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Translucent Limpid

#39a8d6
Notes

Translucent Limpid (#39A8D6) is a true cyan with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (198°, 66%, 53%) 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 orange. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#39a8d6
RGB
rgb(57, 168, 214)
HSL
hsl(198, 66%, 53%)
HWB
hwb(198 22% 16%)
OKLCH
oklch(68.9% 0.118 230.0)
HSV
hsv(198, 73%, 84%)
LAB
lab(64.75% -16.05 -32.28)
LCH
lch(64.75% 36.05 243.56)
CMYK
cmyk(73%, 21%, 0%, 16%)

Etymology

Translucent
adjective

Latin trans-lūcēre, to shine through — present-participle of translucere. As a color modifier, translucent implies a clear-and-light-passing quality where the hue allows partial light-transmission through its visual surface. Sits at the crisp-and-clear end of the grid, parallel to pellucid and vitreous in usage.

Limpid
noun

An adjectival noun meaning clear and untroubled — used for the soft pale-blue of perfectly transparent water. Limpid color refers to a limpid alpine lake at dawn before any wind: a soft, slightly cool pale blue with the optical clarity of unperturbed 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.

#39a8d6
Original
#90a6d8
Protanopia
#7b96d5
Deuteranopia
#00b5b7
Tritanopia
#949494
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
2.71:1
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
7.75:1

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