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Spotlit Limpid

#48e8fa
Notes

Spotlit Limpid (#48E8FA) is a true cyan 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 (186°, 95%, 63%) 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
#48e8fa
RGB
rgb(72, 232, 250)
HSL
hsl(186, 95%, 63%)
HWB
hwb(186 28% 2%)
OKLCH
oklch(85.7% 0.131 206.1)
HSV
hsv(186, 71%, 98%)
LAB
lab(84.99% -34.99 -20.67)
LCH
lch(84.99% 40.64 210.57)
CMYK
cmyk(71%, 7%, 0%, 2%)

Etymology

Spotlit
adjective

English compound spot + lit — past-participle of spotlight. As a color modifier, spotlit implies a saturated-and-narrow-beam-illuminated quality, the bright color of theatrical-stage-and-museum-display directed-spotlight focused-beam illumination. Sits at the bright-and-saturated end of the grid, parallel to sunlit and brilliant 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.

#48e8fa
Original
#d5dffb
Protanopia
#bcccfa
Deuteranopia
#00f2ed
Tritanopia
#c7c7c7
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
1.48:1
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
14.20:1

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