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Clear Quicksilver

#39d4e3
Notes

Clear Quicksilver (#39D4E3) 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 (185°, 75%, 56%) 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
#39d4e3
RGB
rgb(57, 212, 227)
HSL
hsl(185, 75%, 56%)
HWB
hwb(185 22% 11%)
OKLCH
oklch(79.9% 0.125 204.8)
P3
color(display-p3 0.4243 0.8198 0.8797)
HSV
hsv(185, 75%, 89%)
LAB
lab(78.17% -34.07 -18.80)
LCH
lch(78.17% 38.91 208.90)
CMYK
cmyk(75%, 7%, 0%, 11%)

Etymology

Clear
adjective

From the Latin clarus, bright, distinct — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues without haze or mixing. Clear blue sky, clear green water: the implication is moderate saturation combined with optical clarity. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside clean and true.

Quicksilver
noun

The pre-modern English word for mercury (the liquid metal, element Hg) — also used metaphorically for anything fast-moving and changeable. Quicksilver color refers to a polished mercury bead's reflection: a soft, slightly cool pale blue-silver with the metallic-mirror finish of liquid mercury.

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

Click any swatch to explore

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.

#39d4e3
Original
#c2cbe4
Protanopia
#abbae4
Deuteranopia
#00ddd8
Tritanopia
#b4b4b4
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
1.79:1
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
11.70:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##39D4E3
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.4243 0.8198 0.8797)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.125

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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