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cyan · cool

#83abb4

a balanced, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Cadet Blue

Token name suggestion: True Teal

RGB
131, 171, 180
HSL
191°, 25%, 61%
CMYK
27, 5, 0, 29
Luminance
0.3725

#83abb4 is a balanced soft cyan, 191° on the wheel and 80/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.45:1). As text it scores 2.49:1 on white — use #517C85 instead. Nearest name is Cadet Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(191 25% 61%)rgb(131 171 180)Base step 500AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #83abb4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#83abb4
Hue
191°
cyan
Saturation
25%
soft
Lightness
61%
balanced
Brightness
71%
HSV value
Perceived
63%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3725
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
80/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.45:1
Closest name
Cadet Blue
ΔE2000 8.3
Chroma
14.5
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.715
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 11
Web-safe
#9999CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue191° of 360°
Saturation25%
Lightness61%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #83abb4.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool80% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Luminance by channel
Red13%
Green78%
Blue9%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#83abb4
HEX (8-digit)#83abb4ff
RGBrgb(131, 171, 180)
RGBArgba(131, 171, 180, 1)
HSLhsl(191, 25%, 61%)
HSV / HSBhsv(191, 27%, 71%)
HWBhwb(191 51% 29%)
CMYKcmyk(27%, 5%, 0%, 29%)
LABlab(67.5 -11.3 -9.0)
LCHlch(67.5 14.5 218.5)
OKLCHoklch(0.715 0.045 213.0)
XYZ (D65)xyz(32.16, 37.24, 48.67)
Decimal8629172
Display P3color(display-p3 0.514 0.671 0.706)
Web-safe#9999CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #83abb4;
background-color: #83abb4;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #83abb4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#83abb4] bg-[#83abb4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #83abb4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.514, green: 0.671, blue: 0.706)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.514, green: 0.671, blue: 0.706, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#83ABB4</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF83ABB4)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF83ABB4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(180, 171, 131)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(131, 171, 180)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(131, 171, 180)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 131, 171, 180)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5137f, 0.6706f, 0.7059f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{131,171,180}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #83abb4 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #83abb4 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#304A4F, #D9E5E8);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #83abb4 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F8F9;
  --brand-100: #EDF2F3;
  --brand-200: #D7E2E5;
  --brand-300: #B9D0D5;
  --brand-400: #96B8C0;
  --brand-500: #83abb4;
  --brand-600: #5C8D99;
  --brand-700: #4D767F;
  --brand-800: #3E5E66;
  --brand-900: #2F464B;
  --brand-950: #1E2C2F;
  --brand: #83abb4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F9F9;
  --brand-border: #CCDDE0;
  --brand-hover: #6D9CA7;
  --brand-pressed: #5A8B95;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #152023;
    --brand-ink: #D9E5E8;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F8F9',
        100: '#EDF2F3',
        200: '#D7E2E5',
        300: '#B9D0D5',
        400: '#96B8C0',
        500: '#83abb4',
        600: '#5C8D99',
        700: '#4D767F',
        800: '#3E5E66',
        900: '#2F464B',
        950: '#1E2C2F',
        DEFAULT: '#83abb4',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F8F9,
  '100': #EDF2F3,
  '200': #D7E2E5,
  '300': #B9D0D5,
  '400': #96B8C0,
  '500': #83abb4,
  '600': #5C8D99,
  '700': #4D767F,
  '800': #3E5E66,
  '900': #2F464B,
  '950': #1E2C2F,
);
$brand-base: #83abb4;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F8F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EDF2F3", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D7E2E5", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B9D0D5", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#96B8C0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#83abb4", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5C8D99", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#4D767F", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3E5E66", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2F464B", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1E2C2F", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #83abb4 · 8.45:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.49:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.45:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #83abb4 as text scores 2.49:1 on white and 8.45:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #304A4F at 3.81:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#517C85 · 4.59:1
AA on white−19% L
#517C85
The quick fox
#3E5E66 · 7.01:1
AAA on white−29% L
#3E5E66
The quick fox
#83abb4 · 8.45:1
AA on blackalready passes
#83abb4
The quick fox
#83abb4 · 8.45:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#83abb4

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #6D9CA7 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#83abb4 on white: 2.49:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#83abb4 on black: 8.45:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #83abb4 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #83abb4.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.49:1AaAa
Slate 502.38:1AaAa
Slate 1002.27:1AaAa
Slate 2002.02:1AaAa
Slate 3001.67:1AaAa
Slate 4001.03:1AaAa
Slate 5001.91:1AaAa
Slate 6003.05:1AaAa
Slate 7004.17:1AaAa
Slate 8005.89:1AaAa
Slate 9007.18:1AaAa
Black8.45:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #A4A8B5
deuteranopia · #9BA2B4
tritanopia · #73AFAE

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #83abb4 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.

#F6F8F9
#EDF2F3
#D7E2E5
#B9D0D5
#96B8C0
#83abb4
#5C8D99
#4D767F
#3E5E66
#2F464B
#1E2C2F
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F6F8F9Darkest = 950 · #1E2C2FText step on white = 700
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.011 213.0);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.018 213.0);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.027 213.0);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.035 213.0);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.041 213.0);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.045 213.0);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.045 213.0);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.042 213.0);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.038 213.0);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.032 213.0);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.025 213.0);
}

Colors that work with #83abb4

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#F5F9F9
Tinted page background
Border#CCDDE0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#57858F
Captions on the surface
Accent#B87F83
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#304A4F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF4F5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#152023
Dark-mode background
Hover#6D9CA7
One step down in lightness
Pressed#5A8B95
Two steps down
Disabled#CADADD
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#87B9C5
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #83abb4

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
  • Chart series and data categories
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #304A4F
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #6D9CA7

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

cleantechnicalfreshclinical

Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The mid lightness keeps it versatile in both themes.

Worth knowing

At high lightness it disappears into white surfaces and thin strokes vanish entirely.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight39/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#B48C83
Analogous left#83B4A5
Analogous right#8393B4
Split-complement 1#B48393
Split-complement 2#B4A583
Triadic 1#B483AB
Triadic 2#ABB483
Tetradic#A583B4
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°191°

#83abb4 sits at 191°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red51.4%
Green67.1%
Blue70.6%
R · 0–255
131
0x83
G · 0–255
171
0xab
B · 0–255
180
0xb4

CMYK percentages

Cyan27.2%
Magenta5.0%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)29.4%

Total ink coverage is 62%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#83abb4 text on a black background

contrast 8.45:1

Card sample

#83abb4 text on a white background

contrast 2.49:1

Card sample

#83abb4 on grey

2.27:1

#83abb4 on its own surface

2.34:1

#83abb4 on its dark surface

6.69:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #83abb4;
Background color
Panel with #83abb4 background
background-color: #83abb4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #83abb4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(131, 171, 180, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(131, 171, 180, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #83abb4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #83abb4, #838AB4);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #83abb4, #8883B4);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #83abb4;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #83abb4;
caret-color: #83abb4;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #83abb4;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF4F5;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #83abb4;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#83abb4 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #83abb4 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(131, 171, 180, 0.5)
rgb(131 171 180 / 50%)
#83abb480
hsl(191 25% 61% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #83abb4 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#83abb41a#F3F7F8
20%#83abb433#E6EEF0
40%#83abb466#CDDDE1
60%#83abb499#B5CDD2
80%#83abb4cc#9CBCC3

Gradients from #83abb4

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #A9C5CB, #83abb4 45%, #304A4F);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #83abb4, #7074A8);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #83abb4, #B48C83);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #BCD2D7 0%, #83abb4 45%, #304A4F 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F9F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #A3C7B9 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #96A0C0 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #304A4F 0%, transparent 65%), #83abb4;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #83abb4

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#83abb4 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 8.45:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#83abb4, answered

What color is #83abb4?

#83abb4 is a balanced soft cyan, closest to Cadet Blue (ΔE2000 8.3). It sits at 191° on the hue wheel with 25% saturation and 61% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #83abb4?

rgb(131, 171, 180) — 131 red, 171 green and 180 blue out of 255, or 51.4% / 67.1% / 70.6% by channel.

What is #83abb4 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(191, 25%, 61%) and hsv(191, 27%, 71%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #83abb4 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3725 and perceived brightness is 63%, so black text on it reaches 8.45:1.

Should I use black or white text on #83abb4?

Black. It scores 8.45:1 against #83abb4, versus 2.49:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #83abb4 accessible on a white background?

#83abb4 on white scores 2.49:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #517C85 to reach 4.5:1, or #3E5E66 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #83abb4?

#B48C83 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B48393 and #B4A583, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #83abb4?

For interface work: #F5F9F9 as the surface, #CCDDE0 for borders, #57858F for secondary text, #B87F83 as an accent and #304A4F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #83B4A5 and #8393B4 stays calm, while #B48C83 is the loudest partner.

What is #83abb4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(27%, 5%, 0%, 29%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #83abb4 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 80 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #83B4AB; nudged cooler, #819EB6.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #83abb4?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 11 away. That is a visible difference, so define #83abb4 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #83abb4 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#83abb4] or text-[#83abb4], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #83abb4 with 50% opacity?

rgba(131, 171, 180, 0.5), or #83abb480 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #C1D5DA; over black, #42565A.

Is #83abb4 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #9999CC, ΔE2000 20.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #83abb4 mean?

As a cyan, it reads clean, technical, fresh. Cyan reads as water, air and infrastructure: cool, hygienic, engineered. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #83abb4?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #A9C5CB, #83abb4 45%, #304A4F). For more colour, a short hue run to #7074A8 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #83abb4 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #83abb4 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.