hospitality-friendly, soft. Cool neutrals (cool gray, slate) read as technical, premium, slightly distant. Off-whites and creams are heritage-luxury colors; near-blacks (charcoal, ink) read as serious without the harshness of pure black. Designers often choose a slightly warm or slightly cool neutral over true gray because it feels more deliberate and human.

This particular tone

A grounded mid-tone — sober, considered, well-suited to body text accents, editorial layouts, or any context where restraint reads as quality.

Lightness band: At mid-lightness the hue carries its full character. This is the band where many identity colors live: bright enough to be distinctive at small sizes, deep enough to sit cleanly on a white canvas.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #706D66.

  • Microsoftneutral
    Slate Gray · #737373
    →
  • Notionneutral
    Notion Gray · #787774
    →
  • Anthropicaccent
    Anthropic Green · #788C5D
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #706D66.

  • France (Paris)Zinc Roof Grey
    #5E6566 · Oxidized zinc roof tiles, central Paris
    →
  • IrelandAtlantic Slate
    #5A6770 · Cliff face + winter sea
    →
  • England (London)Plane Tree Green
    #5C7A5A · Platanus × hispanica, London street tree
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using color in design.

Brand & MarketingMinimalist Color Palette: How to Do More With LessDesign PrinciplesNegative Space in Color Design: The Power of RestraintColor Theory & DesignBackground Color Design: How Neutral Backgrounds Affect Every Other Color

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Taupe Gray Core
#817C74 · hsl(40, 5%, 48%)
Darker companion
Taupe Gray Dusk
#5B5852 · hsl(40, 5%, 34%)
Complementary counterpoint
Cobalt Velvet Faint
#606876 · hsl(220, 10%, 42%)
Analogous lead
Citrine Velvet Faint
#767660 · hsl(60, 10%, 42%)
Analogous echo
Vermillion Velvet Faint
#766660 · hsl(15, 10%, 42%)
Triadic +120°
Teal Velvet Faint
#60766F · hsl(160, 10%, 42%)
Triadic +240°
Mulberry Velvet Faint
#6F6076 · hsl(280, 10%, 42%)
Split-comp +150°
Cerulean Velvet Faint
#607276 · hsl(190, 10%, 42%)
Split-comp +210°
Violet Velvet Faint
#646076 · hsl(250, 10%, 42%)
Export preview
Base: Taupe Gray Velvet #706D66
Lighter companion: Taupe Gray Core #817C74
Darker companion: Taupe Gray Dusk #5B5852
Complementary counterpoint: Cobalt Velvet Faint #606876
Analogous lead: Citrine Velvet Faint #767660
Analogous echo: Vermillion Velvet Faint #766660
Triadic +120°: Teal Velvet Faint #60766F
Triadic +240°: Mulberry Velvet Faint #6F6076
Split-comp +150°: Cerulean Velvet Faint #607276
Split-comp +210°: Violet Velvet Faint #646076

Compare

See how Taupe Gray Velvet compares side by side with related colors.

vsTaupe Gray CorevsTaupe Gray DuskvsCobalt Velvet FaintvsCitrine Velvet FaintvsVermillion Velvet FaintvsTeal Velvet Faint

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Apricot Velvet Faint
#766F60 · hsl(40, 10%, 42%)
Nearby match
Taupe Gray Core
#817C74 · hsl(40, 5%, 48%)
Nearby match
Apricot Velvet Muted
#7E7258 · hsl(40, 18%, 42%)
Nearby match
Taupe Gray Dusk
#5B5852 · hsl(40, 5%, 34%)
Nearby match
Apricot Core Faint
#877E6E · hsl(40, 10%, 48%)
Nearby match
Saffron Velvet Faint
#767060 · hsl(45, 10%, 42%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Muted
#F9FAFB
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Dust
#F9F9FB
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Soft
#F8F9FC
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Clear
#F7F9FD
AA4.9:1
Cobalt Veil Vivid
#F6F9FE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#6F6F68
Protanopia
#6F6F68
Tritanopia
#706969
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Taupe Gray Velvet#706D66 · hsl(40, 5%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Faint#766F60 · hsl(40, 10%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Muted#7E7258 · hsl(40, 18%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Dust#87744F · hsl(40, 26%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Soft#907747 · hsl(40, 34%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Clear#A57E31 · hsl(40, 54%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Vivid#BA861C · hsl(40, 74%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Bright#C58911 · hsl(40, 84%, 42%)Apricot Velvet Pure#CE8C09 · hsl(40, 92%, 42%)