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Effective Gust Topaz

#08c8c0
Notes

Effective Gust Topaz (#08C8C0) is a true cyan with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (178°, 92%, 41%) 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 red. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#08c8c0
RGB
rgb(8, 200, 192)
HSL
hsl(178, 92%, 41%)
HWB
hwb(178 3% 22%)
OKLCH
oklch(75.2% 0.129 189.7)
HSV
hsv(178, 96%, 78%)
LAB
lab(73.00% -42.18 -7.73)
LCH
lch(73.00% 42.89 190.38)
CMYK
cmyk(96%, 0%, 4%, 22%)

Etymology

Effective
adjective

Latin effectīvus, productive — adjectival suffix -ive. As a color modifier, effective implies a clear-and-purpose-achieving quality where the hue carries the visual register of successful-task-completion design-element. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to practical and useful in usage.

Gust
modifier

Old Norse gustr, sudden-burst-of-wind. As a color modifier, gust implies a sudden-burst-and-cliff-top-and-driven quality, the visual register of Cornish-cliff-and-Hebridean-gust hand-sudden-burst-and-cliff-top-and-driven Cornish-cliff-and-Hebridean-gust-and-North-Atlantic-front gust-and-sudden-burst-and-cliff-top surfaces under Cornish-cliff-and-Hebridean-gust-and-North-Atlantic-front Lizard-Point-and-Outer-Hebrides-and-Faroe-passage cliff-top-wind-light. Sits at the modifier-and-weather end of the grid, parallel to zephyr and mistral in usage.

Topaz
noun

A fluorine aluminum silicate gem, hardness 8 on the Mohs scale, mined for centuries in Ouro Preto, Brazil. Imperial topaz is the prized variety: a warm, slightly pink-shifted gold-orange with the high refractive index of a quality cut stone. Cooler than amber, brighter than honey, with the gem's signature internal fire when held to light. Named for the island of Topazos in the Red Sea, though that source produced peridot instead.

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.

#08c8c0
Original
#bcbdc0
Protanopia
#a5acc1
Deuteranopia
#00cec5
Tritanopia
#9f9f9f
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).
Failon White
2.09:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
10.03:1

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