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Pristine Axis Lagoon

#26c4de
Notes

Pristine Axis Lagoon (#26C4DE) 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 (188°, 74%, 51%) 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
#26c4de
RGB
rgb(38, 196, 222)
HSL
hsl(188, 74%, 51%)
HWB
hwb(188 15% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(75.6% 0.125 212.3)
HSV
hsv(188, 83%, 87%)
LAB
lab(73.00% -29.66 -23.99)
LCH
lch(73.00% 38.15 218.97)
CMYK
cmyk(83%, 12%, 0%, 13%)

Etymology

Pristine
adjective

Latin prīstinus, original / former. As a color modifier, pristine implies a clear-and-untouched quality where the hue carries the original-condition visual register without wear or fade. Sits at the crisp-and-clean end of the grid, parallel to unblemished and spotless in usage.

Axis
modifier

Latin axis, axle-or-pivot. As a color modifier, axis implies a rotational-pole-and-polar-spin quality, the visual register of Earth-axial-tilt-and-Polaris-axis hand-rotational-pole-and-polar-spin Earth-axial-tilt-and-Polaris-and-celestial-pole axis-and-rotational-pole-and-polar-spin surfaces under Earth-axial-tilt-and-Polaris-and-celestial-pole 23.5-degree-and-precession-and-celestial-mechanics polar-pivot-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to orbit and zenith in usage.

Lagoon
noun

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.

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.

#26c4de
Original
#b0bde0
Protanopia
#98acde
Deuteranopia
#00cecc
Tritanopia
#a4a4a4
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
2.09:1
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
10.03:1

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