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#1cb2cc

a balanced, electric cyan · cool · closest name: Cadet Blue

RGB
28, 178, 204
HSL
189°, 76%, 46%
CMYK
86, 13, 0, 20
Luminance
0.3645

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #1cb2cc is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#1cb2cc
Hue
189°
cyan
Saturation
76%
electric
Lightness
46%
balanced
Brightness
80%
HSV value
Perceived
60%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3645
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
91/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
8.29:1
Closest name
Cadet Blue
ΔE2000 10.2
Where it sits
Hue189° of 360°
Saturation76%
Lightness46%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool91% 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#1cb2cc
RGBrgb(28, 178, 204)
HSLhsl(189, 76%, 46%)
CMYKcmyk(86%, 13%, 0%, 20%)
LABlab(66.9 -27.3 -23.5)
LCHlch(66.9 36.0 220.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.704 0.119 213.6)
Decimal1880780
Display P3color(display-p3 0.110 0.698 0.800)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #1cb2cc;
background-color: #1cb2cc;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#1cb2cc] bg-[#1cb2cc]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #1cb2cc;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.110, green: 0.698, blue: 0.800)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#1cb2cc")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF1CB2CC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(204, 178, 28)

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 #1cb2cc · 8.29:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.53:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.29:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #1cb2cc as text scores 2.53:1 on white and 8.29:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#1cb2cc on white: 2.53:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#1cb2cc on black: 8.29:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9FACCD
deuteranopia · #899CCC
tritanopia · #00BCBA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #1cb2cc 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.

#F3FBFC
#E7F6F9
#C8EDF4
#9CE5F1
#6BD8EB
#3ACBE4
#1cb2cc
#199CB3
#147D90
#125B68
#0C3941
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F3FBFCDarkest = 950 · #0C3941
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FBFC;
  --brand-100: #E7F6F9;
  --brand-200: #C8EDF4;
  --brand-300: #9CE5F1;
  --brand-400: #6BD8EB;
  --brand-500: #3ACBE4;
  --brand-600: #1cb2cc;
  --brand-700: #199CB3;
  --brand-800: #147D90;
  --brand-900: #125B68;
  --brand-950: #0C3941;
  --brand: #1cb2cc;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #1cb2cc

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#F4FAFA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E6ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B8F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#D1172A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#0F6270
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F9FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142224
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 #1cb2cc

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#CC361C
Analogous left#1CCC8E
Analogous right#1C5ACC
Split-complement 1#CC1C5A
Split-complement 2#CC8E1C
Triadic 1#CC1CB2
Triadic 2#B2CC1C
Tetradic#8E1CCC

RGB percentages

Red11.0%
Green69.8%
Blue80.0%

CMYK percentages

Cyan86.3%
Magenta12.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)20.0%

Color previews

#1cb2cc text on a black background

contrast 8.29:1

Card sample

#1cb2cc text on a white background

contrast 2.53:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #1cb2cc;
Background color
Panel with #1cb2cc background
background-color: #1cb2cc;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #1cb2cc;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(28, 178, 204, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(28, 178, 204, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #1cb2cc;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1cb2cc, #1C3DCC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #1cb2cc

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.

#1cb2cc 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.

#1cb2cc, answered

What color is #1cb2cc?

#1cb2cc is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Cadet Blue (ΔE2000 10.2). It sits at 189° on the hue wheel with 76% saturation and 46% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #1cb2cc?

rgb(28, 178, 204) — 28 red, 178 green and 204 blue out of 255, or 11% / 69.8% / 80% by channel.

Is #1cb2cc a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3645 and perceived brightness is 60%, so black text on it reaches 8.29:1.

Should I use black or white text on #1cb2cc?

Black. It scores 8.29:1 against #1cb2cc, versus 2.53:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #1cb2cc?

#CC361C sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CC1C5A and #CC8E1C, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #1cb2cc?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E6ED for borders, #4B8F9B for secondary text, #D1172A as an accent and #0F6270 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #1CCC8E and #1C5ACC stays calm, while #CC361C is the loudest partner.

What is #1cb2cc in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(86%, 13%, 0%, 20%). 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 #1cb2cc warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 91 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #1CCCA6; nudged cooler, #1A90CE.

Work with #1cb2cc in the Color Lab