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Refulgent Guacamole

#85b537
Notes

Refulgent Guacamole (#85B537) is a true lime with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (83°, 53%, 46%) 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 indigo. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#85b537
RGB
rgb(133, 181, 55)
HSL
hsl(83, 53%, 46%)
HWB
hwb(83 22% 29%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.4% 0.161 128.1)
HSV
hsv(83, 70%, 71%)
LAB
lab(68.25% -34.92 56.27)
LCH
lch(68.25% 66.22 121.82)
CMYK
cmyk(27%, 0%, 70%, 29%)

Etymology

Refulgent
adjective

Latin refulgēns, shining-back — present-participle of refulgere, sharing root with fulgor (lightning). As a color modifier, refulgent implies a saturated-and-reflective-shining quality, the bright color of polished-bronze-and-armor reflective-surface mid-day-sun reflection. Sits at the bright-and-saturated end of the grid, parallel to effulgent and resplendent in usage.

Guacamole
noun

The Mexican avocado-based dip — fresh avocado mashed with lime, cilantro, salsa, and salt, traced to pre-Columbian Aztec cuisine via the Nahuatl āhuacamolli (avocado sauce). Guacamole color refers to fresh-mashed guacamole in a molcajete: a soft, slightly muted yellow-green with the matte finish of pureed avocado-and-lime. Drier than avocado.

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.

#85b537
Original
#bea823
Protanopia
#b7a542
Deuteranopia
#8aad9c
Tritanopia
#a2a2a2
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
2.42:1
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
8.66:1

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