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Inflamed Forgetmenot

#21e8e2
Notes

Inflamed Forgetmenot (#21E8E2) is a true cyan with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (178°, 81%, 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
#21e8e2
RGB
rgb(33, 232, 226)
HSL
hsl(178, 81%, 52%)
HWB
hwb(178 13% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(84.3% 0.141 191.4)
HSV
hsv(178, 86%, 91%)
LAB
lab(83.72% -45.37 -9.98)
LCH
lch(83.72% 46.45 192.41)
CMYK
cmyk(86%, 0%, 3%, 9%)

Etymology

Inflamed
adjective

Latin inflammātus, set on fire — past-participle of inflame. As a color modifier, inflamed implies a saturated-and-irritated-hot quality, the bright color of sun-burnt-skin and autumn-leaf high-anthocyanin pigmentation. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to fiery and flaming in usage.

Forgetmenot
noun

Myosotis sylvatica, the European forget-me-not — a small woodland-and-streamside wildflower whose pale blue five-petaled flowers symbolize remembrance and faithful love in European folk tradition. The color refers to a fresh forget-me-not flower: a soft, slightly cool pale blue with the matte finish of small five-petaled flower with yellow center.

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.

#21e8e2
Original
#d9dbe2
Protanopia
#c0c9e3
Deuteranopia
#00efe6
Tritanopia
#bdbdbd
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
1.53:1
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
13.71:1

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