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Sure Mekong

#0273b1
Notes

Sure Mekong (#0273B1) is a true azure with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (201°, 98%, 35%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary orange. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#0273b1
RGB
rgb(2, 115, 177)
HSL
hsl(201, 98%, 35%)
HWB
hwb(201 1% 31%)
OKLCH
oklch(53.4% 0.129 243.2)
HSV
hsv(201, 99%, 69%)
LAB
lab(46.24% -3.66 -40.36)
LCH
lch(46.24% 40.52 264.81)
CMYK
cmyk(99%, 35%, 0%, 31%)

Etymology

Sure
adjective

Old French seur, certain — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues that read as confident and stable. Sure red, sure blue: moderate saturation combined with optical commitment. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside steady and true.

Mekong
noun

The Southeast Asian river flowing from the Tibetan Plateau through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Mekong color refers to mid-depth Mekong River water at Luang Prabang in Laos: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-brown with the optical complexity of monsoon-fed silty river water.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

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Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#0273b1
Original
#5575b4
Protanopia
#3e67b0
Deuteranopia
#008289
Tritanopia
#5f5f5f
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon White
5.13:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AA Largeon Black
4.09:1

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