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Frenetic Khmer Turquoise

#21dfcd
Notes

Frenetic Khmer Turquoise (#21DFCD) 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 (174°, 75%, 50%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. 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
#21dfcd
RGB
rgb(33, 223, 205)
HSL
hsl(174, 75%, 50%)
HWB
hwb(174 13% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(81.4% 0.140 184.4)
HSV
hsv(174, 85%, 87%)
LAB
lab(80.46% -47.34 -3.66)
LCH
lch(80.46% 47.49 184.43)
CMYK
cmyk(85%, 0%, 8%, 13%)

Etymology

Frenetic
adjective

Greek phrenitikós, frenzied — adjectival suffix -ic, derived from phrēn (mind). As a color modifier, frenetic implies a saturated-and-frenzied-and-active quality, the bright color of Hyper-Color-and-Memphis-Group 1980s-design saturated-and-active visual-rhythm. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to frantic and manic in usage.

Khmer
modifier

Sanskrit Khmer, Cambodian. As a color modifier, khmer implies an Angkorian-and-temple-complex quality, the visual register of Angkor-Wat-and-Bayon Khmer-Empire hand-built sandstone-and-laterite temple-and-jungle-overgrown-stonework surfaces under Angkor-Wat-and-Bayon Cambodian-jungle-canopy filtered tropical light. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to toltec and median in usage.

Turquoise
noun

The hydrated copper-aluminum phosphate mined in Persia and the American Southwest for thousands of years — the firuze of Iran, the chalchihuitl of Mesoamerica, the heart of Pueblo and Navajo silverwork. The color refers to a fine Sleeping Beauty turquoise from Arizona: a saturated, slightly green-shifted blue with the slight matrix of host-rock veining. Brighter than persian, lighter than cerulean.

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.

#21dfcd
Original
#d3d2cc
Protanopia
#bcc0cf
Deuteranopia
#00e4d9
Tritanopia
#b5b5b5
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
1.68:1
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
12.50:1

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