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Lustrous Bergen

#09bae3
Notes

Lustrous Bergen (#09BAE3) is a true cyan with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (191°, 92%, 46%) 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
#09bae3
RGB
rgb(9, 186, 227)
HSL
hsl(191, 92%, 46%)
HWB
hwb(191 4% 11%)
OKLCH
oklch(73.1% 0.133 221.3)
HSV
hsv(191, 96%, 89%)
LAB
lab(69.98% -24.47 -31.37)
LCH
lch(69.98% 39.78 232.05)
CMYK
cmyk(96%, 18%, 0%, 11%)

Etymology

Lustrous
adjective

From the Latin lustrare, to illuminate — used as a color word since the seventeenth century for hues with the slight specular shine of polished metal or silk. Lustrous green, lustrous gold: the implication is moderate-to-high saturation combined with surface reflectivity. Sits at the bright-and-glossy corner alongside gleaming.

Bergen
noun

The Norwegian fjord-town on the Bryggen harbor — and the saturated deep blue of Bergen's Vågen harbor and the surrounding Hardangerfjord water. Bergen color refers to Bergen harbor at clear-day midday: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue with the optical depth of glacier-fed coastal 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

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.

#09bae3
Original
#a2b5e5
Protanopia
#89a3e3
Deuteranopia
#00c7c7
Tritanopia
#979797
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
2.30:1
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
9.14:1

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