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Hospitable Bluestem

#11ba9d
Notes

Hospitable Bluestem (#11BA9D) is a true teal with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (170°, 83%, 40%) 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
#11ba9d
RGB
rgb(17, 186, 157)
HSL
hsl(170, 83%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(170 7% 27%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.6% 0.130 175.9)
HSV
hsv(170, 91%, 73%)
LAB
lab(67.78% -45.63 3.75)
LCH
lch(67.78% 45.78 175.31)
CMYK
cmyk(91%, 0%, 16%, 27%)

Etymology

Hospitable
adjective

Latin hospitābilis, of-the-host — adjectival suffix -able. As a color modifier, hospitable implies a clear-and-cordial-and-welcoming quality where the hue carries the visual register of Bed-and-Breakfast and country-inn warm-cordial-host atmosphere. Sits at the crisp-and-cheerful end of the grid, parallel to welcoming and inviting in usage.

Bluestem
noun

The genera Andropogon and Schizachyrium — North American native prairie grasses whose stems shift from green to blue-purple in autumn. The color refers to S. scoparium (little bluestem) in midsummer: a soft, slightly cool blue-green-gray with the matte finish of upright prairie grass.

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.

#11ba9d
Original
#b3ad9c
Protanopia
#9f9f9f
Deuteranopia
#00bdb1
Tritanopia
#949494
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
2.46:1
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
8.53:1

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