colors
Back to gallery

Dominant Matcha

#559a0c
Notes

Dominant Matcha (#559A0C) is a deep lime with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (89°, 86%, 33%) places it in the highly saturated band at a dark 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 indigo. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#559a0c
RGB
rgb(85, 154, 12)
HSL
hsl(89, 86%, 33%)
HWB
hwb(89 5% 40%)
OKLCH
oklch(61.6% 0.174 134.1)
HSV
hsv(89, 92%, 60%)
LAB
lab(57.14% -42.87 57.60)
LCH
lch(57.14% 71.80 126.66)
CMYK
cmyk(45%, 0%, 92%, 40%)

Etymology

Dominant
adjective

Latin dominārī, to rule — present-participle of dominate. As a color modifier, dominant implies a saturated-and-leading quality where the hue claims visual precedence over neighboring colors in the surrounding palette. Sits at the bold-and-imperative end of the grid, parallel to commanding and authoritative.

Matcha
noun

The shade-grown, stone-ground green tea of the Japanese tea ceremony — leaves of Camellia sinensis covered for weeks before harvest to concentrate chlorophyll, then powdered in a granite mill. The color refers to ceremonial-grade matcha whisked in hot water: a saturated, slightly muted green with the powdery finish of micron-scale leaf particles. Brighter than sage, deeper than lime, with the meditative weight of a 600-year-old practice.

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.

#559a0c
Original
#a08d00
Protanopia
#978722
Deuteranopia
#549482
Tritanopia
#818181
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).
AA Largeon White
3.49:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon Black
6.01:1

Related Colors

Canvas