colors
Back to gallery
Coolcyan

Soft Aqua Shimmer

#53b5c2
Notes

Soft Aqua Shimmer (#53B5C2) is a true cyan with a cool character. It leans cool, sitting on the blue, green, and violet side of the wheel. Quiet and dependable, a fit for product UI and data visualization. Its HSL profile (187°, 48%, 54%) 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
#53b5c2
RGB
rgb(83, 181, 194)
HSL
hsl(187, 48%, 54%)
HWB
hwb(187 33% 24%)
OKLCH
oklch(72.0% 0.093 207.0)
HSV
hsv(187, 57%, 76%)
LAB
lab(68.59% -24.85 -15.29)
LCH
lch(68.59% 29.17 211.60)
CMYK
cmyk(57%, 7%, 0%, 24%)

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.

#53b5c2
Original
#a8afc3
Protanopia
#96a2c2
Deuteranopia
#00bcb9
Tritanopia
#a1a1a1
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
2.40:1
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
8.76:1

Related Colors

Canvas