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#2bddec

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

RGB
43, 221, 236
HSL
185°, 84%, 55%
CMYK
82, 6, 0, 8
Luminance
0.5828

At a glance

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

Hex
#2bddec
Hue
185°
cyan
Saturation
84%
electric
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5828
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
89/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
12.66:1
Closest name
Dark Turquoise
ΔE2000 5.6
Where it sits
Hue185° of 360°
Saturation84%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool89% 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#2bddec
RGBrgb(43, 221, 236)
HSLhsl(185, 84%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(82%, 6%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(80.9 -36.8 -19.5)
LCHlch(80.9 41.7 207.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.821 0.133 204.0)
Decimal2874860
Display P3color(display-p3 0.169 0.867 0.925)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2bddec;
background-color: #2bddec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2bddec] bg-[#2bddec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2bddec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.169, green: 0.867, blue: 0.925)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2bddec")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2BDDEC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 221, 43)

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 #2bddec · 12.66:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.66:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.66:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2bddec as text scores 1.66:1 on white and 12.66:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2bddec on white: 1.66:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2bddec on black: 12.66:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CAD3ED
deuteranopia · #B1C1ED
tritanopia · #00E6E1

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #2bddec is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F2FCFC
#E6F8FA
#C5F2F6
#98EEF6
#65E6F1
#2bddec
#14D1E1
#11AEBB
#0D8B96
#0E656C
#093F44
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F2FCFCDarkest = 950 · #093F44
:root {
  --brand-50: #F2FCFC;
  --brand-100: #E6F8FA;
  --brand-200: #C5F2F6;
  --brand-300: #98EEF6;
  --brand-400: #65E6F1;
  --brand-500: #2bddec;
  --brand-600: #14D1E1;
  --brand-700: #11AEBB;
  --brand-800: #0D8B96;
  --brand-900: #0E656C;
  --brand-950: #093F44;
  --brand: #2bddec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2bddec

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#C0E9ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B959B
Captions on the surface
Accent#F12649
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#0B6D75
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E8FBFD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142324
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 #2bddec

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#EC3A2B
Analogous left#2BEC9B
Analogous right#2B7CEC
Split-complement 1#EC2B7C
Split-complement 2#EC9B2B
Triadic 1#EC2BDD
Triadic 2#DDEC2B
Tetradic#9B2BEC

RGB percentages

Red16.9%
Green86.7%
Blue92.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan81.8%
Magenta6.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#2bddec text on a black background

contrast 12.66:1

Card sample

#2bddec text on a white background

contrast 1.66:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(43, 221, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(43, 221, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2bddec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2bddec, #2B5CEC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2bddec

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.

#2bddec 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.

#2bddec, answered

What color is #2bddec?

#2bddec is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Dark Turquoise (ΔE2000 5.6). It sits at 185° on the hue wheel with 84% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2bddec?

rgb(43, 221, 236) — 43 red, 221 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 16.9% / 86.7% / 92.5% by channel.

Is #2bddec a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5828 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 12.66:1.

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

Black. It scores 12.66:1 against #2bddec, versus 1.66:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2bddec?

#EC3A2B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EC2B7C and #EC9B2B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2bddec?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E9ED for borders, #4B959B for secondary text, #F12649 as an accent and #0B6D75 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2BEC9B and #2B7CEC stays calm, while #EC3A2B is the loudest partner.

What is #2bddec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(82%, 6%, 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 #2bddec warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 89 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #2BECB4; nudged cooler, #29B2EE.

Work with #2bddec in the Color Lab