Emerald Hex Code

Emerald Is #50C878

Emerald is a vivid blue-green named for the gemstone. It is not a CSS keyword — the value here is the shade the name is generally understood to mean in design and brand work.

Every Format

Format	Value
HEX	#50C878
RGB	rgb(80, 200, 120)
HSL	hsl(140, 52%, 55%)
CMYK	60%, 0%, 40%, 22%
Nearest Tailwind	green-400 (#4ade80)

The HSL reading is the useful one for design work: hue 140°, saturation 52%, lightness 55%. Adjusting lightness while holding hue and saturation is how you build a consistent ramp; adjusting the hex directly is guesswork.

Contrast and Accessibility

Combination	Ratio	WCAG
Emerald text on white	2.13:1	fails
Emerald text on black	9.87:1	AAA
White text on emerald	2.13:1	fails

WCAG AA requires 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text (18pt, or 14pt bold). AAA requires 7:1. Emerald fails AA on white at any size. Use it for backgrounds, borders and large decorative shapes rather than text.

A Ramp Built From It

Step	Hex
100	#28643c
200	#358550
300	#43a764
400	#50C878
500	#6dd18f
600	#8adaa5
700	#a8e4bc

The dark end comes from mixing toward black and the light end from mixing toward white. Note that a perceptually even ramp is not an arithmetically even one — equal steps in lightness look uneven, which is why the middle of a hand-built ramp usually needs adjusting by eye.

Harmonies

Relationship	Hex
Base	#50C878
Complementary	#c851a0
Triadic	#7851c8 and #c87851

A complementary pair is the highest-contrast combination on the colour wheel, which makes it excellent for a single accent and exhausting for a whole interface. The usual approach is one dominant colour, one complement used sparingly, and neutrals for everything else.

Print Reproduction

The CMYK values above are a mathematical conversion, not a press-ready specification. Screen colours are emitted light and print colours are reflected ink, and the screen gamut is larger — highly saturated values simply do not exist in CMYK.

For brand-critical work, specify a Pantone reference and let the printer match it rather than trusting a CMYK conversion.

A Full Ramp From This Colour

Design systems settle on a 50–900 scale because it covers backgrounds, borders, text and states without anyone reaching outside the palette. Mixing toward white and black rather than adjusting HSL lightness keeps more of the hue's character:

Step	Colour	Contrast on white	Safe for
50	#F5F9FF	1.06:1	backgrounds and fills
100	#EBF3FE	1.12:1	backgrounds and fills
200	#CEE0FD	1.34:1	backgrounds and fills
300	#B1CDFB	1.62:1	backgrounds and fills
400	#76A8F9	2.40:1	backgrounds and fills
500	#3B82F6	3.68:1	large text, borders
600	#326FD1	4.85:1	body text on white
700	#295BAC	6.59:1	body text on white
800	#204887	8.98:1	body text on white
900	#183462	12.31:1	body text on white

The contrast column is the one that decides usage. Steps below 3:1 cannot carry text at any size and belong in fills and dividers; steps at 4.5:1 and above are safe for body copy.

Adjusting It

Base colour in HSL is hsl(217, 91%, 60%). Two useful moves:

``css /* +10% lightness, same hue */ --lighter: #6da2f8; /* −10% lightness */ --darker: #0b64f4; ``

Raising lightness also drops perceived saturation, so a lightened colour reads greyer than its numbers suggest. Adding 5–10% saturation alongside every 20% of lightness keeps the ramp looking like one hue rather than a fade to grey.