Skip to content

#7bcdec

a light, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Sky Blue

RGB
123, 205, 236
HSL
197°, 75%, 70%
CMYK
48, 13, 0, 8
Luminance
0.5393

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #7bcdec is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#7bcdec
Hue
197°
cyan
Saturation
75%
vivid
Lightness
70%
light
Brightness
93%
HSV value
Perceived
74%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5393
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
94/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
11.79:1
Closest name
Sky Blue
ΔE2000 1.4
Where it sits
Hue197° of 360°
Saturation75%
Lightness70%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool94% 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#7bcdec
RGBrgb(123, 205, 236)
HSLhsl(197, 75%, 70%)
CMYKcmyk(48%, 13%, 0%, 8%)
LABlab(78.4 -16.9 -23.1)
LCHlch(78.4 28.6 233.8)
OKLCHoklch(0.807 0.091 224.4)
Decimal8113644
Display P3color(display-p3 0.482 0.804 0.925)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #7bcdec;
background-color: #7bcdec;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#7bcdec] bg-[#7bcdec]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #7bcdec;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.482, green: 0.804, blue: 0.925)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#7bcdec")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF7BCDEC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(236, 205, 123)

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 #7bcdec · 11.79:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.78:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.79:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #7bcdec as text scores 1.78:1 on white and 11.79:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#7bcdec on white: 1.78:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#7bcdec on black: 11.79:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #BCC9EE
deuteranopia · #ABBCEC
tritanopia · #40D7D7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #7bcdec 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.

#F3F9FC
#E7F4F9
#C8E8F4
#9DDAF1
#7bcdec
#3BB5E3
#1FA4D6
#1A88B2
#156D8F
#135067
#0C3241
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F3F9FCDarkest = 950 · #0C3241
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3F9FC;
  --brand-100: #E7F4F9;
  --brand-200: #C8E8F4;
  --brand-300: #9DDAF1;
  --brand-400: #7bcdec;
  --brand-500: #3BB5E3;
  --brand-600: #1FA4D6;
  --brand-700: #1A88B2;
  --brand-800: #156D8F;
  --brand-900: #135067;
  --brand-950: #0C3241;
  --brand: #7bcdec;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #7bcdec

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#C0E0ED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B859B
Captions on the surface
Accent#B61A16
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#10556F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E9F7FC
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142024
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 #7bcdec

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#EC9A7B
Analogous left#7BECD3
Analogous right#7B94EC
Split-complement 1#EC7B94
Split-complement 2#ECD37B
Triadic 1#EC7BCD
Triadic 2#CDEC7B
Tetradic#D37BEC

RGB percentages

Red48.2%
Green80.4%
Blue92.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan47.9%
Magenta13.1%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)7.5%

Color previews

#7bcdec text on a black background

contrast 11.79:1

Card sample

#7bcdec text on a white background

contrast 1.78:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #7bcdec;
Background color
Panel with #7bcdec background
background-color: #7bcdec;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #7bcdec;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(123, 205, 236, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(123, 205, 236, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #7bcdec;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #7bcdec, #7B82EC);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #7bcdec

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.

#7bcdec 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.

#7bcdec, answered

What color is #7bcdec?

#7bcdec is a light vivid cyan, closest to Sky Blue (ΔE2000 1.4). It sits at 197° on the hue wheel with 75% saturation and 70% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #7bcdec?

rgb(123, 205, 236) — 123 red, 205 green and 236 blue out of 255, or 48.2% / 80.4% / 92.5% by channel.

Is #7bcdec a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5393 and perceived brightness is 74%, so black text on it reaches 11.79:1.

Should I use black or white text on #7bcdec?

Black. It scores 11.79:1 against #7bcdec, versus 1.78:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #7bcdec?

#EC9A7B sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #EC7B94 and #ECD37B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #7bcdec?

For interface work: #F4F9FA as the surface, #C0E0ED for borders, #4B859B for secondary text, #B61A16 as an accent and #10556F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #7BECD3 and #7B94EC stays calm, while #EC9A7B is the loudest partner.

What is #7bcdec in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(48%, 13%, 0%, 8%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #7bcdec warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 94 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #7BECE2; nudged cooler, #7ABBED.

Work with #7bcdec in the Color Lab