Lionhearted Plinth Sapphire
Lionhearted Plinth Sapphire (#195BC6) is a true azure with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (217°, 78%, 44%) 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 amber. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.
Etymology
Old English lēona-heorte, lion's-heart — referring to Richard I Lionheart (1157–1199). As a color modifier, lionhearted implies a saturated-and-courageous-and-royal quality, the deep-rich color of Crusader-period English Plantagenet-royalty armorial bearings. Sits at the bold-and-chivalrous end of the grid, parallel to valiant and heroic.
Greek plinthos, brick / base. As a color modifier, plinth implies a column-base-and-pedestal quality, the visual register of Greek-and-Roman-Plinth hand-cut column-base-and-statue-pedestal Doric-and-Ionic-and-Corinthian classical-plinth architectural surfaces under classical-plinth column-base light. Sits at the modifier-and-architecture end of the grid, parallel to pillar and column in usage.
An iron-and-titanium-bearing corundum — the same mineral as ruby, hardness 9 on the Mohs scale, mined for two millennia from Sri Lanka, Burma, Madagascar, and the Cashmere mines of British India. The color refers to a fine Kashmir-cut sapphire: a saturated, slightly violet-shifted deep blue with the gem's signature internal velvet — a quality of light scattering in the stone that faceted glass cannot replicate. Cooler than cobalt, deeper than azure.
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 exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
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.
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.