Skip to content

#74d7df

a light, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Medium Turquoise

RGB
116, 215, 223
HSL
185°, 63%, 67%
CMYK
48, 4, 0, 13
Luminance
0.5764

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #74d7df is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#74d7df
Hue
185°
cyan
Saturation
63%
vivid
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
87%
HSV value
Perceived
75%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5764
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
89/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
12.53:1
Closest name
Medium Turquoise
ΔE2000 6.6
Where it sits
Hue185° of 360°
Saturation63%
Lightness67%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool89% 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#74d7df
RGBrgb(116, 215, 223)
HSLhsl(185, 63%, 67%)
CMYKcmyk(48%, 4%, 0%, 13%)
LABlab(80.5 -26.9 -12.9)
LCHlch(80.5 29.9 205.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.822 0.094 202.4)
Decimal7657439
Display P3color(display-p3 0.455 0.843 0.875)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #74d7df;
background-color: #74d7df;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#74d7df] bg-[#74d7df]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #74d7df;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.455, green: 0.843, blue: 0.875)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#74d7df")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF74D7DF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(223, 215, 116)

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 #74d7df · 12.53:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.68:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 12.53:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #74d7df as text scores 1.68:1 on white and 12.53:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#74d7df on white: 1.68:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#74d7df on black: 12.53:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CAD0E0
deuteranopia · #B8C2E0
tritanopia · #35DED9

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #74d7df is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F4FBFB
#E8F6F7
#CCEDF0
#A4E5EA
#74d7df
#49CBD5
#2EBCC7
#269CA6
#1F7D85
#1A5B60
#10393C
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F4FBFBDarkest = 950 · #10393C
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4FBFB;
  --brand-100: #E8F6F7;
  --brand-200: #CCEDF0;
  --brand-300: #A4E5EA;
  --brand-400: #74d7df;
  --brand-500: #49CBD5;
  --brand-600: #2EBCC7;
  --brand-700: #269CA6;
  --brand-800: #1F7D85;
  --brand-900: #1A5B60;
  --brand-950: #10393C;
  --brand: #74d7df;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #74d7df

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#F4FAFA
Tinted page background
Border#C0E9ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B959B
Captions on the surface
Accent#A9233A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#186268
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAF9FA
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142324
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 #74d7df

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#DF7C74
Analogous left#74DFB2
Analogous right#74A2DF
Split-complement 1#DF74A2
Split-complement 2#DFB274
Triadic 1#DF74D7
Triadic 2#D7DF74
Tetradic#B274DF

RGB percentages

Red45.5%
Green84.3%
Blue87.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan48.0%
Magenta3.6%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)12.5%

Color previews

#74d7df text on a black background

contrast 12.53:1

Card sample

#74d7df text on a white background

contrast 1.68:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #74d7df;
Background color
Panel with #74d7df background
background-color: #74d7df;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #74d7df;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(116, 215, 223, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(116, 215, 223, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #74d7df;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #74d7df, #7490DF);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #74d7df

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.

#74d7df 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#74d7df, answered

What color is #74d7df?

#74d7df is a light vivid cyan, closest to Medium Turquoise (ΔE2000 6.6). It sits at 185° on the hue wheel with 63% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #74d7df?

rgb(116, 215, 223) — 116 red, 215 green and 223 blue out of 255, or 45.5% / 84.3% / 87.5% by channel.

Is #74d7df a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5764 and perceived brightness is 75%, so black text on it reaches 12.53:1.

Should I use black or white text on #74d7df?

Black. It scores 12.53:1 against #74d7df, versus 1.68:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #74d7df?

#DF7C74 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #DF74A2 and #DFB274, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #74d7df?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0E9ED for borders, #4B959B for secondary text, #A9233A as an accent and #186268 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #74DFB2 and #74A2DF stays calm, while #DF7C74 is the loudest partner.

What is #74d7df in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(48%, 4%, 0%, 13%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #74d7df warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 89 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #74DFC0; nudged cooler, #72B8E1.

Work with #74d7df in the Color Lab