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Serviceable Caspian

#9cfbd8
Notes

Serviceable Caspian (#9CFBD8) is a soft teal with a pastel character. It reads calm and airy, with enough chroma to feel intentional rather than washed out. Its HSL profile (158°, 92%, 80%) places it in the highly saturated band at a light 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 magenta. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#9cfbd8
RGB
rgb(156, 251, 216)
HSL
hsl(158, 92%, 80%)
HWB
hwb(158 61% 2%)
OKLCH
oklch(91.9% 0.103 168.6)
HSV
hsv(158, 38%, 98%)
LAB
lab(92.14% -35.78 7.95)
LCH
lch(92.14% 36.65 167.47)
CMYK
cmyk(38%, 0%, 14%, 2%)

Etymology

Serviceable
adjective

Latin servītium, service — adjectival suffix -able. As a color modifier, serviceable implies a clear-and-fit-for-purpose-and-durable quality where the hue carries the visual register of long-lasting-and-functional everyday-use design. Sits at the crisp-and-functional end of the grid, parallel to practical and utilitarian in usage.

Caspian
noun

The world's largest inland body of water — between Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Caspian color refers to mid-depth Caspian Sea water: a saturated, slightly cool deep blue-green with the optical complexity of slightly brackish water over silt-rich bottom.

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.

#9cfbd8
Original
#f6efd6
Protanopia
#e7e4da
Deuteranopia
#81fcf1
Tritanopia
#e4e4e4
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
1.22:1
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
17.20:1

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