Skip to content

#4bbcd0

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

RGB
75, 188, 208
HSL
189°, 59%, 56%
CMYK
64, 10, 0, 18
Luminance
0.4202

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #4bbcd0 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#4bbcd0
Hue
189°
cyan
Saturation
59%
vivid
Lightness
56%
balanced
Brightness
82%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4202
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
91/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
9.40:1
Closest name
Dark Turquoise
ΔE2000 8.8
Where it sits
Hue189° of 360°
Saturation59%
Lightness56%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool91% 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#4bbcd0
RGBrgb(75, 188, 208)
HSLhsl(189, 59%, 56%)
CMYKcmyk(64%, 10%, 0%, 18%)
LABlab(70.9 -25.7 -19.5)
LCHlch(70.9 32.3 217.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.739 0.104 211.3)
Decimal4963536
Display P3color(display-p3 0.294 0.737 0.816)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #4bbcd0;
background-color: #4bbcd0;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#4bbcd0] bg-[#4bbcd0]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #4bbcd0;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.294, green: 0.737, blue: 0.816)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#4bbcd0")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF4BBCD0)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(208, 188, 75)

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 #4bbcd0 · 9.40:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.23:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.40:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #4bbcd0 as text scores 2.23:1 on white and 9.40:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#4bbcd0 on white: 2.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#4bbcd0 on black: 9.40:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #ACB6D1
deuteranopia · #98A7D0
tritanopia · #00C5C2

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #4bbcd0 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.

#F4FAFB
#E9F5F7
#CDEAEF
#A6DEE8
#7ACDDC
#4bbcd0
#33ADC2
#2A90A2
#227381
#1C545E
#12353B
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F4FAFBDarkest = 950 · #12353B
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4FAFB;
  --brand-100: #E9F5F7;
  --brand-200: #CDEAEF;
  --brand-300: #A6DEE8;
  --brand-400: #7ACDDC;
  --brand-500: #4bbcd0;
  --brand-600: #33ADC2;
  --brand-700: #2A90A2;
  --brand-800: #227381;
  --brand-900: #1C545E;
  --brand-950: #12353B;
  --brand: #4bbcd0;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #4bbcd0

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#C0E6ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B8F9B
Captions on the surface
Accent#D54655
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1A5A65
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBF7FA
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 #4bbcd0

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#D05F4B
Analogous left#4BD0A1
Analogous right#4B7AD0
Split-complement 1#D04B7A
Split-complement 2#D0A14B
Triadic 1#D04BBC
Triadic 2#BCD04B
Tetradic#A14BD0

RGB percentages

Red29.4%
Green73.7%
Blue81.6%

CMYK percentages

Cyan63.9%
Magenta9.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)18.4%

Color previews

#4bbcd0 text on a black background

contrast 9.40:1

Card sample

#4bbcd0 text on a white background

contrast 2.23:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #4bbcd0;
Background color
Panel with #4bbcd0 background
background-color: #4bbcd0;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #4bbcd0;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(75, 188, 208, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(75, 188, 208, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #4bbcd0;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #4bbcd0, #4B63D0);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #4bbcd0

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.

#4bbcd0 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.

#4bbcd0, answered

What color is #4bbcd0?

#4bbcd0 is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Dark Turquoise (ΔE2000 8.8). It sits at 189° on the hue wheel with 59% saturation and 56% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #4bbcd0?

rgb(75, 188, 208) — 75 red, 188 green and 208 blue out of 255, or 29.4% / 73.7% / 81.6% by channel.

Is #4bbcd0 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4202 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 9.40:1.

Should I use black or white text on #4bbcd0?

Black. It scores 9.40:1 against #4bbcd0, versus 2.23:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #4bbcd0?

#D05F4B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D04B7A and #D0A14B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #4bbcd0?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E6ED for borders, #4B8F9B for secondary text, #D54655 as an accent and #1A5A65 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #4BD0A1 and #4B7AD0 stays calm, while #D05F4B is the loudest partner.

What is #4bbcd0 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(64%, 10%, 0%, 18%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #4bbcd0 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 91 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #4BD0B3; nudged cooler, #499FD2.

Work with #4bbcd0 in the Color Lab