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Phosphoric Acquerello

#2ef0dd
Notes

Phosphoric Acquerello (#2EF0DD) is a true teal with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (174°, 87%, 56%) 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
#2ef0dd
RGB
rgb(46, 240, 221)
HSL
hsl(174, 87%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(174 18% 6%)
OKLCH
oklch(86.2% 0.145 184.4)
HSV
hsv(174, 81%, 94%)
LAB
lab(86.06% -49.28 -3.86)
LCH
lch(86.06% 49.43 184.48)
CMYK
cmyk(81%, 0%, 8%, 6%)

Etymology

Phosphoric
adjective

Greek phōsphóros, light-bringer — adjectival suffix -ic. As a color modifier, phosphoric implies a saturated-and-cool-glow quality, the bright color of match-tip-strike and firefly phosphorus-emission luminescence. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to phosphorescent and fluorescent in usage.

Acquerello
noun

The Italian word for watercolor — used for the soft, washed-out blue-greens characteristic of Italian Renaissance watercolor underpainting. Acquerello color refers to a watercolor wash on damp paper: a soft, slightly cool pale blue-green with the translucent finish of pigment-and-water on rag paper.

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.

#2ef0dd
Original
#e4e2dc
Protanopia
#cbd0df
Deuteranopia
#00f5ea
Tritanopia
#c5c5c5
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
1.44:1
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
14.62:1

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