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#8eb6ab

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

RGB
142, 182, 171
HSL
164°, 22%, 64%
CMYK
22, 0, 6, 29
Luminance
0.4215

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #8eb6ab is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#8eb6ab
Hue
164°
cyan
Saturation
22%
soft
Lightness
64%
balanced
Brightness
71%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4215
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
69/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
9.43:1
Closest name
Cadet Blue
ΔE2000 10.4
Where it sits
Hue164° of 360°
Saturation22%
Lightness64%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool69% 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#8eb6ab
RGBrgb(142, 182, 171)
HSLhsl(164, 22%, 64%)
CMYKcmyk(22%, 0%, 6%, 29%)
LABlab(71.0 -15.7 1.2)
LCHlch(71.0 15.8 175.6)
OKLCHoklch(0.744 0.046 176.3)
Decimal9352875
Display P3color(display-p3 0.557 0.714 0.671)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #8eb6ab;
background-color: #8eb6ab;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#8eb6ab] bg-[#8eb6ab]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #8eb6ab;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.557, green: 0.714, blue: 0.671)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#8eb6ab")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF8EB6AB)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(171, 182, 142)

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 #8eb6ab · 9.43:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.23:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 9.43:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #8eb6ab as text scores 2.23:1 on white and 9.43:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#8eb6ab on white: 2.23:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#8eb6ab on black: 9.43:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #B3B1AB
deuteranopia · #ABABAC
tritanopia · #84B7B3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #8eb6ab 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
#EDF2F1
#D8E4E1
#BBD3CC
#8eb6ab
#77A79A
#609586
#507C70
#406359
#314943
#1F2E2A
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1F2E2A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F9F8;
  --brand-100: #EDF2F1;
  --brand-200: #D8E4E1;
  --brand-300: #BBD3CC;
  --brand-400: #8eb6ab;
  --brand-500: #77A79A;
  --brand-600: #609586;
  --brand-700: #507C70;
  --brand-800: #406359;
  --brand-900: #314943;
  --brand-950: #1F2E2A;
  --brand: #8eb6ab;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #8eb6ab

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#F6F9F8
Tinted page background
Border#CDDFDA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#5A8B7E
Captions on the surface
Accent#804C67
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#324D46
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0F5F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#16221F
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 #8eb6ab

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
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

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#B68E99
Analogous left#8EB697
Analogous right#8EADB6
Split-complement 1#B68EAD
Split-complement 2#B6978E
Triadic 1#AB8EB6
Triadic 2#B6AB8E
Tetradic#978EB6

RGB percentages

Red55.7%
Green71.4%
Blue67.1%

CMYK percentages

Cyan22.0%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow6.0%
Key (black)28.6%

Color previews

#8eb6ab text on a black background

contrast 9.43:1

Card sample

#8eb6ab text on a white background

contrast 2.23:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #8eb6ab;
Background color
Panel with #8eb6ab background
background-color: #8eb6ab;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #8eb6ab;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(142, 182, 171, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(142, 182, 171, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #8eb6ab;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #8eb6ab, #8EA6B6);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #8eb6ab

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.

#8eb6ab 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.

#8eb6ab, answered

What color is #8eb6ab?

#8eb6ab is a balanced soft cyan, closest to Cadet Blue (ΔE2000 10.4). It sits at 164° on the hue wheel with 22% saturation and 64% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #8eb6ab?

rgb(142, 182, 171) — 142 red, 182 green and 171 blue out of 255, or 55.7% / 71.4% / 67.1% by channel.

Is #8eb6ab a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4215 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 9.43:1.

Should I use black or white text on #8eb6ab?

Black. It scores 9.43:1 against #8eb6ab, versus 2.23:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #8eb6ab?

#B68E99 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #B68EAD and #B6978E, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #8eb6ab?

For interface work: #F6F9F8 as the surface, #CDDFDA for borders, #5A8B7E for secondary text, #804C67 as an accent and #324D46 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #8EB697 and #8EADB6 stays calm, while #B68E99 is the loudest partner.

What is #8eb6ab in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(22%, 0%, 6%, 29%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #8eb6ab warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 69 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #8EB69C; nudged cooler, #8CB4B8.

Work with #8eb6ab in the Color Lab