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Rousing Bluestem

#4eebb9
Notes

Rousing Bluestem (#4EEBB9) is a true teal with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (161°, 80%, 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
#4eebb9
RGB
rgb(78, 235, 185)
HSL
hsl(161, 80%, 61%)
HWB
hwb(161 31% 8%)
OKLCH
oklch(84.6% 0.149 167.7)
HSV
hsv(161, 67%, 92%)
LAB
lab(84.24% -52.45 12.45)
LCH
lch(84.24% 53.91 166.65)
CMYK
cmyk(67%, 0%, 21%, 8%)

Etymology

Rousing
adjective

Old English rūsan, to rush — present-participle of rouse. As a color modifier, rousing implies a saturated-and-wakening-and-active quality, the bright color of dawn-chorus-and-morning-bell atmospheric-and-aural stimulation. Sits at the bright-and-active end of the grid, parallel to awakening and invigorating in usage.

Bluestem
noun

The genera Andropogon and Schizachyrium — North American native prairie grasses whose stems shift from green to blue-purple in autumn. The color refers to S. scoparium (little bluestem) in midsummer: a soft, slightly cool blue-green-gray with the matte finish of upright prairie grass.

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.

#4eebb9
Original
#e5dbb6
Protanopia
#d0ccbc
Deuteranopia
#00ecdd
Tritanopia
#c6c6c6
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
1.51:1
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
13.91:1

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