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Aristocratic Sap

#5a9901
Notes

Aristocratic Sap (#5A9901) 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 (85°, 99%, 30%) 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
#5a9901
RGB
rgb(90, 153, 1)
HSL
hsl(85, 99%, 30%)
HWB
hwb(85 0% 40%)
OKLCH
oklch(61.6% 0.172 132.5)
HSV
hsv(85, 99%, 60%)
LAB
lab(57.03% -40.97 59.31)
LCH
lch(57.03% 72.08 124.64)
CMYK
cmyk(41%, 0%, 99%, 40%)

Etymology

Aristocratic
adjective

Greek aristokratía, rule by the best — adjectival suffix -ic. As a color modifier, aristocratic implies a saturated-and-noble-and-hereditary quality, the deep-rich color of pre-modern European aristocracy hereditary-class livery-and-armorial-bearings. Sits at the bold-and-aristocratic end of the grid, parallel to patrician and lordly.

Sap
noun

The watery solution that moves through xylem and phloem in vascular plants — sugars, amino acids, ions, and the occasional alkaloid. The color refers to fresh-cut grass sap or unconcentrated maple sap: a clear, slightly yellow-green with the optical quality of plant fluid. Lighter than chartreuse, cooler than wheat, with the green-tinged clarity of liquid that has just stopped being living tissue.

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.

#5a9901
Original
#a08c00
Protanopia
#97871e
Deuteranopia
#5b9281
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
3.50:1
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
5.99:1

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