We're live on Product Hunt!Support us
ColorArchive

A curated color library with 5,446 algorithmically generated colors. Browse, search, save favorites, and export palette tokens — no account required.

CollectionsFamiliesBrandsRegionsJournalNotesGuidesFree ResourcesEmbed widgetConvertColorblindAboutSupportUpdatesiOS app
Ready for static export
Privacy·Terms·Refunds·Cookies·Commerce Disclosure
colorarchive.org · © 2026 ColorArchive
Skip to content
ColorArchive
ProLog in
ArchiveAll ColorsCollections
Lime Ink Dust
Color detail

Lime Ink Dust

Lime · Hue 90
Metrics
S 26% · L 14%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white14.3:1AAon black1.5:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Lime Ink Dust (#242D1A) belongs to the lime family — hue 90°, 26% saturation, 14% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-lime-ink-dust: #242D1A;
  --colorarchive-lime-ink-dust-hsl: hsl(90, 26%, 14%);
  --colorarchive-lime-ink-dust-rgb: rgb(36, 45, 26);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

OrganicSustainableGrounded
Common in

Agriculture · Sustainable Fashion · Landscape Architecture

Pairs well with

Earth tones (brown, tan), warm whites, or muted terracotta

Design tip

Ideal for brands emphasizing sustainability. Olive tones work well in navigation and secondary UI elements.

Cultural context ▶

Olive and dark lime connect to nature, military, and sustainability. Evokes resilience and growth.

Color Origins

Lime family

Half spring leaf, half pop-art neon.

Heritage

Lime — the yellow-green region of the spectrum — was often mixed by painters, for example verdigris combined with lead-tin yellow or yellow ochre. Synthetic pigments of the 19th and 20th centuries made saturated lime far easier to mix, which is why lime feels visually 'modern' even though grass and leaves have always lived there.

Across cultures

In Japan, moegi — the yellow-green of young leaves sprouting in spring — is a traditional color that falls within lime. In American pop culture, fluorescent Day-Glo pigments, popularized by 1960s psychedelic art, made neon brights like lime part of the visual vocabulary. In sportswear lime carries 'high-visibility' connotations (running gear, safety vests) that have lately come back into fashion as a deliberate aesthetic.

In the wild

Tennis balls turned lime-yellow ('optic yellow') after 1972, when the ITF adopted them as easier to see on color TV; Wimbledon kept white balls until 1986. Xbox's brand palette includes a light green that sits at the lime end, though Spotify's green and the main Xbox green are true greens. BP's Helios mark mixes green with yellow. Mountain Dew's drink is a vivid chartreuse. In film, The Matrix's coded rain is green-on-black — the choice was originally about the look of phosphor CRT terminals.

How it reads

Lime is the youngest-feeling green: it reads as fresh, citric, energetic, and slightly synthetic. At low saturation it becomes olive or moss, both heavily associated with craft, sustainability, and slow design. At high saturation it reads as sport, beverage, or technology. Lime is one of the harder hues to use as a primary brand color without trending toward 'energy drink' — many brands therefore use it as an accent against deep neutrals.

This particular tone

A dim, atmospheric reading — closer to a colored shadow than a stated hue. Excellent as a near-black on dark UI or as a moody background.

Lightness band: At this depth the hue starts behaving like a neutral — it can substitute for black in many contexts while still carrying a faint chromatic temperature. It pairs especially well with off-whites and warm metallics.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #242D1A.

  • Supabaseneutral
    Surface · #2A2A2A
    →
  • Meituan 美团neutral
    Slate Black · #222222
    →
  • Netflixneutral
    Netflix Black · #221F1F
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #242D1A.

  • Korea (Obangsaek)Obangsaek Black (흑 / heuk)
    #1F1F1F · North — water element, ink and lacquer
    →
  • China (Traditional)Ink Wash Black (墨)
    #1C1C1C · Pine-soot ink stick (mò)
    →
  • MexicoVolcanic Black
    #1F1A17 · Obsidian + Popocatépetl basalt
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using lime and color in design.

Color TheoryHow to Name Colors in Design Systems: Poetic, Semantic, and Token NamesColor PsychologyColor and Memory: Using Nostalgic Palettes in DesignColor TheorySeasonal Color Analysis Guide: Understanding Your Personal Color Season

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Lime Nocturne Dust
#334026 · hsl(90, 26%, 20%)
Complementary counterpoint
Plum Ink Dust
#241A2D · hsl(270, 26%, 14%)
Analogous lead
Clover Ink Dust
#1C2D1A · hsl(115, 26%, 14%)
Analogous echo
Honey Ink Dust
#2A2D1A · hsl(70, 26%, 14%)
Triadic +120°
Sapphire Ink Dust
#1A242D · hsl(210, 26%, 14%)
Triadic +240°
Blush Ink Dust
#2D1A24 · hsl(330, 26%, 14%)
Split-comp +150°
Iris Ink Dust
#1A1A2D · hsl(240, 26%, 14%)
Split-comp +210°
Fuchsia Ink Dust
#2D1A2D · hsl(300, 26%, 14%)
Export preview
Base: Lime Ink Dust #242D1A
Lighter companion: Lime Nocturne Dust #334026
Complementary counterpoint: Plum Ink Dust #241A2D
Analogous lead: Clover Ink Dust #1C2D1A
Analogous echo: Honey Ink Dust #2A2D1A
Triadic +120°: Sapphire Ink Dust #1A242D
Triadic +240°: Blush Ink Dust #2D1A24
Split-comp +150°: Iris Ink Dust #1A1A2D
Split-comp +210°: Fuchsia Ink Dust #2D1A2D

Compare

See how Lime Ink Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsLime Nocturne DustvsPlum Ink DustvsClover Ink DustvsHoney Ink DustvsSapphire Ink DustvsBlush Ink Dust

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Lime Ink Muted
#242A1D · hsl(90, 18%, 14%)
Nearby match
Lime Ink Soft
#243018 · hsl(90, 34%, 14%)
Nearby match
Lime Nocturne Dust
#334026 · hsl(90, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Lime Ink Faint
#242720 · hsl(90, 10%, 14%)
Nearby match
Lime Nocturne Muted
#333C2A · hsl(90, 18%, 20%)
Nearby match
Lime Nocturne Soft
#334422 · hsl(90, 34%, 20%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA13.6:1
Plum Veil Faint
#FAF9FA
AAA13.7:1
Plum Veil Muted
#FAF9FB
AAA13.7:1
Plum Veil Dust
#FAF9FB
AAA13.6:1
Plum Veil Soft
#FAF8FC
AAA13.5:1
Plum Veil Clear
#FAF7FD
AAA13.4:1
Plum Veil Vivid
#FAF6FE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#282721
Protanopia
#282820
Tritanopia
#252424
Color of the Day

Like Lime Ink Dust? Get one like it every morning.

One hand-picked color a day — with its hex, family, and the story behind it.

Get a color every morning

One email per day. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ready to build

Turn these colors into design tokens

Copy the CSS variables and the Tailwind class free, right here. ColorArchive Pro lifts the daily export limit — 10 a day signed in, 3 without an account.

Upgrade to ProFree downloadView collections

Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Lime Ink Faint#242720 · hsl(90, 10%, 14%)Lime Ink Muted#242A1D · hsl(90, 18%, 14%)Lime Ink Dust#242D1A · hsl(90, 26%, 14%)Lime Ink Soft#243018 · hsl(90, 34%, 14%)Lime Ink Clear#243710 · hsl(90, 54%, 14%)Lime Ink Vivid#243E09 · hsl(90, 74%, 14%)Lime Ink Bright#244206 · hsl(90, 84%, 14%)Lime Ink Pure#244503 · hsl(90, 92%, 14%)
More from Lime →