Slate Grey Color Palette – HEX, RGB & Design Inspiration
Color Details
HEX: #BFCDDC
RGB: 191, 205, 220
HEX: #8EA7C1
RGB: 142, 167, 193
HEX: #6D8196
RGB: 109, 129, 150
HEX: #4E5D6D
RGB: 78, 93, 109
HEX: #313B46
RGB: 49, 59, 70
Text on White/Black Backgrounds
Color Pair Combinations (10 total)
WCAG Contrast Standards:
- AAA (7:1): Enhanced contrast for maximum readability
- AA (4.5:1): Minimum for normal text (under 18pt)
- AA Large (3:1): Acceptable for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold)
- Fail: Below WCAG standards, not recommended for text
Recommended Text Colors
Horizontal (Left to Right)
background: linear-gradient(to right, #BFCDDC 0%, #8EA7C1 25%, #6D8196 50%, #4E5D6D 75%, #313B46 100%);Vertical (Top to Bottom)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #BFCDDC 0%, #8EA7C1 25%, #6D8196 50%, #4E5D6D 75%, #313B46 100%);Diagonal (Top Left to Bottom Right)
background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #BFCDDC 0%, #8EA7C1 25%, #6D8196 50%, #4E5D6D 75%, #313B46 100%);Usage Tips:
- Copy the CSS code and paste directly into your stylesheets
- Linear gradients work great for backgrounds and hero sections
- Radial gradients are perfect for spotlights and focus effects
- Conic gradients create eye-catching loading spinners and progress indicators
- Smooth transitions ensure seamless color blending
Normal Vision
No color vision deficiency
Color Swatches
#BFCDDC
#8EA7C1
#6D8196
#4E5D6D
#313B46
Full Palette View
How people with Normal Vision see it:
Overall Mood & Feel
Calm, professional, and trustworthy
Emotional Impact
Calming and contemplative, promoting feelings of trust, stability, and peace. The balanced lightness creates versatility across different contexts
Psychological Effect
This 5-color palette creates a calm, professional, and trustworthy. The combination works together to create memorable visual experiences that influence consumer perception, decision-making, and brand recall. The rich variety provides versatility while maintaining cohesive emotional messaging across touchpoints.
Brand Personality Traits
Perfect For These Industries
Target Audience
Business professionals and decision-makers seeking reliability and competence
Individual Color Psychology
#BFCDDC
Peaceful and airy
Emotions Evoked
Personality Traits
Brand Traits
Ideal Industries
Marketing Use
Most popular color globally. Builds trust and reduces stress. Ideal for corporate brands, financial services, and healthcare. Can suppress appetite.
Cultural Meanings
Color Harmony Analysis
Palette Mood
Temperature
This palette combines light & airy and balanced moods with cool tones, making it versatile for various design applications.
Professional Implementation Guide
This monochromatic slate grey palette features 5 carefully selected cool tones that create a calm and professional aesthetic. With high contrast levels and muted saturation, this palette is optimized for web interfaces and mobile apps.
Web Design & Development
For web development, implement this palette with CSS variables for easy theme switching. The high contrast makes it ideal for accessible interfaces meeting WCAG AA standards.
- Apply the 60-30-10 rule for visual hierarchy
- Use accent colors for CTAs and hover states
- Maintain consistent color usage across all pages
- Test responsive behavior on multiple devices
Mobile App Interfaces
In mobile applications, these cool tones provide excellent battery efficiency on OLED screens. Use the strong color contrast to define clear touch targets.
- Design both light and dark mode variants
- Consider thumb-reach zones for color placement
- Test under direct sunlight and low light
- Use color to indicate interactive elements
Brand Identity Systems
Build a cohesive brand identity by designating specific colors for specific purposes. Establish your primary brand color from the most distinctive shade and create comprehensive brand guidelines specifying exact usage scenarios.
- Define primary, secondary, and accent colors
- Create usage rules for marketing materials
- Specify minimum sizes and clear space
- Document do's and don'ts for consistency
Frontend Development
Developers can integrate this palette efficiently using modern CSS techniques. Export as CSS variables for maximum flexibility, allowing theme switching and dynamic color updates without rewriting stylesheets.
- Use CSS custom properties for theming
- Implement semantic color naming conventions
- Create utility classes for rapid prototyping
- Consider CSS-in-JS for component-scoped colors
Print Design
For print materials, convert to CMYK using #BFCDDC as the dominant color for headers and #313B46 for accents. These colors translate well to print with minimal adjustment.
- Add to your design software color library
- Create swatches for quick color access
- Use CMYK values for print production
- Request color proofs before final print
Marketing Campaigns
Marketing materials benefit from consistent color usage that reinforces brand recognition. Apply this palette across email campaigns, landing pages, advertisements, and social media for maximum impact and memorability.
- Maintain color consistency across channels
- A/B test color variations for conversion
- Consider cultural color associations
- Align colors with campaign messaging
Strategic Color Distribution
Professional designers follow the 60-30-10 rule for balanced color distribution. Here's how to apply this principle with the Slate Grey:
Dominant Color
#BFCDDCUse #BFCDDC as your primary color for backgrounds, main content areas. This blue tone should occupy about 60% of your design space.
Secondary Color
#6D8196Apply #6D8196 as your secondary color for supporting elements and section dividers. Allocate approximately 30% of your layout to this color.
Accent Color
#313B46Reserve #313B46 for accent elements like buttons, links, and important highlights. This blue accent should be used sparingly (10% of design) to draw attention to key actions.
Professional Best Practices
✓ Smart Usage Tips
- •Add warm accent colors to create focal points and prevent designs from feeling too cold
- •Test your palette across different devices and lighting conditions before finalizing
✗ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Don't use all colors equally—establish clear visual hierarchy through color weight
- •Avoid low-contrast text combinations that strain readability
- •Don't rely solely on color to convey meaning (use icons, text, and patterns too)
- •Avoid inconsistent color usage across different pages or screens
- •Don't assume screen colors match print output—always request physical proofs
Palette Overview & Statistics
5
Total Colors
3
Associated Tags
6
Categories
2963
Community Likes
Color Analysis & Technical Guide
Detailed breakdown of each color's role, characteristics, and optimal applications. This monochromatic palette creates a calm and professional aesthetic perfect for web interfaces and mobile apps.
Individual Color Breakdown
Each color in this cool palette has been analyzed for its properties and ideal usage scenarios. The high contrast and muted saturation ensure excellent readability and accessibility.
#BFCDDC
BLUE
#BFCDDC serves as the primary/dominant color in this palette. This light blue (muted) brings trust and tranquility Use it for backgrounds, containers, and large surface areas.
Light toneH: 211°S: 29%L: 81%#8EA7C1
BLUE
#8EA7C1 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (muted) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 211°S: 29%L: 66%#6D8196
BLUE
#6D8196 serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (muted) brings trust and tranquility Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Light toneH: 211°S: 16%L: 51%#4E5D6D
BLUE
#4E5D6D serves as the secondary/supporting color in this palette. This medium blue (muted) brings professionalism and depth Use it for cards, borders, section dividers, and supporting UI components.
Dark toneH: 211°S: 17%L: 37%#313B46
BLUE
#313B46 serves as the accent/highlight color in this palette. This dark blue (muted) brings professionalism and depth Use it for call-to-action buttons, links, important notifications, and interactive elements.
Dark toneH: 211°S: 18%L: 23%
Palette Characteristics
This palette exhibits distinct characteristics that make it particularly suitable for specific design applications and industries.
Cool tones convey professionalism, trust, and calmness. Ideal for corporate and tech applications.
High contrast ensures excellent readability and meets WCAG accessibility standards for most text combinations.
Muted saturation offers sophistication and reduces visual fatigue, ideal for content-heavy applications.
Balanced brightness provides flexibility for both light and dark design elements.
💡 Pro Tips for This Palette
- Perfect for: web interfaces, mobile apps, corporate branding, business websites. The monochromatic color relationship creates natural visual flow.
- Mood & Psychology: This palette evokes a calm and professional feeling, making it ideal for brands seeking to convey those qualities.
- Accessibility: Excellent contrast makes this palette naturally accessible. Most color combinations will meet WCAG AA standards.
- Extensions: Create tints (add white) and shades (add black) to expand this 5-color palette into a comprehensive design system.
- Cultural Context: Cool tones are generally perceived as professional worldwide but always research cultural color meanings.
Export Formats
Explore Slate Grey Palette
The Slate Grey color palette is a masterful blend of soothing blues that evoke a sense of serenity and professionalism, making it an ideal choice for designers seeking to create a calming and trustworthy visual identity. This monochromatic palette features a range of gentle, muted hues that transition seamlessly from light to dark, conjuring the soft tones of a cloudy sky on a summer day. The palette's colors, including the pale blue grey of bfcddc, the soft blue of 8ea7c1, the muted blue grey of 6d8196, the deep blue grey of 4e5d6d, and the dark navy of 313b46, work together in perfect harmony to create a sense of balance and stability.
Each color in the Slate Grey palette plays a unique role in shaping the overall aesthetic and emotional impact of the design. The lightest shade, bfcddc, serves as a gentle background or accent color, adding a touch of warmth and subtlety to the design. In contrast, the soft blue of 8ea7c1 provides a sense of calmness and serenity, making it an excellent choice for headers, titles, or other prominent design elements. The muted blue grey of 6d8196 acts as a versatile bridge between the lighter and darker shades, while the deep blue grey of 4e5d6d adds a sense of depth and sophistication. Finally, the dark navy of 313b46 provides a sense of gravity and stability, making it an excellent choice for footers, backgrounds, or other design elements that require a sense of solidity.
The Slate Grey color palette is incredibly versatile and can be applied to a wide range of design contexts, from websites and apps to branding and marketing materials. Its calming and professional qualities make it an excellent choice for corporate websites, financial institutions, or healthcare organizations, where trust and stability are essential. The palette's muted tones also make it an excellent choice for designs that require a sense of subtlety and restraint, such as minimalist websites, mobile apps, or social media campaigns. Additionally, the palette's soft blues and greys can be used to create a sense of continuity and cohesion across different design elements, making it an excellent choice for designers seeking to create a unified visual identity.
The colors in the Slate Grey palette have a profound impact on viewer perception and behavior, influencing emotions and attitudes in subtle yet powerful ways. The soothing blues and greys in the palette can help to reduce stress and anxiety, creating a sense of calmness and tranquility that can be particularly beneficial in designs related to healthcare, wellness, or finance. The palette's professional and trustworthy qualities can also help to establish credibility and authority, making it an excellent choice for designs that require a sense of expertise and reliability. Furthermore, the palette's muted tones can help to create a sense of focus and concentration, making it an excellent choice for designs that require a sense of clarity and simplicity.
To get the most out of the Slate Grey color palette, designers can experiment with complementary colors and pairing suggestions to add depth and contrast to their designs. For example, pairing the pale blue grey of bfcddc with a warm beige or creamy white can create a sense of balance and harmony, while combining the soft blue of 8ea7c1 with a deep green or earthy brown can add a sense of naturalness and authenticity. Additionally, designers can use the palette's darker shades, such as 4e5d6d and 313b46, to create a sense of drama and emphasis, while the lighter shades can be used to create a sense of airiness and freedom. By following these pro tips and best practices, designers can unlock the full potential of the Slate Grey color palette and create designs that are both beautiful and effective.
Palette Image
Below is the generated palette image showing all colors in a vertical layout. Perfect for sharing on social media or using as a reference.

Categories & Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using and implementing the slate grey palette effectively in your projects.
