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Ignited Cataract

#09a8d9
Notes

Ignited Cataract (#09A8D9) 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 (194°, 92%, 44%) 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
#09a8d9
RGB
rgb(9, 168, 217)
HSL
hsl(194, 92%, 44%)
HWB
hwb(194 4% 15%)
OKLCH
oklch(68.3% 0.132 228.0)
P3
color(display-p3 0.2970 0.6489 0.8324)
HSV
hsv(194, 96%, 85%)
LAB
lab(64.22% -18.57 -34.81)
LCH
lch(64.22% 39.45 241.92)
CMYK
cmyk(96%, 23%, 0%, 15%)

Etymology

Ignited
adjective

Latin ignīre, to set on fire — past-participle of ignite. As a color modifier, ignited implies a saturated-and-just-started-burning quality, the bright color of match-strike-and-flint-spark initial-combustion emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to kindled and aflame in usage.

Cataract
noun

A large waterfall with significant volume — particularly the Cataracts of the Nile and the Iguaçu Cataract of South America. Cataract color refers to the deep blue-white of high-volume falling water at Iguaçu: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-white with the optical brightness of micron-scale air-water mixing.

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

Click any swatch to explore

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.

#09a8d9
Original
#8ea5db
Protanopia
#7694d8
Deuteranopia
#00b6b8
Tritanopia
#8a8a8a
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
2.76:1
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
7.61:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##09A8D9
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.2970 0.6489 0.8324)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.132

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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