...: Colors: Gray...

Elegant Neutral
Gray is a neutral, balanced color. It is a cool, conservative color that seldom evokes strong emotion although it can be seen as a cloudy or moody color.


Nature of Gray
The lighter side of black, gray is a cool color seen in storm clouds and some metals.


Culture of Gray
Like black, gray is used as a color of mourning as well as a color of formality. Along with blue suits, gray suits are part of the uniform of the corporate world. Dark, charcoal gray carries with it some of the strengh and mystery of black. It is a sophisticated color without much of the negative attributes of black. Lighter grays are similar to white. Gray tuxedos are common for men at weddings.


Using Gray
All shades of gray can be good, neutral background colors. Use lighter grays in place of white and darker gray in place of black. Taupe, a grayish brown neutral is a conservative, slightly earthy, warm shade of gray.

Using Gray with Other Colors
Light grays with pastel shades of pink, blue, lavender, and green have a feminine quality. Darken those colors for a more masculine feel. Gray with hot pink can be a little retro. Cool a warm palette by adding gray to rich reds or golden yellows.


Gray Color Palettes
These color palettes feature shades of gray, including very bluish grays, combined with yellow, blue, orange, and teal.

Language of Gray
The use of gray in familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others, both the positive and negative aspects.


Good gray

•Gray matter - brains, intellect
•Gray power - having to do with the elderly or senior citizens


Bad gray
•Gray - dull, dingy, dirty
•Gray page - in desktop publishing, a text-heavy page with little contrast or white space
•Gray-hair - old person (not necessarily derogatory)
•Gray water - dirty water such as water drained from a bathtub or kitchen sink


Gray Words: These words are synonymous with gray or represent various shades of the color gray.

Charcoal, slate, iron gray, ashen, lead, mousy, gunmetal, silver, dove gray, powder grey, oyster, pearl, taupe, sere, Payne's gray.