colors
Back to gallery
Coolcyan

Crisp Aqua Shimmer

#5ab1b3
Notes

Crisp Aqua Shimmer (#5AB1B3) 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 (181°, 37%, 53%) 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
#5ab1b3
RGB
rgb(90, 177, 179)
HSL
hsl(181, 37%, 53%)
HWB
hwb(181 35% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(70.7% 0.084 197.4)
HSV
hsv(181, 50%, 70%)
LAB
lab(67.18% -25.55 -9.09)
LCH
lch(67.18% 27.12 199.59)
CMYK
cmyk(50%, 1%, 0%, 30%)

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.

#5ab1b3
Original
#a7aab3
Protanopia
#989fb4
Deuteranopia
#1fb6b1
Tritanopia
#9f9f9f
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
2.51:1
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
8.37:1

Related Colors

Canvas