#3A3E46
#262A32
#5E626E
#14161C
Background
Primary Accent
Secondary
Body Text

Night Shift Color Palette

#3A3E46 · #262A32 · #5E626E · #14161C

Fail
WCAG Grade
1.7:1
Contrast Ratio
879
Saves
3,099
AI Copies
AI Prompt

Use #3A3E46 as the background. Use #262A32 as the primary accent. Use #5E626E as secondary. Use #14161C as body text/supporting color. Palette mood: Night Shift — moody, night, mono, cool.

Hex Codes, RGB & CMYK Color Values

Technical breakdown for the Night Shift color scheme. Use these values for web design (HEX/RGB), print projects (CMYK), or specialized design software (HSL).

Swatch Design Role HEX RGB CMYK HSL
Background
Luminance: 4.8%
58, 62, 70 17%, 11%, 0%, 73% 220°, 9%, 25%
Primary Accent
Luminance: 2.3%
38, 42, 50 24%, 16%, 0%, 80% 220°, 14%, 17%
Secondary
Luminance: 12.2%
94, 98, 110 15%, 11%, 0%, 57% 225°, 8%, 40%
Body Text
Luminance: 0.8%
20, 22, 28 29%, 21%, 0%, 89% 225°, 17%, 9%

Night Shift Tints & Shades

Hover states, borders and elevation need lighter and darker steps of your base colors. Here are computed tints and shades for every color in the Night Shift palette — click any swatch to copy its hex.

#3A3E46 muted blue
#262A32 muted blue
#5E626E muted blue
#14161C muted blue

Night Shift Palette Contrast Matrix (WCAG 2.1)

Every color tested as text on every other color as background. Body copy needs 4.5:1 (AA), large text and UI components 3:1. AAA requires 7:1.

Text on Background Preview Ratio Grade Safe For
#14161C on #5E626E
Aa Sample Text
2.97:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5E626E on #14161C
Aa Sample Text
2.97:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5E626E on #262A32
Aa Sample Text
2.36:1 Fail Decorative use only
#262A32 on #5E626E
Aa Sample Text
2.36:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5E626E on #3A3E46
Aa Sample Text
1.76:1 Fail Decorative use only
#3A3E46 on #5E626E
Aa Sample Text
1.76:1 Fail Decorative use only
#14161C on #3A3E46
Aa Sample Text
1.69:1 Fail Decorative use only
#3A3E46 on #14161C
Aa Sample Text
1.69:1 Fail Decorative use only
#262A32 on #3A3E46
Aa Sample Text
1.34:1 Fail Decorative use only
#3A3E46 on #262A32
Aa Sample Text
1.34:1 Fail Decorative use only
#14161C on #262A32
Aa Sample Text
1.26:1 Fail Decorative use only
#262A32 on #14161C
Aa Sample Text
1.26:1 Fail Decorative use only

Night Shift Color Psychology & Meaning

A night shift is lit by fluorescent tubes at the wrong hour, so everything looks simultaneously bright and colourless, and this palette is shift grey with cold light. It feels tired and artificial, the color of a workplace at three in the morning.

Color Harmony: Analogous Scheme

The Night Shift palette is built using a analogous relationship between its hues. This ensures that even with high-contrast accents, the overall scheme feels balanced and intentional.

Hue Wheel

A analogous palette is often preferred by professional designers because it creates a calm, serene atmosphere by using neighboring colors.

History & Design Context

Cool white fluorescent light has a discontinuous spectrum that suppresses warm colours, which is why night-shift interiors photograph grey-green and why skin looks unwell under them.

Best Design Use Cases

Use the shift grey for hero surfaces, fluorescent dark for interactive elements, cold light for accents, and office night for text.

Industries This Palette Suits

Developer tools, security products, data platforms, dark-mode apps.

Colors That Pair Well With Night Shift

Need a fifth color? These three companions are computed from the palette's own hue positions on the color wheel, so they extend the scheme without breaking its harmony.

orange

directly opposite #262A32 on the wheel — the strongest accent for CTAs and highlights when you need maximum energy

blue

30° beside #262A32 — a calm secondary that extends the palette without adding tension

tinted neutral

a paper-white carrying the palette's own hue — perfect for surfaces and dividers

Using Night Shift Without Breaking Accessibility

  • Avoid #262A32 for small UI elements on #3A3E46 — at 1.3:1 it misses the 3:1 WCAG threshold; darken it with a shade from the ramp below.
  • Don't set body copy in #14161C on #3A3E46 — 1.7:1 fails WCAG AA; keep it for large decorative headings only.
  • Let #5E626E carry sidebars, cards and footers — at a mid lightness it separates zones without stealing focus from #262A32.

How to Implement the Night Shift Color Scheme

To use this Night Shift color palette in your web project, you can copy the following CSS variables or Tailwind CSS configuration. These roles ensure your UI maintains accessibility and visual hierarchy.

Option 1: CSS Variables

:root { 
  /* {name} Palette - ihatecolors.com */{'
'}  --color-bg: {colors[0]};{'
'}  --color-primary: {colors[1]};{'
'}  --color-secondary: {colors[2]};{'
'}  --color-text: {colors[3]};{'
'} {'}'}

Web Design Tip

Use #3A3E46 for the main background and #262A32 for primary buttons. This creates a high-contrast focal point.

Accessibility Note

The contrast ratio between #14161C and #3A3E46 is 1.69:1 (Fail). Ensure your body text remains legible.

Night Shift Palette — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hex codes in the Night Shift color palette?

The Night Shift palette contains #3A3E46, #262A32, #5E626E, #14161C. Click any swatch on this page to copy its value, or export all four at once as CSS variables, Tailwind config, SCSS or a Figma-ready list.

Is the Night Shift color palette accessible (WCAG)?

Yes for its strongest pairings: #14161C on #5E626E reaches 3.0:1 (Fail). For body text always keep a 4.5:1 ratio and for large UI elements 3:1 — the full contrast matrix above shows the exact score for every color-on-color combination in this palette.

What colors go well with the Night Shift palette?

Beyond its own four colors, #665D4D, #282730, #ECEDEE extend it naturally: the complementary hue for high-energy accents, an analogous neighbor for calm transitions, and a tinted neutral for surfaces. All three are computed from this palette's hues on the color wheel.

What mood does the Night Shift palette create?

Night Shift reads as moody, night, mono. Muted blue drives the personality, grounded by muted blue — a combination that works best when the mid-tone base gets most of the canvas.

Can I use the Night Shift color palette commercially?

Yes. Individual color values can't be copyrighted, so the Night Shift palette is free for personal, client and commercial work — websites, branding, apps, print and social content, with no attribution required.

How do I add the Night Shift palette to Tailwind or CSS?

Use the export panel on this page: CSS variables, a Tailwind config block, SCSS variables, or a Figma copy list are generated from Night Shift's exact values, including the tint and shade ramps shown above.

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