Nickel as a scale
Eleven steps from #929292, built by moving lightness in OKLCh and keeping the hue where it is. Every step is gamut-mapped by giving up chroma, never by clipping channels — clipping is what turns a light blue purple.
| Stop | Hex | OKLCh L | Chroma | On white | On black | APCA on white | ΔE00 from the step above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | #f5f5f5 | 97.0% | 0.000 | 1.09:1 | 19.25:1 | 0 | — |
| 100 | #eaeaea | 93.8% | 0.000 | 1.20:1 | 17.51:1 | 10 | 2.2 |
| 200 | #d5d5d5 | 87.4% | 0.000 | 1.46:1 | 14.35:1 | 22 | 4.7 |
| 300 | #c1c1c1 | 81.0% | 0.000 | 1.81:1 | 11.63:1 | 34 | 5.0 |
| 400 | #acacac | 74.6% | 0.000 | 2.26:1 | 9.30:1 | 45 | 5.5 |
| 500 | #999999 | 68.2% | 0.000 | 2.86:1 | 7.34:1 | 55 | 6.0 |
| 600 | #858585 | 61.8% | 0.000 | 3.67:1 | 5.72:1 | 64 | 6.6 |
| 700 | #737373 | 55.4% | 0.000 | 4.77:1 | 4.40:1 | 73 | 7.3 |
| 800 | #606060 | 49.0% | 0.000 | 6.26:1 | 3.35:1 | 81 | 7.0 |
| 900 | #383838 | 34.0% | 0.000 | 11.76:1 | 1.79:1 | 97 | 13.8 |
| 950 | #121212 | 18.0% | 0.000 | 18.81:1 | 1.12:1 | 105 | 11.9 |
What is true of this ramp
- 10 of the 10 adjacent pairs differ by ΔE00 2 or more. Every step here is a step a reader can see.
- The tightest pair is 50 to100, at ΔE00 2.2.
- No step had to give up chroma: sRGB has room for this hue at every lightness in the ramp.
- 4 steps clear 4.5:1 on white (700, 800, 900, 950), and 7 on black (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600).
Harmonies from Nickel
complement
the hue directly opposite, at the same lightness. #929292 (+180°)
analogous
the two neighbours 30° either side. #929292 (+-30°), #929292 (+30°)
split complement
the two hues either side of the opposite, 30° apart from it. #929292 (+150°), #929292 (+210°)
triad
the circle divided in three. #929292 (+120°), #929292 (+240°)
tetrad
the circle divided in four. #929292 (+90°), #929292 (+180°), #929292 (+270°)
The ramp as CSS
:root {
--nickel-50: #f5f5f5;
--nickel-100: #eaeaea;
--nickel-200: #d5d5d5;
--nickel-300: #c1c1c1;
--nickel-400: #acacac;
--nickel-500: #999999;
--nickel-600: #858585;
--nickel-700: #737373;
--nickel-800: #606060;
--nickel-900: #383838;
--nickel-950: #121212;
}