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Electrifying Freshet

#16ddef
Notes

Electrifying Freshet (#16DDEF) 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 (185°, 87%, 51%) 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
#16ddef
RGB
rgb(22, 221, 239)
HSL
hsl(185, 87%, 51%)
HWB
hwb(185 9% 6%)
OKLCH
oklch(82.0% 0.138 205.4)
HSV
hsv(185, 91%, 94%)
LAB
lab(80.80% -37.13 -21.26)
LCH
lch(80.80% 42.78 209.79)
CMYK
cmyk(91%, 8%, 0%, 6%)

Etymology

Electrifying
adjective

Greek ēléktron, amber — present-participle of electrify, named after the static-electricity property of rubbed amber. As a color modifier, electrifying implies a saturated-and-shocking-and-active quality, the bright color of Tesla-coil high-voltage atmospheric-discharge emission. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to charged and neon in usage.

Freshet
noun

A sudden flood of fresh water — particularly the spring runoff of melting mountain snow into rivers. Freshet color refers to a freshet-swollen mountain river in late April: a soft, slightly cool deep blue-white with the optical complexity of snowmelt-suspended sediment.

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.

#16ddef
Original
#c9d4f0
Protanopia
#afc0ef
Deuteranopia
#00e7e2
Tritanopia
#b4b4b4
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
1.66:1
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
12.62:1

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