Functional Keel Lagoon

Latin fūnctiō, performance — adjectival suffix -al. As a color modifier, functional implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-utilitarian quality, the crisp color of Mid-Century-Modern and Bauhaus form-follows-function design-aesthetic. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to practical and utilitarian in usage.

Old Norse kjölr, keel. As a color modifier, keel implies a longitudinal-bottom-spine-of-ship quality, the visual register of Tall-Ship-and-Royal-Navy-Keel hand-laid longitudinal-bottom-spine timber-and-iron-keel tall-ship-and-frigate maritime-architecture surfaces under hull-and-keel maritime hull-bottom light. Sits at the modifier-and-nautical end of the grid, parallel to hull and spar in usage.

A shallow body of saltwater partially or fully enclosed by a barrier — coral atoll lagoons in the Pacific, Venice's Laguna Veneta, the Florida Keys' backcountry. The color refers to the average reflectance of a calm tropical lagoon at midday: a saturated, slightly muted blue-green with the optical clarity of shallow water over white sand. Brighter than reef, cooler than aquamarine, with the postcard weight of a Pacific atoll seen from above.