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#03abeb

a balanced, electric cyan · cool · closest name: Deep Sky Blue

RGB
3, 171, 235
HSL
197°, 98%, 47%
CMYK
99, 27, 0, 8
Luminance
0.3514

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #03abeb is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#03abeb
Hue
197°
cyan
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
47%
balanced
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3514
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
94/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
8.03:1
Closest name
Deep Sky Blue
ΔE2000 5.6
Where it sits
Hue197° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness47%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool94% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#03abeb
RGBrgb(3, 171, 235)
HSLhsl(197, 98%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(99%, 27%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(65.9 -14.0 -42.1)
LCHlch(65.9 44.4 251.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.699 0.147 234.5)
Decimal240619
Display P3color(display-p3 0.012 0.671 0.922)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #03abeb;
background-color: #03abeb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#03abeb] bg-[#03abeb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #03abeb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.012, green: 0.671, blue: 0.922)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#03abeb")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF03ABEB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 171, 3)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #03abeb · 8.03:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.62:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.03:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #03abeb as text scores 2.62:1 on white and 8.03:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#03abeb on white: 2.62:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#03abeb on black: 8.03:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #8BAAEE
deuteranopia · #7098EA
tritanopia · #00BCC1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #03abeb is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F1FAFD
#E4F5FC
#C1EBFB
#90DFFE
#59CFFD
#21C0FC
#03abeb
#0392C9
#0275A1
#065674
#043649
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F1FAFDDarkest = 950 · #043649
:root {
  --brand-50: #F1FAFD;
  --brand-100: #E4F5FC;
  --brand-200: #C1EBFB;
  --brand-300: #90DFFE;
  --brand-400: #59CFFD;
  --brand-500: #21C0FC;
  --brand-600: #03abeb;
  --brand-700: #0392C9;
  --brand-800: #0275A1;
  --brand-900: #065674;
  --brand-950: #043649;
  --brand: #03abeb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #03abeb

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F4F9FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B859B
Captions on the surface
Accent#EE0600
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#025C7E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E6F8FF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142024
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #03abeb

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#EB4303
Analogous left#03EBB7
Analogous right#0337EB
Split-complement 1#EB0337
Split-complement 2#EBB703
Triadic 1#EB03AB
Triadic 2#ABEB03
Tetradic#B703EB

RGB percentages

Red1.2%
Green67.1%
Blue92.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan98.7%
Magenta27.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#03abeb text on a black background

contrast 8.03:1

Card sample

#03abeb text on a white background

contrast 2.62:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #03abeb;
Background color
Panel with #03abeb background
background-color: #03abeb;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #03abeb;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(3, 171, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(3, 171, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #03abeb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #03abeb, #0310EB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #03abeb

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#03abeb in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#03abeb, answered

What color is #03abeb?

#03abeb is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Deep Sky Blue (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 197° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 47% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #03abeb?

rgb(3, 171, 235) — 3 red, 171 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 1.2% / 67.1% / 92.2% by channel.

Is #03abeb a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3514 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 8.03:1.

Should I use black or white text on #03abeb?

Black. It scores 8.03:1 against #03abeb, versus 2.62:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #03abeb?

#EB4303 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EB0337 and #EBB703, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #03abeb?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E0ED for borders, #4B859B for secondary text, #EE0600 as an accent and #025C7E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #03EBB7 and #0337EB stays calm, while #EB4303 is the loudest partner.

What is #03abeb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(99%, 27%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #03abeb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 94 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #03EBD6; nudged cooler, #0191EE.

Work with #03abeb in the Color Lab