Conversions, palettes, contrast & design ideas for this color.
Color profile
#C3CAAD is a cool color from the Lime family, closest in name to “Bitter Melon”. In RGB it is rgb(195, 202, 173); in HSL, hsl(74, 21%, 74%).
The color Bitter Melon, with hexadecimal code #c3caad, resides within the green color family, the hue most connected to nature, growth, and renewal. Green soothes the eye more than any other color, making it ideal for wellness, sustainability, and financial brands. Additionally, it evokes emotions such as Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation and Friendliness. Green is often linked to nature and growth universally, and in some cultures, it symbolizes fertility, renewal, and even immortality. In Islam, green holds significant religious meaning. At just 21% saturation, this near-neutral shade carries only a subtle hint of its underlying hue, making it versatile for large surfaces and professional contexts. At 74% lightness, it strikes an approachable, open balance—bright enough to feel welcoming yet substantial enough to carry visual weight. This color is ideal for designs that aim to express Softness, Delicacy, Calmness, Relaxation, or Friendliness. It can be effectively used in web design, branding, and marketing materials to attract attention and convey specific messages.
Key facts
The story of this color
Bitter Melon (#C3CAAD) belongs to the Lime color family.
With a dusty, low-saturation character, this color offers quiet complexity—neither bold nor faded. Dusty tones add vintage charm to retro-inspired designs and pair beautifully with metallic accents like copper or brass.
Lime green emerged as a popular color in the mid-20th century, fueled by psychedelic art and pop culture. The color takes its name from the citrus fruit, and its bright, acidic quality made it a staple of 1960s mod fashion and 1990s rave culture. In nature, lime green appears in new spring foliage, signaling the first stages of growth after winter dormancy.
Lime green projects youthful energy and works well for sports, fitness, and tech brands targeting younger demographics. It pairs effectively with dark purple or navy for bold complementary schemes, or with white for a fresh, clean look. Use lime sparingly as an accent—it can overwhelm when used as a dominant color.
Sitting on the cool side of the spectrum (hue 74°), it promotes a feeling of calm distance and intellectual clarity, which is why cool hues dominate corporate identities, healthcare design, and productivity tools. At 21% saturation, the color has a muted, sophisticated quality that pairs well with bolder accents. It works as a background, a border, or a secondary element in layered compositions.
Lime stimulates vitality, freshness, and excitement. It sits at the boundary of yellow's optimism and green's natural calm, creating a unique sense of dynamic growth. Lime is particularly effective in contexts where energy and eco-consciousness intersect.
At 74% lightness, it reads clearly on dark backgrounds and provides a welcoming, open feel in light-themed designs—versatile across both contexts.
Use lime as a highlight color for progress bars, success states, and achievement badges in gamified interfaces. Combine lime with matte black for an electric, high-tech brand identity. In packaging, lime accents on white suggest organic freshness—ideal for health drinks and snack brands.
Every format
Every way to write Bitter Melon — one-tap copy on every format; tap on any card to learn what it is and when to use it.
#C3CAAD
Hexadecimal is the web’s universal color notation — two digits each for red, green and blue. Drop it straight into HTML, CSS or any design tool.
rgb(195, 202, 173)
RGB is the additive Red-Green-Blue model every screen uses to emit light. The default choice for websites, apps and on-screen UI.
hsl(74, 21%, 74%)
HSL breaks a color into Hue, Saturation and Lightness — the most intuitive way to lighten, darken or mute a color in CSS.
hsv(74, 14%, 79%)
HSV (also called HSB) maps Hue, Saturation and Value/Brightness. It is the model behind the color pickers in Photoshop, Figma and most design apps.
hwb(74 68% 21%)
HWB blends a pure hue with Whiteness and Blackness — a painter-friendly model added in CSS Color 4 for quick tints and shades.
cmyk(3%, 0%, 14%, 21%)
CMYK is the subtractive Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black ink model. Use these values when preparing artwork for a printer or commercial press.
oklch(82.58% 0.040 118.31)
OKLCH is a modern, perceptually-uniform space (Lightness, Chroma, Hue). It powers smooth gradients and accessible palettes in today’s CSS.
oklab(82.58% -0.019 0.035)
OKLab is the Cartesian form of OKLCH — ideal for blending and interpolating colors without the muddy midpoints older spaces produce.
L: 80.10, a: -7.48, b: 13.67
CIELAB is a device-independent, perceptually-uniform space. It is the standard for measuring color difference (ΔE) and matching across devices.
L: 80.10, C: 15.59, H: 118.68
LCH is CIELAB in cylindrical form — Lightness, Chroma and Hue — letting you adjust vividness and hue while staying perceptually even.
X: 51.17, Y: 56.86, Z: 47.81
CIE XYZ is the 1931 master space that underpins every other model here — the scientific bridge used to convert between color systems.
12831405
The 24-bit integer value of the color — handy for databases, APIs, game engines and low-level graphics code.
Channel breakdown
How much red, green and blue light mixes into Bitter Melon.
Percentages show each channel's share of the total light (R + G + B) in Bitter Melon.
Ink coverage
Ink needed to reproduce Bitter Melon in four-color print. Heaviest ink: Key (Black).
Print tip: treat these values as a starting point — final output depends on printer profile, paper stock and calibration.
Accessibility · WCAG
How bright Bitter Melon is, and how far black and white text clear each WCAG bar.
Contrast ratio · 1:1 → 21:1 (log scale)
Developer shortcuts
Copy-and-paste CSS for Bitter Melon — per-line copy, or grab the whole block.
background-color: #C3CAAD;
color: #C3CAAD;
border: 2px solid #C3CAAD;
background-color: rgb(195, 202, 173);
background-color: hsl(74, 21%, 74%);
--color: #C3CAAD;
Shades · light to dark
Lighter and darker steps of Bitter Melon — the color's full brightness range in one strip.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 180° apart
Two colors opposite on the wheel — maximum contrast for attention-grabbing accents.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · adjacent hues
Neighboring hues on the wheel — harmonious, calm combinations that feel unified.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 120° apart
Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel — vibrant and energetic, yet balanced.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Harmony · 90° apart
Four colors evenly spaced on the wheel (tetradic) — rich schemes with multiple accents.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex or open its color page.
Accessibility
How Bitter Melon reads across five kinds of color vision — a ✓ Friendly verdict means the color difference stays distinguishable for that vision type.
The dot marks the original color. Hover any shade to copy its hex.
Harmony overview
The lead color from each harmony scheme, side by side — a shortcut to the full palettes above.
Perceptually nearby
A step away in brightness, richness or shade — each still feels like the same color.
From the color-name library
The closest named colors to #C3CAAD — same mood, each with its own character.
Looking for more Green shades? Browse Green colors →
Inspiration
Curated Unsplash photos that carry the mood of Bitter Melon — hover any tile to download it or view the original.
Good to know
Harmony