About Black Olive
Black Olive is the hex color #3B3C36, which translates to rgb(59, 60, 54) in RGB and hsl(70, 5%, 22%) in HSL. On the color wheel it sits at 70 degrees, with a saturation of 5 percent and a lightness of 22 percent. Black Olive is close to neutral, which makes it a structural color for text, borders and surfaces rather than an accent.
How Black Olive compares
The closest standard CSS keyword is darkslategray (#2F4F4F), a CIE76 distance of 13.8 away in CIELAB. That is a visible difference, so the keyword is not a substitute here. In the Tailwind CSS 4.3.1 palette the nearest token is stone-700 (#44403B), at a distance of 3.3. Inside this library the closest neighbour is Jet at 5.2. Sorted by lightness, Black Olive is number 5 of the 37 neutral colors here.
Text on Black Olive
2 of the five common text colors below clear WCAG AA for normal text on Black Olive, led by White at 11.14:1. The ratios are computed with the WCAG relative luminance formula, the same one the contrast checker uses, which opens with Black Olive already loaded as the background.
| Text color | Ratio | AA normal | AA large | AAA normal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White #FFFFFF | 11.14:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Ink black #0F0F12 | 1.72:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Mid grey #6B7280 | 2.30:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Dark grey #374151 | 1.08:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Light grey #E5E7EB | 9.00:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass |
Building a palette around Black Olive
The pairings above give you three classic starting points. The complementary color sits opposite on the wheel and works well as an accent that draws the eye. The analogous colors sit right beside Black Olive for calmer, harmonious combinations. The triadic pair spaces three hues evenly for a balanced, energetic palette. Open any swatch to explore it as its own color, or open the palette generator with Black Olive locked and let it fill in the rest.
Full values for Black Olive
| Format | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | #3B3C36 |
| RGB | rgb(59, 60, 54) |
| HSL | hsl(70, 5%, 22%) |
| HSV | hsv(70, 10%, 24%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(2%, 0%, 10%, 76%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(35.31% 0.0102 114.60) |
| CIELAB | lab(25.04 -1.74 3.56) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the RGB value of Black Olive?
Black Olive (#3B3C36) is rgb(59, 60, 54): 59 red, 60 green and 54 blue on the 0 to 255 scale. Green leads at 60, red follows at 59 and blue trails at 54, which puts the hue at 70 degrees. In HSL the same color is hsl(70, 5%, 22%).
What colour is #3B3C36?
#3B3C36 is Black Olive, a dark neutral colour with 5% saturation and 22% lightness. For print the CMYK breakdown is 2% cyan, 0% magenta, 10% yellow and 76% black. Its nearest neighbour in this library is Jet, 5.2 away in CIELAB, a difference you can see.
Is Black Olive a CSS color name?
No. Black Olive is not one of the 148 CSS named colors, so write it as #3B3C36. The nearest keyword is darkslategray (#2F4F4F), a CIE76 distance of 13.8: far enough that the keyword reads as a different color.
What colors go with Black Olive?
Opposite Black Olive on the color wheel sits the complementary #37363C (close to Jet), the boldest accent by hue. For a calmer scheme use the analogous neighbours #3C3A36 (close to Black Olive) and #383C36 (close to Black Olive); for a balanced three-color scheme use the triadic pair #363B3C (close to Jet) and #3C363B (close to Jet). Of these, #37363C has the most contrast against Black Olive, at 1.07:1, so pair it by hue, not for legibility.
What text color is readable on Black Olive?
White (#FFFFFF) is the most readable on Black Olive, at 11.14:1, which also clears WCAG AAA (7:1). 2 of the 5 common text colors tested pass AA for normal text.
Use Black Olive in a tool
Nearby colors
Last updated by FusionStudios. Every value on this page is computed by the same functions the tools use. How this is calculated.