colors
Back to gallery

Clear Firmament

#56d7e2
Notes

Clear Firmament (#56D7E2) is a true cyan with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (185°, 71%, 61%) 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
#56d7e2
RGB
rgb(86, 215, 226)
HSL
hsl(185, 71%, 61%)
HWB
hwb(185 34% 11%)
OKLCH
oklch(81.2% 0.113 203.1)
HSV
hsv(185, 62%, 89%)
LAB
lab(79.65% -31.88 -15.97)
LCH
lch(79.65% 35.65 206.61)
CMYK
cmyk(62%, 5%, 0%, 11%)

Etymology

Clear
adjective

From the Latin clarus, bright, distinct — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues without haze or mixing. Clear blue sky, clear green water: the implication is moderate saturation combined with optical clarity. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside clean and true.

Firmament
noun

The biblical sky-vault — and God called the firmament Heaven (Genesis). Firmament in literary and religious color vocabulary refers to the saturated deep blue of the cloudless midday sky as seen from a desert or mountain: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue with the optical brightness of a clear high-altitude atmosphere.

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.

#56d7e2
Original
#c7cee3
Protanopia
#b2bfe3
Deuteranopia
#00dfda
Tritanopia
#bcbcbc
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
1.72:1
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
12.21:1

Related Colors

Canvas