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#3bcfec

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

RGB
59, 207, 236
HSL
190°, 82%, 58%
CMYK
75, 12, 0, 8
Luminance
0.5161

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #3bcfec is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#3bcfec
Hue
190°
cyan
Saturation
82%
electric
Lightness
58%
balanced
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
71%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5161
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
92/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
11.32:1
Closest name
Sky Blue
ΔE2000 7.1
Where it sits
Hue190° of 360°
Saturation82%
Lightness58%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool92% 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#3bcfec
RGBrgb(59, 207, 236)
HSLhsl(190, 82%, 58%)
CMYKcmyk(75%, 12%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(77.0 -28.7 -25.3)
LCHlch(77.0 38.3 221.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.791 0.126 214.2)
Decimal3919852
Display P3color(display-p3 0.231 0.812 0.925)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #3bcfec;
background-color: #3bcfec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#3bcfec] bg-[#3bcfec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #3bcfec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.231, green: 0.812, blue: 0.925)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#3bcfec")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF3BCFEC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 207, 59)

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 #3bcfec · 11.32:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.85:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.32:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #3bcfec as text scores 1.85:1 on white and 11.32:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#3bcfec on white: 1.85:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#3bcfec on black: 11.32:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BAC8EE
deuteranopia · #A2B7EC
tritanopia · #00DAD8

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #3bcfec 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.

#F2FBFC
#E6F6FA
#C6EEF6
#99E6F5
#66D9F0
#3bcfec
#16BEDF
#129FBA
#0E7F95
#0F5C6C
#093A43
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F2FBFCDarkest = 950 · #093A43
:root {
  --brand-50: #F2FBFC;
  --brand-100: #E6F6FA;
  --brand-200: #C6EEF6;
  --brand-300: #99E6F5;
  --brand-400: #66D9F0;
  --brand-500: #3bcfec;
  --brand-600: #16BEDF;
  --brand-700: #129FBA;
  --brand-800: #0E7F95;
  --brand-900: #0F5C6C;
  --brand-950: #093A43;
  --brand: #3bcfec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #3bcfec

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#C0E5ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B8E9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#F03747
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#0B6374
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E8F9FD
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142224
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 #3bcfec

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#EC583B
Analogous left#3BECB0
Analogous right#3B76EC
Split-complement 1#EC3B76
Split-complement 2#ECB03B
Triadic 1#EC3BCF
Triadic 2#CFEC3B
Tetradic#B03BEC

RGB percentages

Red23.1%
Green81.2%
Blue92.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan75.0%
Magenta12.3%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#3bcfec text on a black background

contrast 11.32:1

Card sample

#3bcfec text on a white background

contrast 1.85:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #3bcfec;
Background color
Panel with #3bcfec background
background-color: #3bcfec;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #3bcfec;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(59, 207, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(59, 207, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #3bcfec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3bcfec, #3B59EC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #3bcfec

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.

#3bcfec 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.

#3bcfec, answered

What color is #3bcfec?

#3bcfec is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Sky Blue (ΔE2000 7.1). It sits at 190° on the hue wheel with 82% saturation and 58% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #3bcfec?

rgb(59, 207, 236) — 59 red, 207 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 23.1% / 81.2% / 92.5% by channel.

Is #3bcfec a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5161 and perceived brightness is 71%, so black text on it reaches 11.32:1.

Should I use black or white text on #3bcfec?

Black. It scores 11.32:1 against #3bcfec, versus 1.85:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #3bcfec?

#EC583B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EC3B76 and #ECB03B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #3bcfec?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E5ED for borders, #4B8E9B for secondary text, #F03747 as an accent and #0B6374 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3BECB0 and #3B76EC stays calm, while #EC583B is the loudest partner.

What is #3bcfec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(75%, 12%, 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 #3bcfec warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 92 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #3BECC8; nudged cooler, #39AEEE.

Work with #3bcfec in the Color Lab