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Certain Spirulina

#248e47
Notes

Certain Spirulina (#248E47) is a true green with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (140°, 60%, 35%) 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 magenta. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#248e47
RGB
rgb(36, 142, 71)
HSL
hsl(140, 60%, 35%)
HWB
hwb(140 14% 44%)
OKLCH
oklch(57.1% 0.142 149.8)
HSV
hsv(140, 75%, 56%)
LAB
lab(52.03% -45.69 29.39)
LCH
lch(52.03% 54.32 147.25)
CMYK
cmyk(75%, 0%, 50%, 44%)

Etymology

Certain
adjective

Latin certus, fixed / sure — sharing root with English concern and certify. As a color modifier, certain implies a saturated-and-unambiguous quality where the hue declares its character without hesitation. Sits at the bold-and-confident end of the grid, parallel to assured and decisive in usage.

Spirulina
noun

Arthrospira platensis, the cyanobacterium harvested from alkaline lakes since the time of the Aztecs and now sold globally as a nutritional supplement and natural food coloring. The color refers to fresh-dried spirulina powder in a small bowl: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the matte finish of dehydrated cyanobacterial cells. Cooler than algae.

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

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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.

#248e47
Original
#8f8141
Protanopia
#82794c
Deuteranopia
#008b7d
Tritanopia
#727272
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).
AA Largeon White
4.17:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
5.04:1

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