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Vitreous Estuary

#329a86
Notes

Vitreous Estuary (#329A86) is a true teal with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (168°, 51%, 40%) 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
#329a86
RGB
rgb(50, 154, 134)
HSL
hsl(168, 51%, 40%)
HWB
hwb(168 20% 40%)
OKLCH
oklch(62.2% 0.099 177.4)
HSV
hsv(168, 68%, 60%)
LAB
lab(57.57% -34.44 1.86)
LCH
lch(57.57% 34.49 176.90)
CMYK
cmyk(68%, 0%, 13%, 40%)

Etymology

Vitreous
adjective

Latin vitreus, glass-like — derived from vitrum (glass). As a color modifier, vitreous implies a clear-and-glassy quality where the hue carries the optical clarity of polished crown-glass. Sits at the crisp-and-clear end of the grid, parallel to pellucid and crystalline in usage.

Estuary
noun

The mixing zone where freshwater rivers meet saltwater seas — the Chesapeake, the Thames, the Hudson — environments of unique salinity and biodiversity. Estuary color refers to mid-depth estuary water at high tide: a soft, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical complexity of brackish water.

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.

#329a86
Original
#949185
Protanopia
#858688
Deuteranopia
#009c94
Tritanopia
#828282
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
3.44:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
6.10:1

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