Firm Kelp
Firm Kelp (#2C6D16) is a deep 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 (105°, 66%, 26%) places it in the balanced band at a dark lightness. It works well as a headline, icon, or deep background in an otherwise light layout, pairing cleanly with cream, bone, and warm neutrals. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary violet. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.
Etymology
Latin firmus, strong / stable — sharing root with English farm (originally a fixed-yearly-rental). As a color modifier, firm implies a saturated-and-resolute quality where the hue holds its visual position without wavering. Sits at the bold-and-firm end of the grid, parallel to steadfast and unwavering in usage.
Large brown algae of the order Laminariales — the giant Macrocystis pyrifera of California's coast and the smaller Laminaria digitata of British shores. Kelp color refers to fresh kelp washed up on a Pacific beach at low tide: a deep, slightly muted dark green-brown with the satin finish of marine alga.
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 exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
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.
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.