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Shimmering Spa

#21e7ca
Notes

Shimmering Spa (#21E7CA) 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 (171°, 80%, 52%) 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
#21e7ca
RGB
rgb(33, 231, 202)
HSL
hsl(171, 80%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(171 13% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(83.3% 0.148 179.0)
HSV
hsv(171, 86%, 91%)
LAB
lab(82.77% -51.49 1.31)
LCH
lch(82.77% 51.51 178.54)
CMYK
cmyk(86%, 0%, 13%, 9%)

Etymology

Shimmering
adjective

Old English scimerian, to glisten — present-participle of shimmer, sharing root with shine. As a color modifier, shimmering implies a saturated-and-soft-flicker-reflective quality, the bright color of moonlit-water-and-silken-fabric surface-reflection. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to glistening and glimmering in usage.

Spa
noun

A mineral-spring resort — named for the Belgian town of Spa whose iron-rich springs have drawn visitors since the sixteenth century. Spa color refers to a thermal spring pool at Saturnia in Tuscany: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical complexity of mineral-saturated water.

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.

#21e7ca
Original
#ddd8c9
Protanopia
#c5c7cc
Deuteranopia
#00ebde
Tritanopia
#bbbbbb
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
1.57:1
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
13.35:1

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Canvas