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cyan · cool

#86baad

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

Token name suggestion: Studio Reef

RGB
134, 186, 173
HSL
165°, 27%, 63%
CMYK
28, 0, 7, 27
Luminance
0.4320

#86baad is a balanced soft cyan, 165° on the wheel and 74/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (9.64:1). As text it scores 2.18:1 on white — use #498173 instead. Nearest name is Medium Aqua Marine, nearest Tailwind family is teal.

hsl(165 27% 63%)rgb(134 186 173)Base step 400AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #86baad is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#86baad
Hue
165°
cyan
Saturation
27%
soft
Lightness
63%
balanced
Brightness
73%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4320
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
74/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.64:1
Closest name
Medium Aqua Marine
ΔE2000 9.5
Chroma
19.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.749
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
teal
500 · ΔE 10.2
Web-safe
#99CC99
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue165° of 360°
Saturation27%
Lightness63%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #86baad.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool74% 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
Red12%
Green81%
Blue7%

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

Every format

HEX#86baad
HEX (8-digit)#86baadff
RGBrgb(134, 186, 173)
RGBArgba(134, 186, 173, 1)
HSLhsl(165, 27%, 63%)
HSV / HSBhsv(165, 28%, 73%)
HWBhwb(165 53% 27%)
CMYKcmyk(28%, 0%, 7%, 27%)
LABlab(71.7 -19.8 1.1)
LCHlch(71.7 19.9 176.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.749 0.058 177.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(34.93, 43.20, 46.03)
Decimal8829613
Display P3color(display-p3 0.525 0.729 0.678)
Web-safe#99CC99

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #86baad;
background-color: #86baad;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #86baad;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#86baad] bg-[#86baad]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #86baad;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.525, green: 0.729, blue: 0.678)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.525, green: 0.729, blue: 0.678, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#86BAAD</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFF86BAAD)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF86BAAD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(173, 186, 134)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(134, 186, 173)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(134, 186, 173)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 134, 186, 173)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.5255f, 0.7294f, 0.6784f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{134,186,173}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #86baad 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #86baad 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2E5148, #D8E9E5);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #86baad 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: #F6F9F8;
  --brand-100: #ECF3F1;
  --brand-200: #D6E6E2;
  --brand-300: #B8D6CF;
  --brand-400: #86baad;
  --brand-500: #70AE9E;
  --brand-600: #599C8B;
  --brand-700: #4A8274;
  --brand-800: #3B685D;
  --brand-900: #2E4D45;
  --brand-950: #1D302B;
  --brand: #86baad;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F9F8;
  --brand-border: #CBE1DC;
  --brand-hover: #6FAD9E;
  --brand-pressed: #5A9E8D;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #142420;
    --brand-ink: #D8E9E5;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F9F8',
        100: '#ECF3F1',
        200: '#D6E6E2',
        300: '#B8D6CF',
        400: '#86baad',
        500: '#70AE9E',
        600: '#599C8B',
        700: '#4A8274',
        800: '#3B685D',
        900: '#2E4D45',
        950: '#1D302B',
        DEFAULT: '#86baad',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F9F8,
  '100': #ECF3F1,
  '200': #D6E6E2,
  '300': #B8D6CF,
  '400': #86baad,
  '500': #70AE9E,
  '600': #599C8B,
  '700': #4A8274,
  '800': #3B685D,
  '900': #2E4D45,
  '950': #1D302B,
);
$brand-base: #86baad;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F9F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#ECF3F1", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D6E6E2", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B8D6CF", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#86baad", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#70AE9E", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#599C8B", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#4A8274", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3B685D", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2E4D45", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1D302B", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #86baad · 9.64:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.18:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.64:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #86baad as text scores 2.18:1 on white and 9.64:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2E5148 at 4.04:1.

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
#498173 · 4.50:1
AA on white−23% L
#498173
The quick fox
#376056 · 7.07:1
AAA on white−33% L
#376056
The quick fox
#86baad · 9.64:1
AA on blackalready passes
#86baad
The quick fox
#86baad · 9.64:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#86baad

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #5CA190 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
#86baad on white: 2.18:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#86baad on black: 9.64:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #86baad as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #86baad.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.18:1AaAa
Slate 502.08:1AaAa
Slate 1001.99:1AaAa
Slate 2001.77:1AaAa
Slate 3001.47:1AaAa
Slate 4001.18:1AaAa
Slate 5002.18:1AaAa
Slate 6003.48:1AaAa
Slate 7004.75:1AaAa
Slate 8006.72:1AaAa
Slate 9008.20:1AaAa
Black9.64:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #B6B4AC
deuteranopia · #ACADAE
tritanopia · #78BCB6

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. #86baad 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.

#F6F9F8
#ECF3F1
#D6E6E2
#B8D6CF
#86baad
#70AE9E
#599C8B
#4A8274
#3B685D
#2E4D45
#1D302B
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1D302BText step on white = 800
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 0.014 177.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.023 177.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.035 177.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.045 177.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.053 177.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.058 177.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.058 177.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.054 177.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.049 177.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.040 177.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.032 177.4);
}

Colors that work with #86baad

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#F5F9F8
Tinted page background
Border#CBE1DC
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#539282
Captions on the surface
Accent#864666
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2E5148
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF6F4
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142420
Dark-mode background
Hover#6FAD9E
One step down in lightness
Pressed#5A9E8D
Two steps down
Disabled#CFE1DC
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#8ACABA
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 #86baad

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 #2E5148
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #5CA190

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
  • Weight37/100
  • 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#BA8693
Analogous left#86BA93
Analogous right#86ADBA
Split-complement 1#BA86AD
Split-complement 2#BA9386
Triadic 1#AD86BA
Triadic 2#BAAD86
Tetradic#9386BA
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°165°

#86baad sits at 165°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red52.5%
Green72.9%
Blue67.8%
R · 0–255
134
0x86
G · 0–255
186
0xba
B · 0–255
173
0xad

CMYK percentages

Cyan28.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow7.0%
Key (black)27.1%

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

Color previews

#86baad text on a black background

contrast 9.64:1

Card sample

#86baad text on a white background

contrast 2.18:1

Card sample

#86baad on grey

1.99:1

#86baad on its own surface

2.05:1

#86baad on its dark surface

7.40:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #86baad;
Background color
Panel with #86baad background
background-color: #86baad;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #86baad;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(134, 186, 173, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(134, 186, 173, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #86baad;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #86baad, #86A4BA);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #86baad, #8697BA);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #86baad;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #86baad;
caret-color: #86baad;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #86baad;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF6F4;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #86baad;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#86baad 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #86baad 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(134, 186, 173, 0.5)
rgb(134 186 173 / 50%)
#86baad80
hsl(165 27% 63% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #86baad 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#86baad1a#F3F8F7
20%#86baad33#E7F1EF
40%#86baad66#CFE3DE
60%#86baad99#B6D6CE
80%#86baadcc#9EC8BD

Gradients from #86baad

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, #ADD0C7, #86baad 45%, #2E5148);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #86baad, #7291AF);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #86baad, #BA8693);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #C0DBD5 0%, #86baad 45%, #2E5148 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F9F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #A6CCAD 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #99B6C5 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2E5148 0%, transparent 65%), #86baad;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #86baad

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.

#86baad 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 9.64:1.

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.

#86baad, answered

What color is #86baad?

#86baad is a balanced soft cyan, closest to Medium Aqua Marine (ΔE2000 9.5). It sits at 165° on the hue wheel with 27% saturation and 63% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #86baad?

rgb(134, 186, 173) — 134 red, 186 green and 173 blue out of 255, or 52.5% / 72.9% / 67.8% by channel.

What is #86baad in HSL and HSV?

hsl(165, 27%, 63%) and hsv(165, 28%, 73%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #86baad a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4320 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 9.64:1.

Should I use black or white text on #86baad?

Black. It scores 9.64:1 against #86baad, versus 2.18:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #86baad accessible on a white background?

#86baad on white scores 2.18:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #498173 to reach 4.5:1, or #376056 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #86baad?

#BA8693 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BA86AD and #BA9386, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #86baad?

For interface work: #F5F9F8 as the surface, #CBE1DC for borders, #539282 for secondary text, #864666 as an accent and #2E5148 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #86BA93 and #86ADBA stays calm, while #BA8693 is the loudest partner.

What is #86baad in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(28%, 0%, 7%, 27%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #86baad warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 74 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #86BA9A; nudged cooler, #84B5BC.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #86baad?

The teal family — its 500 step is #14b8a6, ΔE2000 10.2 away. That is a visible difference, so define #86baad as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #86baad in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#86baad] or text-[#86baad], 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 #86baad with 50% opacity?

rgba(134, 186, 173, 0.5), or #86baad80 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #C3DDD6; over black, #435D57.

Is #86baad a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #99CC99, ΔE2000 12.3 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #86baad 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 #86baad?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #ADD0C7, #86baad 45%, #2E5148). For more colour, a short hue run to #7291AF keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #86baad in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #86baad at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.