Where Smoke works best
HEX
#738276
RGB
115, 130, 118
HSL
132°, 6%, 48%
HSV
132°, 12%, 51%
Think of campfire haze at twilight — gray with a vegetal whisper. #848884 has a slight green drift that keeps it from feeling purely industrial. It can soften interfaces and interiors in a way blue-grays sometimes cannot.
Best for
SaaS dashboards, admin panels, and professional UI themes.
Accessibility
Check contrast before using smoke for text-heavy layouts, especially on low-contrast backgrounds.
How does smoke compare to nearby colors?
What is the difference between smoke and warm gray?
Smoke (#738276) and Warm Gray (#9E9E8E) are close in strength, but they point the eye toward different undertones and material cues. Smoke gives the palette a more grounded center of gravity, which matters if headlines, UI chrome, or darker sections need to feel settled. Choose smoke when the surrounding system aligns better with darker-facing use, and move to warm gray when the stronger contextual fit is lighter-facing use.
What color is smoke?
"Smoke" is a common paint and fabric name for muted grays with complex undertones. It often maps to atmospheric imagery like fog, ash, and steam.
What is the hex code for smoke?
| Format | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | #738276 |
| RGB | rgb(115, 130, 118) |
| HSL | hsl(132°, 6%, 48%) |
| HSV / HSB | hsv(132°, 12%, 51%) |
| CMYK (approx.) | cmyk(12%, 0%, 9%, 49%) |
Convert Smoke to other color formats
Open the color converter with Smoke (#738276) prefilled to copy RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK, or OKLCH values.
Convert Smoke in the color converter →What does smoke mean in design?
Smoke is often associated with subtle mystery, ease, and organic calm. It reads as more organic and slightly mossier than cool gray, and less sunny than warm gray.
How do I use smoke in code?
| CSS (hex) | color: #738276; |
| CSS (rgb) | color: rgb(115, 130, 118); |
| CSS (hsl) | color: hsl(132, 6%, 48%); |
| RGB % | rgb(45%, 51%, 46%) |
| Tailwind | text-[#738276] |
| SwiftUI | Color(red: 0.451, green: 0.510, blue: 0.463) |
| UIKit | UIColor(red: 0.451, green: 0.510, blue: 0.463, alpha: 1.0) |
| Android | Color.rgb(115, 130, 118) |
| Compose | Color(0xFF738276) |
| Web Safe | #669966 |
Is smoke accessible?
| Combination | Ratio | AA | AA lg | AAA | AAA lg | UI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AaWhite text on this color | 4.05:1 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AaBlack text on this color | 5.18:1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AaThis color as text on white | 4.05:1 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| AaThis color as text on black | 5.18:1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
WCAG 2.1: AA normal ≥ 4.5:1, AA large text ≥ 3:1, AAA normal ≥ 7:1, AAA large ≥ 4.5:1, UI components ≥ 3:1.
How does smoke look with color blindness?
Simulated appearance for common types of color vision deficiency. Actual perception varies by individual.
What colors go with smoke
Pairing smoke with white keeps the layout open and lets the color's smoky gray cast stay easy to read.
Charcoal helps smoke feel grounded and architectural, especially when the design needs a darker value that still reads refined.
Navy blue keeps smoke recognizable while adding the kind of depth that makes a palette easier to trust in longer-form use.
What colors clash with smoke
Magenta injects more cosmetic or nightlife energy than smoke can comfortably absorb, so restrained neutral palettes start to feel accidental.
Light Gray sits too close to smoke in value, so the palette can wash out before it ever establishes a clear hierarchy.
How should I use smoke in design?
- •Smoke works as either a primary or supporting color — it has enough presence to carry a layout but is restrained enough to share the stage with bolder accents.
- •As a neutral, smoke pairs with virtually any accent color — add one warm and one cool accent to build visual interest around it.
- •Smoke is a supporting player — effective for borders, dividers, secondary text, and UI scaffolding that needs to stay out of the way.
What are good smoke palettes?
Noir refinement
SaaS dashboards, admin panels, and professional UI themes.
Paper and ink
Workshop handouts, training guides, and presentation templates.
Design with smoke in Moda
Create a presentation or document using smoke as your accent color. Moda's AI applies your color palette automatically.
Create a design with smoke →What are the shades and tints of smoke?
Shades (darker)
Tints (lighter)
Tones (desaturated)
Hue variations
What are the color harmonies for smoke?
Harmonies are calculated from the base swatch. When a harmony matches a named color page, it links there; otherwise it appears here as a computed reference swatch.
Similar colors
Slate Gray
Slate Gray lives in almost the same neutral band as smoke, but its blue-ink lean can make woods, metals, and off-whites read differently around it.
Warm Gray
Warm Gray keeps the neutral character of smoke but shifts the value enough to change the job, moving it toward backgrounds, tints, and softer supporting areas.
Ice Blue
Ice Blue does what smoke cannot: it nudges the palette toward a cool mood while still behaving like a supporting color.
Steel Blue
Steel Blue does what smoke cannot: it nudges the palette toward a cool mood while still behaving like a supporting color.
Charcoal
Charcoal does what smoke cannot: it nudges the palette toward a cool mood while still behaving like a supporting color.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hex code for smoke?
The hex code for smoke is #738276. In RGB, that's 115 red, 130 green, and 118 blue. The approximate CMYK equivalent is 12% cyan, 0% magenta, 9% yellow, and 49% key (black).
Is smoke a warm or cool color?
Smoke behaves like a neutral with very little chromatic push, so surrounding colors do more to set the palette temperature than the swatch itself.
Is smoke suitable for broader surfaces and long-form layouts?
Smoke can hold broader surfaces comfortably because it does not demand attention on every glance. It is a better candidate for full-theme use than a brighter or more electric neighbor would be.
How should I use smoke in a design?
Smoke has enough restraint to hold large surfaces comfortably, which makes it useful for full theme systems, document backgrounds, or broad section color without constant visual fatigue.
Can I use smoke for text or backgrounds?
Smoke works better with dark text than white text. Black text reaches 5.18:1 contrast on the swatch, which makes the color more usable as a background or highlight surface than as a dark panel.
More neutral colors
Keep exploring color resources
All color pages
Browse the full library of color references, pairings, and palettes.
Neutral colors
Compare smoke with other neutral tones.
Blue colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Brown colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Green colors
Explore nearby color families to build stronger palettes and contrasts.
Last updated April 6, 2026
Color values are computed from the listed hex code using standard conversion formulas. RGB, HSL, and HSV are exact screen-ready conversions. CMYK is an approximate on-screen reference, not a press-ready print specification. Pairings, palettes, and use-case guidance are heuristic recommendations derived from color relationships, contrast behavior, and common presentation, document, and UI patterns.