Tints & Shades
50
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800
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Scale from white (50) through Caribbean Blue (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #1CA9C9
- RGB
- rgb(28, 169, 201)
- HSL
- hsl(191, 76%, 45%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.68 0.118 219)
- CMYK
- cmyk(86%, 16%, 0%, 21%)
--color-caribbean-bluebg-[#1CA9C9]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
2.77:1
On Black (#000)
7.57:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
2.55:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #1CA9C9
color: #1CA9C9
bg-[#1CA9C9] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #1CA9C9
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Poppy
#E35335
Split-Complementary
Similar Colors
Color Meaning & Psychology
Cyan sits between blue and green at the edge of visible light and is the color the eye uses to adjust from warm to cool light. It feels technological, clean, and forward-thinking. In printing, cyan is a primary process color (CMYK), giving it an association with professional reproduction and precision. In design, bright cyan signals digital interfaces, clean tech, and innovation. Lighter cyans feel fresh and airy; deeper cyans approach teal's sophistication. Cyan's primary cultural associations are ocean, ice, and digital displays. It is widely used in healthcare technology brands because it combines blue's trust with green's health connotations without the blandness of either on their own. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Caribbean Blue is applied in professional design.
- Digital technology and software products
- Water sports and aquatic brands
- Clean energy and sustainability companies
- Healthcare data visualization tools
- Modern media and streaming services
- Virtual reality and immersive tech brands
- Aerospace and precision technology
- Clinical data and diagnostic imaging products
Accessibility Considerations
Normal Text
Fails AA
4.5:1 minimum required
Large Text
Fails AA Large
3:1 minimum required
UI Components
Check contrast
3:1 for non-text UI
Caribbean Blue is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (7.57:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #1CA9C9;Text
color: #1CA9C9;Border
border: 2px solid #1CA9C9;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #1CA9C940;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1CA9C9, #65dbfc);Tailwind-style
--color-caribbean-blue: #1CA9C9;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Caribbean Blue without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#1CA9C9]Text
text-[#1CA9C9]Border
border-[#1CA9C9]Ring
ring-[#1CA9C9]Fill
fill-[#1CA9C9]From (gradient)
from-[#1CA9C9]Via (gradient)
via-[#1CA9C9]To (gradient)
to-[#1CA9C9]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Caribbean Blue design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-caribbean-blue: #1CA9C9;
--color-caribbean-blue-rgb: 28, 169, 201;
--color-caribbean-blue-hsl: 191, 76%, 45%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-caribbean-blue: #1CA9C9; $color-caribbean-blue-rgb: 28, 169, 201; $color-caribbean-blue-hsl: 191, 76%, 45%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'caribbean-blue': '#1CA9C9',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-caribbean-blue: #1CA9C9;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"caribbean-blue": {
"value": "#1CA9C9",
"type": "color",
"description": "Caribbean Blue — #1CA9C9"
}
}More cyan colors
View all →What Does Caribbean Blue Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Cyan occupies a psychologically unusual space: it's simultaneously cool and energizing, precise and fresh—qualities that don't usually coexist in color psychology. At #1CA9C9, Caribbean Blue resolves this tension as openness, a reading that makes it invaluable for brands operating at the intersection of technology and vitality.
- Across color psychology research, cyan consistently tests high for "precision" associations, making Caribbean Blue a reliable vehicle for openness in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on cyan-family tones to project modernity and innovation—values that Caribbean Blue communicates in a medium key.
- At 76% saturation, Caribbean Blue reads as moderately saturated—neither overwhelming nor passive, landing in the clarity, technology, freshness, and precision zone with measured confidence.
- Caribbean Blue's medium lightness (45%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies clarity, technology, freshness, and precision at its most direct.
Caribbean Blue is where technology and clarity meet—use it where you need users to feel precisely oriented and forward-looking.
How to Use Caribbean Blue in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
Caribbean Blue is a natural fit for any design system that wants to signal technology without falling back on blue. It adds a freshness and precision that differentiates tech-forward brands from their more conventional competitors.
- Avoid: traditional or heritage brands, warm and artisanal contexts, and food packaging (no natural cyan foods).
- Color harmonies: Caribbean Blue's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Caribbean Blue's moderately saturated saturation (76%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
- Caribbean Blue creates strong legibility with black text overlays (7.6:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Caribbean Blue as text requires a dark background; its 45% lightness means it provides 2.8:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
Caribbean Blue is where technology and clarity meet—use it where you need users to feel precisely oriented and forward-looking.
Caribbean Blue Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Caribbean Blue (#1CA9C9) achieves a 7.57:1 contrast ratio with black text, surpassing the WCAG 2.1 AAA threshold of 7:1. This exceptional contrast qualifies it for body text, UI components at any size, and all accessibility-sensitive interface contexts. Relative luminance: 32.8%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 2.77:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 7.57:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Caribbean Blue background: Black (#000000) at 7.57:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 32.8% — mid-range luminance—it sits in the transition zone where both dark and light text approaches require testing against the 4.5:1 WCAG threshold
- Caribbean Blue qualifies for all text sizes including small body copy (AAA).
- Color blindness consideration: tritanopia (blue-yellow color blindness, ~0.003% of population) may affect how this color reads. While rare, for maximum accessibility supplement color signals with text or icon indicators in critical states.
Always verify Caribbean Blue at its final intended size and weight using a real contrast checker—font weight and rendering environment affect perceived legibility beyond what raw ratios capture.
Caribbean Blue in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Across industry research, cyan-family tones consistently outperform competitors in categories built on clarity, technology, freshness, and precision. Caribbean Blue is a medium expression of this advantage—best positioned in Technology & Software and adjacent markets.
- Technology & Software: Cyan's additive light origins make it inherently digital—it's literally the color of screens. Tech brands use it to signal cutting-edge, screen-native products and the precision of digital systems. (examples: Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce) Works especially well in dark-mode interfaces where cyan provides high contrast and futuristic character.
- Healthcare & Medical Imaging: Medical imaging technology (X-rays, ultrasounds, 3D scans) frequently uses cyan highlighting for precision and clarity. Healthcare tech brands have adopted this association to signal clinical precision in digital health products. (examples: CVS Health, Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente) Pairs naturally with white and dark gray for a medical-precision aesthetic.
- Clean Energy & Environment: Clean energy brands use cyan to signal the intersection of technology and environmental consciousness—the "clean" tech positioning that neither pure green (environmental emphasis) nor pure blue (tech emphasis) fully achieves alone. Cyan-to-green gradients have become a shorthand for clean tech and sustainable innovation.
- Brand positioning: Caribbean Blue is best suited for brands projecting precision, technology, clarity. Categories outside this positioning—traditional or heritage brands—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Caribbean Blue works effectively in tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where technology serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
Caribbean Blue earns its strongest ROI in industries where trust and recognition compound over time: Technology & Software, Healthcare & Medical Imaging, Clean Energy & Environment. Use it to build the kind of brand recognition that decades reinforce.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Caribbean Blue? ▾
- The hex code for Caribbean Blue is #1CA9C9. Its RGB values are rgb(28, 169, 201) and its HSL values are hsl(191, 76%, 45%).
- What does Caribbean Blue mean in design? ▾
- Cyan sits between blue and green at the edge of visible light and is the color the eye uses to adjust from warm to cool light. It feels technological, clean, and forward-thinking. In printing, cyan is a primary process color (CMYK), giving it an association with professional reproduction and precision. In design, bright cyan signals digital interfaces, clean tech, and innovation. Lighter cyans feel fresh and airy; deeper cyans approach teal's sophistication. Cyan's primary cultural associations are ocean, ice, and digital displays. It is widely used in healthcare technology brands because it combines blue's trust with green's health connotations without the blandness of either on their own. At medium lightness, it is the most versatile tone of this hue family — readable as text on light backgrounds, yet vibrant enough as a visual accent.
- Is Caribbean Blue WCAG accessible? ▾
- Caribbean Blue (#1CA9C9) does not pass WCAG AA on white (2.77:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 7.57:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Caribbean Blue? ▾
- Caribbean Blue pairs well with its complementary color Poppy (#E35335). Analogous colors like Viridian and Light Teal also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Caribbean Blue used for? ▾
- Caribbean Blue is commonly used for: Digital technology and software products; Water sports and aquatic brands; Clean energy and sustainability companies; Healthcare data visualization tools; Modern media and streaming services.
- What are the CSS and Tailwind values for Caribbean Blue? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #1CA9C9` or `background-color: #1CA9C9`. The CSS custom property is `--color-caribbean-blue: #1CA9C9`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#1CA9C9]` for backgrounds or `text-[#1CA9C9]` for text.