Skip to content

#2ac2d8

a balanced, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Dark Turquoise

RGB
42, 194, 216
HSL
188°, 69%, 51%
CMYK
81, 10, 0, 15
Luminance
0.4403

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #2ac2d8 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#2ac2d8
Hue
188°
cyan
Saturation
69%
vivid
Lightness
51%
balanced
Brightness
85%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4403
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
91/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.81:1
Closest name
Dark Turquoise
ΔE2000 7.6
Where it sits
Hue188° of 360°
Saturation69%
Lightness51%
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#2ac2d8
RGBrgb(42, 194, 216)
HSLhsl(188, 69%, 51%)
CMYKcmyk(81%, 10%, 0%, 15%)
LABlab(72.3 -30.3 -21.9)
LCHlch(72.3 37.3 215.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.749 0.122 210.0)
Decimal2802392
Display P3color(display-p3 0.165 0.761 0.847)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2ac2d8;
background-color: #2ac2d8;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2ac2d8] bg-[#2ac2d8]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2ac2d8;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.165, green: 0.761, blue: 0.847)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2ac2d8")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2AC2D8)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(216, 194, 42)

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 #2ac2d8 · 9.81:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.14:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.81:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2ac2d8 as text scores 2.14:1 on white and 9.81:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2ac2d8 on white: 2.14:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2ac2d8 on black: 9.81:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #AFBBD9
deuteranopia · #99AAD8
tritanopia · #00CCC9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #2ac2d8 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.

#F3FAFB
#E7F6F8
#CAEDF2
#A0E4EE
#71D6E5
#41C9DC
#2ac2d8
#209BAC
#197C8A
#165A64
#0E383F
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F3FAFBDarkest = 950 · #0E383F
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FAFB;
  --brand-100: #E7F6F8;
  --brand-200: #CAEDF2;
  --brand-300: #A0E4EE;
  --brand-400: #71D6E5;
  --brand-500: #41C9DC;
  --brand-600: #2ac2d8;
  --brand-700: #209BAC;
  --brand-800: #197C8A;
  --brand-900: #165A64;
  --brand-950: #0E383F;
  --brand: #2ac2d8;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2ac2d8

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#C0E7ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B919B
Captions on the surface
Accent#DD253C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#14616C
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F9FB
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 #2ac2d8

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#D8402A
Analogous left#2AD897
Analogous right#2A6BD8
Split-complement 1#D82A6B
Split-complement 2#D8972A
Triadic 1#D82AC2
Triadic 2#C2D82A
Tetradic#972AD8

RGB percentages

Red16.5%
Green76.1%
Blue84.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan80.6%
Magenta10.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)15.3%

Color previews

#2ac2d8 text on a black background

contrast 9.81:1

Card sample

#2ac2d8 text on a white background

contrast 2.14:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #2ac2d8;
Background color
Panel with #2ac2d8 background
background-color: #2ac2d8;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #2ac2d8;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(42, 194, 216, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(42, 194, 216, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2ac2d8;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2ac2d8, #2A4ED8);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2ac2d8

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.

#2ac2d8 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

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#2ac2d8, answered

What color is #2ac2d8?

#2ac2d8 is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Dark Turquoise (ΔE2000 7.6). It sits at 188° on the hue wheel with 69% saturation and 51% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2ac2d8?

rgb(42, 194, 216) — 42 red, 194 green and 216 blue out of 255, or 16.5% / 76.1% / 84.7% by channel.

Is #2ac2d8 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4403 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 9.81:1.

Should I use black or white text on #2ac2d8?

Black. It scores 9.81:1 against #2ac2d8, versus 2.14:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2ac2d8?

#D8402A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D82A6B and #D8972A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2ac2d8?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E7ED for borders, #4B919B for secondary text, #DD253C as an accent and #14616C for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2AD897 and #2A6BD8 stays calm, while #D8402A is the loudest partner.

What is #2ac2d8 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(81%, 10%, 0%, 15%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #2ac2d8 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 #2AD8AE; nudged cooler, #289EDA.

Work with #2ac2d8 in the Color Lab