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#34bc9c

a balanced, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Medium Aqua Marine

RGB
52, 188, 156
HSL
166°, 57%, 47%
CMYK
72, 0, 17, 26
Luminance
0.3910

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #34bc9c is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#34bc9c
Hue
166°
cyan
Saturation
57%
vivid
Lightness
47%
balanced
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
61%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3910
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
82/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
8.82:1
Closest name
Medium Aqua Marine
ΔE2000 5.8
Where it sits
Hue166° of 360°
Saturation57%
Lightness47%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool82% 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#34bc9c
RGBrgb(52, 188, 156)
HSLhsl(166, 57%, 47%)
CMYKcmyk(72%, 0%, 17%, 26%)
LABlab(68.8 -43.5 5.9)
LCHlch(68.8 43.9 172.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.716 0.124 173.1)
Decimal3456156
Display P3color(display-p3 0.204 0.737 0.612)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #34bc9c;
background-color: #34bc9c;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#34bc9c] bg-[#34bc9c]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #34bc9c;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.204, green: 0.737, blue: 0.612)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#34bc9c")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF34BC9C)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(156, 188, 52)

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 #34bc9c · 8.82:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.38:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.82:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #34bc9c as text scores 2.38:1 on white and 8.82:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#34bc9c on white: 2.38:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#34bc9c on black: 8.82:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B6B09A
deuteranopia · #A4A29E
tritanopia · #00BEB3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #34bc9c 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.

#F4FBF9
#E9F6F3
#CDEEE7
#A7E7D8
#7BDBC4
#4FCEB1
#34bc9c
#2CA085
#23806A
#1D5D4E
#123A31
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F4FBF9Darkest = 950 · #123A31
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4FBF9;
  --brand-100: #E9F6F3;
  --brand-200: #CDEEE7;
  --brand-300: #A7E7D8;
  --brand-400: #7BDBC4;
  --brand-500: #4FCEB1;
  --brand-600: #34bc9c;
  --brand-700: #2CA085;
  --brand-800: #23806A;
  --brand-900: #1D5D4E;
  --brand-950: #123A31;
  --brand: #34bc9c;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #34bc9c

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#F4FAF9
Tinted page background
Border#C0EDE2
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B88
Captions on the surface
Accent#C12F76
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1C6453
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF9F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142421
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 #34bc9c

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#BC3454
Analogous left#34BC58
Analogous right#3498BC
Split-complement 1#BC3498
Split-complement 2#BC5834
Triadic 1#9C34BC
Triadic 2#BC9C34
Tetradic#5834BC

RGB percentages

Red20.4%
Green73.7%
Blue61.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan72.3%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow17.0%
Key (black)26.3%

Color previews

#34bc9c text on a black background

contrast 8.82:1

Card sample

#34bc9c text on a white background

contrast 2.38:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #34bc9c;
Background color
Panel with #34bc9c background
background-color: #34bc9c;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #34bc9c;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(52, 188, 156, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(52, 188, 156, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #34bc9c;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #34bc9c, #3481BC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #34bc9c

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.

#34bc9c 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.

#34bc9c, answered

What color is #34bc9c?

#34bc9c is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Aqua Marine (ΔE2000 5.8). It sits at 166° on the hue wheel with 57% saturation and 47% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #34bc9c?

rgb(52, 188, 156) — 52 red, 188 green and 156 blue out of 255, or 20.4% / 73.7% / 61.2% by channel.

Is #34bc9c a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3910 and perceived brightness is 61%, so black text on it reaches 8.82:1.

Should I use black or white text on #34bc9c?

Black. It scores 8.82:1 against #34bc9c, versus 2.38:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #34bc9c?

#BC3454 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BC3498 and #BC5834, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #34bc9c?

For interface work: #F4FAF9 as the surface, #C0EDE2 for borders, #4B9B88 for secondary text, #C12F76 as an accent and #1C6453 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #34BC58 and #3498BC stays calm, while #BC3454 is the loudest partner.

What is #34bc9c in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(72%, 0%, 17%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #34bc9c warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 82 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #34BC6A; nudged cooler, #32ACBF.

Work with #34bc9c in the Color Lab