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#2ac8bd

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

RGB
42, 200, 189
HSL
176°, 65%, 48%
CMYK
79, 0, 6, 22
Luminance
0.4547

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #2ac8bd is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#2ac8bd
Hue
176°
cyan
Saturation
65%
vivid
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
78%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4547
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
86/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.09:1
Closest name
Medium Turquoise
ΔE2000 3.6
Where it sits
Hue176° of 360°
Saturation65%
Lightness48%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool86% 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#2ac8bd
RGBrgb(42, 200, 189)
HSLhsl(176, 65%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(79%, 0%, 6%, 22%)
LABlab(73.2 -41.1 -5.8)
LCHlch(73.2 41.5 188.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.754 0.124 187.6)
Decimal2803901
Display P3color(display-p3 0.165 0.784 0.741)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2ac8bd;
background-color: #2ac8bd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2ac8bd] bg-[#2ac8bd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2ac8bd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.165, green: 0.784, blue: 0.741)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2ac8bd")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2AC8BD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(189, 200, 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 #2ac8bd · 10.09:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.08:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.09:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2ac8bd as text scores 2.08:1 on white and 10.09:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2ac8bd on white: 2.08:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2ac8bd on black: 10.09:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BDBDBD
deuteranopia · #A8ADBE
tritanopia · #00CDC4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #2ac8bd 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.

#F3FBFB
#E8F7F6
#CBF1EE
#A2ECE6
#74E2DA
#46D8CE
#2ac8bd
#23A99F
#1C877F
#18625D
#0F3D3A
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F3FBFBDarkest = 950 · #0F3D3A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FBFB;
  --brand-100: #E8F7F6;
  --brand-200: #CBF1EE;
  --brand-300: #A2ECE6;
  --brand-400: #74E2DA;
  --brand-500: #46D8CE;
  --brand-600: #2ac8bd;
  --brand-700: #23A99F;
  --brand-800: #1C877F;
  --brand-900: #18625D;
  --brand-950: #0F3D3A;
  --brand: #2ac8bd;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2ac8bd

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#C0EDE9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B95
Captions on the surface
Accent#CD255B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#166964
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAFBF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142423
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 #2ac8bd

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#C82A35
Analogous left#2AC86E
Analogous right#2A84C8
Split-complement 1#C82A84
Split-complement 2#C86E2A
Triadic 1#BD2AC8
Triadic 2#C8BD2A
Tetradic#6E2AC8

RGB percentages

Red16.5%
Green78.4%
Blue74.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan79.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow5.5%
Key (black)21.6%

Color previews

#2ac8bd text on a black background

contrast 10.09:1

Card sample

#2ac8bd text on a white background

contrast 2.08:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #2ac8bd;
Background color
Panel with #2ac8bd background
background-color: #2ac8bd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #2ac8bd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(42, 200, 189, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(42, 200, 189, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2ac8bd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2ac8bd, #2A6AC8);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2ac8bd

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.

#2ac8bd 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.

#2ac8bd, answered

What color is #2ac8bd?

#2ac8bd is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Turquoise (ΔE2000 3.6). It sits at 176° on the hue wheel with 65% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2ac8bd?

rgb(42, 200, 189) — 42 red, 200 green and 189 blue out of 255, or 16.5% / 78.4% / 74.1% by channel.

Is #2ac8bd a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4547 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 10.09:1.

Should I use black or white text on #2ac8bd?

Black. It scores 10.09:1 against #2ac8bd, versus 2.08:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2ac8bd?

#C82A35 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #C82A84 and #C86E2A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2ac8bd?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0EDE9 for borders, #4B9B95 for secondary text, #CD255B as an accent and #166964 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2AC86E and #2A84C8 stays calm, while #C82A35 is the loudest partner.

What is #2ac8bd in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(79%, 0%, 6%, 22%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #2ac8bd warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 86 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #2AC883; nudged cooler, #289FCB.

Work with #2ac8bd in the Color Lab