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#3bdfbb

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

RGB
59, 223, 187
HSL
167°, 72%, 55%
CMYK
74, 0, 16, 13
Luminance
0.5729

At a glance

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

Hex
#3bdfbb
Hue
167°
cyan
Saturation
72%
vivid
Lightness
55%
balanced
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
73%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5729
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
82/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.46:1
Closest name
Medium Aqua Marine
ΔE2000 5.5
Where it sits
Hue167° of 360°
Saturation72%
Lightness55%
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#3bdfbb
RGBrgb(59, 223, 187)
HSLhsl(167, 72%, 55%)
CMYKcmyk(74%, 0%, 16%, 13%)
LABlab(80.3 -49.7 5.8)
LCHlch(80.3 50.0 173.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.813 0.141 174.1)
Decimal3923899
Display P3color(display-p3 0.231 0.875 0.733)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #3bdfbb;
background-color: #3bdfbb;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#3bdfbb] bg-[#3bdfbb]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #3bdfbb;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.231, green: 0.875, blue: 0.733)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#3bdfbb")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF3BDFBB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(187, 223, 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 #3bdfbb · 12.46:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.69:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.46:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #3bdfbb as text scores 1.69:1 on white and 12.46:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#3bdfbb on white: 1.69:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#3bdfbb on black: 12.46:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D7D1B9
deuteranopia · #C2C1BE
tritanopia · #00E2D4

Color scale — 50 to 950

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

#F3FCFA
#E7F8F5
#C9F3EA
#9FEFDD
#6EE7CD
#3bdfbb
#22D2AC
#1DAF8F
#178C72
#156654
#0D4034
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F3FCFADarkest = 950 · #0D4034
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FCFA;
  --brand-100: #E7F8F5;
  --brand-200: #C9F3EA;
  --brand-300: #9FEFDD;
  --brand-400: #6EE7CD;
  --brand-500: #3bdfbb;
  --brand-600: #22D2AC;
  --brand-700: #1DAF8F;
  --brand-800: #178C72;
  --brand-900: #156654;
  --brand-950: #0D4034;
  --brand: #3bdfbb;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #3bdfbb

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#C0EDE3
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B89
Captions on the surface
Accent#E43788
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#126E59
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9FBF7
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 #3bdfbb

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#DF3B5F
Analogous left#3BDF69
Analogous right#3BB1DF
Split-complement 1#DF3BB1
Split-complement 2#DF693B
Triadic 1#BB3BDF
Triadic 2#DFBB3B
Tetradic#693BDF

RGB percentages

Red23.1%
Green87.5%
Blue73.3%

CMYK percentages

Cyan73.5%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow16.1%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#3bdfbb text on a black background

contrast 12.46:1

Card sample

#3bdfbb text on a white background

contrast 1.69:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

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

Glowing headline

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

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(59, 223, 187, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(59, 223, 187, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #3bdfbb;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3bdfbb, #3B96DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #3bdfbb

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.

#3bdfbb 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.

#3bdfbb, answered

What color is #3bdfbb?

#3bdfbb is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Aqua Marine (ΔE2000 5.5). It sits at 167° on the hue wheel with 72% saturation and 55% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #3bdfbb?

rgb(59, 223, 187) — 59 red, 223 green and 187 blue out of 255, or 23.1% / 87.5% / 73.3% by channel.

Is #3bdfbb a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5729 and perceived brightness is 73%, so black text on it reaches 12.46:1.

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

Black. It scores 12.46:1 against #3bdfbb, versus 1.69:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #3bdfbb?

#DF3B5F sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF3BB1 and #DF693B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #3bdfbb?

For interface work: #F4FAF9 as the surface, #C0EDE3 for borders, #4B9B89 for secondary text, #E43788 as an accent and #126E59 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3BDF69 and #3BB1DF stays calm, while #DF3B5F is the loudest partner.

What is #3bdfbb in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(74%, 0%, 16%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #3bdfbb 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 #3BDF7F; nudged cooler, #39C9E1.

Work with #3bdfbb in the Color Lab