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Even Oolong

#5bccd7
Notes

Even Oolong (#5BCCD7) 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 (185°, 61%, 60%) 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
#5bccd7
RGB
rgb(91, 204, 215)
HSL
hsl(185, 61%, 60%)
HWB
hwb(185 36% 16%)
OKLCH
oklch(78.4% 0.103 204.0)
HSV
hsv(185, 58%, 84%)
LAB
lab(76.26% -28.79 -15.15)
LCH
lch(76.26% 32.54 207.76)
CMYK
cmyk(58%, 5%, 0%, 16%)

Etymology

Even
adjective

Old English efen, flat, equal — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues that read as uniformly distributed across a surface. Even gray, even tan: the implication is moderate saturation combined with optical uniformity. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside steady and balanced.

Oolong
noun

The partially-oxidized Chinese tea — qīng-chá (cyan tea) — with the deep blue-green liquor distinct from green tea (lower oxidation) and black tea (higher oxidation). The color refers to fresh-brewed Tieguanyin oolong: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical depth of partially-fermented tea liquor.

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.

#5bccd7
Original
#bec4d8
Protanopia
#aab6d7
Deuteranopia
#00d3cf
Tritanopia
#b5b5b5
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
1.90:1
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
11.06:1

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