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Lit Selkie

#3afbe2
Notes

Lit Selkie (#3AFBE2) is a true teal with a neon character. It sits at the high-saturation edge of its family. Use it sparingly, as signage, accent, or highlight against darker surfaces. Its HSL profile (172°, 96%, 61%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. 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
#3afbe2
RGB
rgb(58, 251, 226)
HSL
hsl(172, 96%, 61%)
HWB
hwb(172 23% 2%)
OKLCH
oklch(89.1% 0.150 181.7)
P3
color(display-p3 0.4913 0.9704 0.8876)
HSV
hsv(172, 77%, 98%)
LAB
lab(89.57% -51.52 -1.31)
LCH
lch(89.57% 51.53 181.45)
CMYK
cmyk(77%, 0%, 10%, 2%)

Etymology

Lit
adjective

The past participle of light — short and modern. Used as a color word since the late twentieth century for hues that read as if they were illuminated. Lit yellow, lit pink: the implication is luminance combined with the slight optical impression of an internal light source. Sits in the bright-bucket extreme alongside electric.

Selkie
noun

The seal-people of Celtic folklore — particularly Scottish, Irish, and Faroese mythology — beings who shed sealskin to take human form. Selkie color refers to the deep blue-green of Atlantic waters where the seal-folk are said to live: a deep, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical complexity of cold Atlantic open 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

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.

#3afbe2
Original
#efece1
Protanopia
#d6d9e4
Deuteranopia
#00fff3
Tritanopia
#d0d0d0
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
1.31:1
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
16.08:1

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
##3AFBE2
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.4913 0.9704 0.8876)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.150

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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