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Lively Caribbean

#51e8cc
Notes

Lively Caribbean (#51E8CC) 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 (169°, 77%, 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
#51e8cc
RGB
rgb(81, 232, 204)
HSL
hsl(169, 77%, 61%)
HWB
hwb(169 32% 9%)
OKLCH
oklch(84.4% 0.133 178.1)
HSV
hsv(169, 65%, 91%)
LAB
lab(83.87% -46.21 1.94)
LCH
lch(83.87% 46.25 177.59)
CMYK
cmyk(65%, 0%, 12%, 9%)

Etymology

Lively
adjective

An adjectival form of life — used as a color word since the seventeenth century for hues that read as energetic. Lively coral, lively chartreuse: the implication is saturation combined with optical liveliness, the slight visual restlessness of a color that feels animated. Sits at the bright-bucket center.

Caribbean
noun

The Caribbean Sea — the tropical basin between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, ringed by Cuba, Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, and the Central American mainland. The color refers to mid-depth Caribbean water on a sunny day: a saturated, slightly muted blue-green with the optical complexity of pure water filtered through coral sand. Cooler than turquoise, warmer than azure, with the postcard weight of a sea named for its indigenous people.

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.

#51e8cc
Original
#dfdacb
Protanopia
#c9cbce
Deuteranopia
#00ebe0
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
1.53:1
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
13.76:1

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