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Defined Nun Verdigris

#44b2af
Notes

Defined Nun Verdigris (#44B2AF) 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 (178°, 45%, 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
#44b2af
RGB
rgb(68, 178, 175)
HSL
hsl(178, 45%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(178 27% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.1% 0.099 192.6)
P3
color(display-p3 0.3909 0.6889 0.6826)
HSV
hsv(178, 62%, 70%)
LAB
lab(66.64% -31.49 -7.75)
LCH
lch(66.64% 32.43 193.83)
CMYK
cmyk(62%, 0%, 2%, 30%)

Etymology

Defined
adjective

Latin dēfīnīre, to set bounds — past-participle of define. As a color modifier, defined implies a clear-and-edge-distinct-and-precise quality where the hue carries the visual register of sharp-bounded-and-clearly-delimited surface. Sits at the crisp-and-clear end of the grid, parallel to crisp and sharp in usage.

Nun
modifier

Latin nonna, mother / nun. As a color modifier, nun implies a Carmelite-and-Benedictine-religious-sister quality, the visual register of Carmelite-and-Benedictine-Nun hand-spun robe-and-veil-and-wimple Carmelite-and-Benedictine-religious-sister surfaces under Carmelite-and-Benedictine-Religious-Sister hand-spun-robe-and-wimple convent-cloister light. Sits at the modifier-and-cultural end of the grid, parallel to monk and friar in usage.

Verdigris
noun

The basic copper carbonate that forms on weathered copper and bronze — the pigment scraped from oxidized metal and used in Renaissance painting before being supplanted by more stable greens. The color refers to a thick verdigris on aged copper roofing or the Statue of Liberty's surface: a soft, slightly muted blue-green with the powdery finish of mineral oxide. Cooler than patina, warmer than seafoam, with the archaeological weight of a mineral made by time.

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.

#44b2af
Original
#a8a9af
Protanopia
#969db0
Deuteranopia
#00b7b1
Tritanopia
#9a9a9a
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
2.55:1
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
8.23:1

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
##44B2AF
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.3909 0.6889 0.6826)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.099

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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