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#2dbdeb

a balanced, electric cyan · cool · closest name: Deep Sky Blue

RGB
45, 189, 235
HSL
195°, 83%, 55%
CMYK
81, 20, 0, 8
Luminance
0.4295

At a glance

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

Hex
#2dbdeb
Hue
195°
cyan
Saturation
83%
electric
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
92%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4295
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
94/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
9.59:1
Closest name
Deep Sky Blue
ΔE2000 4.1
Where it sits
Hue195° of 360°
Saturation83%
Lightness55%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool94% 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#2dbdeb
RGBrgb(45, 189, 235)
HSLhsl(195, 83%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(81%, 20%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(71.5 -21.4 -33.3)
LCHlch(71.5 39.6 237.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.746 0.132 225.3)
Decimal2997739
Display P3color(display-p3 0.176 0.741 0.922)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2dbdeb;
background-color: #2dbdeb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2dbdeb] bg-[#2dbdeb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2dbdeb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.176, green: 0.741, blue: 0.922)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2dbdeb")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2DBDEB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(235, 189, 45)

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 #2dbdeb · 9.59:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.19:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.59:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2dbdeb as text scores 2.19:1 on white and 9.59:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2dbdeb on white: 2.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2dbdeb on black: 9.59:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #A4B9ED
deuteranopia · #8BA7EA
tritanopia · #00CBCC

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F2FAFC
#E6F5FA
#C6EAF6
#99DFF5
#65CFF0
#2dbdeb
#15AFE0
#1292BA
#0E7495
#0F556C
#093543
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F2FAFCDarkest = 950 · #093543
:root {
  --brand-50: #F2FAFC;
  --brand-100: #E6F5FA;
  --brand-200: #C6EAF6;
  --brand-300: #99DFF5;
  --brand-400: #65CFF0;
  --brand-500: #2dbdeb;
  --brand-600: #15AFE0;
  --brand-700: #1292BA;
  --brand-800: #0E7495;
  --brand-900: #0F556C;
  --brand-950: #093543;
  --brand: #2dbdeb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2dbdeb

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#F4F9FA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E2ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B889B
Captions on the surface
Accent#F0282A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#0B5B74
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E8F8FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142024
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 #2dbdeb

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#EB5B2D
Analogous left#2DEBBA
Analogous right#2D5EEB
Split-complement 1#EB2D5E
Split-complement 2#EBBA2D
Triadic 1#EB2DBD
Triadic 2#BDEB2D
Tetradic#BA2DEB

RGB percentages

Red17.6%
Green74.1%
Blue92.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan80.9%
Magenta19.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.8%

Color previews

#2dbdeb text on a black background

contrast 9.59:1

Card sample

#2dbdeb text on a white background

contrast 2.19:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(45, 189, 235, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(45, 189, 235, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2dbdeb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2dbdeb, #2D3EEB);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2dbdeb

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.

#2dbdeb 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.

#2dbdeb, answered

What color is #2dbdeb?

#2dbdeb is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Deep Sky Blue (ΔE2000 4.1). It sits at 195° on the hue wheel with 83% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2dbdeb?

rgb(45, 189, 235) — 45 red, 189 green and 235 blue out of 255, or 17.6% / 74.1% / 92.2% by channel.

Is #2dbdeb a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4295 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 9.59:1.

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

Black. It scores 9.59:1 against #2dbdeb, versus 2.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2dbdeb?

#EB5B2D sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EB2D5E and #EBBA2D, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2dbdeb?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E2ED for borders, #4B889B for secondary text, #F0282A as an accent and #0B5B74 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2DEBBA and #2D5EEB stays calm, while #EB5B2D is the loudest partner.

What is #2dbdeb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(81%, 20%, 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 #2dbdeb warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 94 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #2DEBD3; nudged cooler, #2BA2ED.

Work with #2dbdeb in the Color Lab