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Utilitarian Bergamot Verdigris

#0c9687
Notes

Utilitarian Bergamot Verdigris (#0C9687) is a deep teal 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 (173°, 85%, 32%) places it in the highly saturated band at a dark 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
#0c9687
RGB
rgb(12, 150, 135)
HSL
hsl(173, 85%, 32%)
HWB
hwb(173 5% 41%)
OKLCH
oklch(60.5% 0.106 182.5)
P3
color(display-p3 0.2652 0.5794 0.5299)
HSV
hsv(173, 92%, 59%)
LAB
lab(55.72% -36.40 -1.47)
LCH
lch(55.72% 36.43 182.31)
CMYK
cmyk(92%, 0%, 10%, 41%)

Etymology

Utilitarian
adjective

Latin ūtilitās, usefulness — adjectival suffix -ian. As a color modifier, utilitarian implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-stripped-down quality, the crisp color of Shaker-and-Quaker anti-ornamental functional-and-no-frills craft tradition. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to functional and workmanlike in usage.

Bergamot
modifier

Italian bergamotta, Calabrian-citrus-and-Earl-Grey-tea. As a color modifier, bergamot implies a Calabrian-citrus-and-Earl-Grey-tea quality, the visual register of Calabrian-bergamot-and-Earl-Grey-tea hand-Calabrian-citrus-and-Earl-Grey-tea Calabrian-bergamot-and-Earl-Grey-tea-and-Reggio-di-Calabria bergamot-and-Calabrian-citrus surfaces under Calabrian-bergamot-and-Earl-Grey-tea-and-Reggio-di-Calabria Reggio-di-Calabria-and-Twinings-Earl-Grey Calabrian-and-tea-light. Sits at the modifier-and-flavor end of the grid, parallel to zest and balm in usage.

Verdigris
noun

The basic copper carbonate that forms on weathered copper and bronze — the pigment scraped from oxidized metal and used in Renaissance painting before being supplanted by more stable greens. The color refers to a thick verdigris on aged copper roofing or the Statue of Liberty's surface: a soft, slightly muted blue-green with the powdery finish of mineral oxide. Cooler than patina, warmer than seafoam, with the archaeological weight of a mineral made by time.

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.

#0c9687
Original
#8e8c86
Protanopia
#7e8088
Deuteranopia
#009991
Tritanopia
#787878
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).
AA Largeon White
3.67:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
5.73:1

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
##0C9687
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.2652 0.5794 0.5299)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.106

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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