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Pragmatic Arch Kingfisher

#38a8bd
Notes

Pragmatic Arch Kingfisher (#38A8BD) is a true cyan 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 (189°, 54%, 48%) 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
#38a8bd
RGB
rgb(56, 168, 189)
HSL
hsl(189, 54%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(189 22% 26%)
OKLCH
oklch(67.8% 0.102 212.7)
HSV
hsv(189, 70%, 74%)
LAB
lab(63.77% -24.26 -19.90)
LCH
lch(63.77% 31.38 219.36)
CMYK
cmyk(70%, 11%, 0%, 26%)

Etymology

Pragmatic
adjective

Greek pragmatikós, of business / practical — adjectival suffix -ic. As a color modifier, pragmatic implies a clear-and-purpose-fit-and-no-nonsense quality where the hue carries the visual register of straightforward-utilitarian-and-functional decision-making. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to practical and functional in usage.

Arch
modifier

Latin arcus, bow / curve. As a color modifier, arch implies a Roman-and-Gothic-and-Romanesque-vault quality, the visual register of Roman-aqueduct-and-Romanesque-cathedral hand-cut stone-and-brick voussoir-and-keystone arch-and-vault architectural surfaces under monumental architecture light. Sits at the modifier-and-architecture end of the grid, parallel to dome and vault in usage.

Kingfisher
noun

The family Alcedinidae — particularly Alcedo atthis, the European common kingfisher whose iridescent turquoise-blue plumage gives the color its name. The color refers to a male European kingfisher's wing: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the iridescent satin finish of structurally colored feathers.

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.

#38a8bd
Original
#98a2be
Protanopia
#8595bd
Deuteranopia
#00b0ae
Tritanopia
#929292
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
2.80:1
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
7.50:1

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