Oil Color
Oil is a brown color with hex code #281E15. This page covers its meaning, all color values, harmonies, colors that go with oil, shades, tints, similar colors, CSS examples, FAQs, and WCAG contrast ratios.
Oil Color Values
What Does Oil Mean?
Oil belongs to the brown family of colors. Brown is earth, wood, and coffee, and it behaves accordingly: grounded, unbothered, dependable. Craft brands, leather goods, and rustic interiors all borrow that steadiness. When brown looks cheap, that's a styling choice rather than the color's fault. Being on the dark side, Oil adds weight and depth. It suits text, shadows, and grounding elements more than wide-open backgrounds.
In the ISCC-NBS color naming system, Oil is classified as a black (nearest centroid: brownish black, #28201C). It is also known as Jungle Green.
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Colors That Go With Oil
Oil and #151F28 are complements, parked opposite each other on the wheel. Together they hit maximum contrast, so a rough 70/30 split keeps the pairing from shouting.
Analogous neighbors — #281516 and #282715, which sit beside oil on the wheel. Pairings like this feel calm and settled, which suits backgrounds and gradients.
For an energetic three-color palette, pair oil with triadic partners #15281E and #1E1528. All three sit evenly spaced around the wheel, so the scheme stays lively without clashing.
Build and test these combinations in our Color Wheel Tool or check text readability with the Contrast Checker.
Tints and Shades
Tints (lighter)
Shades (darker)
Similar Colors
- Zeus —
#292319(Delta E 3) - Eternity —
#211A0E(Delta E 3) - Karaka —
#1E1609(Delta E 5) - El Paso —
#1E1708(Delta E 5) - Black Magic —
#251706(Delta E 5)
CSS Examples
.text { color: #281E15; }
.background { background-color: #281E15; }
.border { border: 2px solid #281E15; }
.shadow { box-shadow: 0 4px 6px #281E1540; }WCAG Contrast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hex code for oil?
Oil has the hex code #281E15. In RGB notation it is rgb(40, 30, 21), in HSL it is hsl(28, 31%, 12%), and its OKLCH value is 0.244, 0.023, 63.5.
What does the color oil mean?
Brown-family colors like oil carry distinct psychological associations. Oil belongs to the brown family of colors. Brown is earth, wood, and coffee, and it behaves accordingly: grounded, unbothered, dependable. Craft brands, leather goods, and rustic interiors all borrow that steadiness. When brown looks cheap, that's a styling choice rather than the color's fault. Being on the dark side, Oil adds weight and depth. It suits text, shadows, and grounding elements more than wide-open backgrounds.
What colors go with oil?
Oil has three easy routes: its complement #151F28 for punch, its neighbors #281516 and #282715 for something calmer, or triadic partners #15281E and #1E1528 when you want energy.
Is oil a standard web color?
No — Oil is not a CSS keyword. Use its hex value #281E15 or any RGB/HSL equivalent in your stylesheets.
How do I make oil lighter or darker?
To lighten oil, add white to create tints; to darken it, add black to create shades. The tints and shades table above shows five computed steps of each, from #E5D8CD (lightest tint) to #070504 (darkest shade).
About Oil
Oil is classified as a Black in the ISCC-NBS color naming system, within the Brown hue family. It has alternative names including Jungle Green. The color is recognized by Resene.
Use our Color Converter to convert #281E15 to any other color format, or explore the Color Wheel to find harmonious color combinations.