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#2acddf

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

RGB
42, 205, 223
HSL
186°, 74%, 52%
CMYK
81, 8, 0, 13
Luminance
0.4948

At a glance

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

Hex
#2acddf
Hue
186°
cyan
Saturation
74%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
69%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4948
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
90/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.90:1
Closest name
Dark Turquoise
ΔE2000 5.5
Where it sits
Hue186° of 360°
Saturation74%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool90% 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#2acddf
RGBrgb(42, 205, 223)
HSLhsl(186, 74%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(81%, 8%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(75.8 -33.4 -20.3)
LCHlch(75.8 39.1 211.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.778 0.126 206.7)
Decimal2805215
Display P3color(display-p3 0.165 0.804 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2acddf;
background-color: #2acddf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2acddf] bg-[#2acddf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2acddf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.165, green: 0.804, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2acddf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2ACDDF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 205, 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 #2acddf · 10.90:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.93:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.90:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2acddf as text scores 1.93:1 on white and 10.90:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2acddf on white: 1.93:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2acddf on black: 10.90:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BBC5E0
deuteranopia · #A3B3DF
tritanopia · #00D6D2

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F3FBFC
#E7F7F9
#C8EFF3
#9DE8F0
#6DDDE9
#2acddf
#20C3D5
#1BA2B1
#15828E
#145E67
#0C3B40
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F3FBFCDarkest = 950 · #0C3B40
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FBFC;
  --brand-100: #E7F7F9;
  --brand-200: #C8EFF3;
  --brand-300: #9DE8F0;
  --brand-400: #6DDDE9;
  --brand-500: #2acddf;
  --brand-600: #20C3D5;
  --brand-700: #1BA2B1;
  --brand-800: #15828E;
  --brand-900: #145E67;
  --brand-950: #0C3B40;
  --brand: #2acddf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2acddf

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#C0E8ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B939B
Captions on the surface
Accent#E42542
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#11656F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9FAFC
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 #2acddf

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#DF3C2A
Analogous left#2ADF97
Analogous right#2A73DF
Split-complement 1#DF2A73
Split-complement 2#DF972A
Triadic 1#DF2ACD
Triadic 2#CDDF2A
Tetradic#972ADF

RGB percentages

Red16.5%
Green80.4%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan81.2%
Magenta8.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#2acddf text on a black background

contrast 10.90:1

Card sample

#2acddf text on a white background

contrast 1.93:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(42, 205, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(42, 205, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2acddf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2acddf, #2A54DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2acddf

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.

#2acddf 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.

#2acddf, answered

What color is #2acddf?

#2acddf is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Dark Turquoise (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 186° on the hue wheel with 74% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2acddf?

rgb(42, 205, 223) — 42 red, 205 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 16.5% / 80.4% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #2acddf a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4948 and perceived brightness is 69%, so black text on it reaches 10.90:1.

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

Black. It scores 10.90:1 against #2acddf, versus 1.93:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2acddf?

#DF3C2A sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF2A73 and #DF972A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2acddf?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E8ED for borders, #4B939B for secondary text, #E42542 as an accent and #11656F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2ADF97 and #2A73DF stays calm, while #DF3C2A is the loudest partner.

What is #2acddf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(81%, 8%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #2acddf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 90 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #2ADFAF; nudged cooler, #28A6E2.

Work with #2acddf in the Color Lab