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Sure Indicolite

#169ca2
Notes

Sure Indicolite (#169CA2) is a true cyan 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 (183°, 76%, 36%) 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
#169ca2
RGB
rgb(22, 156, 162)
HSL
hsl(183, 76%, 36%)
HWB
hwb(183 9% 36%)
OKLCH
oklch(63.1% 0.104 199.8)
P3
color(display-p3 0.2841 0.6027 0.6288)
HSV
hsv(183, 86%, 64%)
LAB
lab(58.56% -30.37 -12.65)
LCH
lch(58.56% 32.90 202.61)
CMYK
cmyk(86%, 4%, 0%, 36%)

Etymology

Sure
adjective

Old French seur, certain — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues that read as confident and stable. Sure red, sure blue: moderate saturation combined with optical commitment. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside steady and true.

Indicolite
noun

A blue variety of tourmaline — colored by trace iron, mined principally in Brazil, Mozambique, and Pakistan. The color refers to a faceted Brazilian indicolite: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the gem's signature internal warmth. Cooler than aquamarine.

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.

#169ca2
Original
#9094a3
Protanopia
#7d87a3
Deuteranopia
#00a29e
Tritanopia
#808080
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
3.33:1
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
6.31:1

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
##169CA2
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.2841 0.6027 0.6288)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.104

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.

Related Colors

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