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Utilitarian Bora-Bora

#32a18a
Notes

Utilitarian Bora-Bora (#32A18A) 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°, 53%, 41%) 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
#32a18a
RGB
rgb(50, 161, 138)
HSL
hsl(168, 53%, 41%)
HWB
hwb(168 20% 37%)
OKLCH
oklch(64.1% 0.105 176.0)
HSV
hsv(168, 69%, 63%)
LAB
lab(59.89% -36.59 2.97)
LCH
lch(59.89% 36.71 175.37)
CMYK
cmyk(69%, 0%, 14%, 37%)

Etymology

Utilitarian
adjective

Latin ūtilitās, usefulness — adjectival suffix -ian. As a color modifier, utilitarian implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-stripped-down quality, the crisp color of Shaker-and-Quaker anti-ornamental functional-and-no-frills craft tradition. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to functional and workmanlike in usage.

Bora-Bora
noun

The volcanic atoll in French Polynesia — and the saturated turquoise of its central lagoon ringed by motu coral islets. Bora-Bora color refers to the lagoon at sunset: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical complexity of light filtering through volcanic-ringed 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.

#32a18a
Original
#9b9789
Protanopia
#8c8c8c
Deuteranopia
#00a39a
Tritanopia
#888888
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
3.18:1
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
6.60:1

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