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Pulsing Lemonade

#a2bd36
Notes

Pulsing Lemonade (#A2BD36) is a true yellow with a warm character. It leans warm, pulling light toward red, orange, and yellow. Naturally inviting, it suits editorial and hospitality contexts. Its HSL profile (72°, 56%, 48%) 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
#a2bd36
RGB
rgb(162, 189, 54)
HSL
hsl(72, 56%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(72 21% 26%)
OKLCH
oklch(75.3% 0.159 120.3)
HSV
hsv(72, 71%, 74%)
LAB
lab(72.46% -27.17 61.47)
LCH
lch(72.46% 67.21 113.84)
CMYK
cmyk(14%, 0%, 71%, 26%)

Etymology

Pulsing
adjective

The progressive participle of pulse, to throb. Used as a color modifier for hues that read as if they were alternating between two states of luminance — the vibration of a high-saturation color against a contrasting background. Sits in the bright-bucket center alongside electric, with the implication of optical motion rather than static luminance.

Lemonade
noun

The classic citrus drink — fresh lemon juice diluted with water and sweetener, served chilled in summer. Lemonade refers to the color of fresh-squeezed lemonade in a clear glass: a soft, slightly cool pale yellow with the optical clarity of citrus-juice-and-water. Cooler than mayonnaise.

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.

#a2bd36
Original
#c9b21e
Protanopia
#c6b241
Deuteranopia
#abb3a3
Tritanopia
#aeaeae
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
2.13:1
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
9.87:1

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