Tints & Shades
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Scale from white (50) through Cyan (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #00FFFF
- RGB
- rgb(0, 255, 255)
- HSL
- hsl(180, 100%, 50%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.905 0.155 195)
- CMYK
- cmyk(100%, 0%, 0%, 0%)
--color-cyanbg-[#00FFFF]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
1.25:1
On Black (#000)
16.75:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
1.15:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #00FFFF
color: #00FFFF
bg-[#00FFFF] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #00FFFF
Color Harmonies
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 Cyan 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
Cyan is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (16.75:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #00FFFF;Text
color: #00FFFF;Border
border: 2px solid #00FFFF;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #00FFFF40;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #00FFFF, #72ffff);Tailwind-style
--color-cyan: #00FFFF;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Cyan without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#00FFFF]Text
text-[#00FFFF]Border
border-[#00FFFF]Ring
ring-[#00FFFF]Fill
fill-[#00FFFF]From (gradient)
from-[#00FFFF]Via (gradient)
via-[#00FFFF]To (gradient)
to-[#00FFFF]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Cyan design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-cyan: #00FFFF;
--color-cyan-rgb: 0, 255, 255;
--color-cyan-hsl: 180, 100%, 50%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-cyan: #00FFFF; $color-cyan-rgb: 0, 255, 255; $color-cyan-hsl: 180, 100%, 50%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'cyan': '#00FFFF',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-cyan: #00FFFF;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"cyan": {
"value": "#00FFFF",
"type": "color",
"description": "Cyan — #00FFFF"
}
}More cyan colors
View all →What Does Cyan Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Cyan (#00FFFF) registers as one of the most distinctly technological colors in the human visual system—a quality that traces to its role as one of the three primary colors of additive light (RGB). Design uses this association to project technology: a quality that feels native to screens, data, and precision systems.
- Cyan occupies a distinctive visual space as a pure, bright blue-green that reads as technological, precise, and high-tech. It's heavily associated with digital screens (cyan is one of the primary colors in additive light mixing) and carries strong tech-forward and futuristic connotations.
- Cyan-adjacent turquoise holds deep significance in Southwestern Native American cultures, representing protection, health, and the sky. In Persian tradition, the color is considered sacred and protective. These associations root the color in elemental, protective significance.
- Cyan's medium lightness (50%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies clarity, technology, freshness, and precision at its most direct.
- At 100% saturation, Cyan reads as vivid—Pure vivid cyan is the color of screens, lasers, and science fiction—among the most technologically coded colors in human design vocabulary.
Precision is Cyan's promise. When that's what the design needs to communicate, nothing else does it better.
How to Use Cyan in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
The design flexibility of Cyan is notable: it works in both light and dark interfaces, both clinical and consumer contexts, and as both primary and accent color—a range that few other bright tones match.
- UI components: highlight states, data visualization accents, tech-forward CTAs—Cyan performs reliably in all these roles with its medium tonal character.
- Brand & identity: tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where Cyan's vivid quality creates the right register.
- Typography: Cyan as text requires a dark background; its 50% lightness means it provides 1.3:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
- Cyan creates strong legibility with black text overlays (16.8:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Proportional use: Cyan's vivid saturation (100%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
Precision is Cyan's promise. When that's what the design needs to communicate, nothing else does it better.
Cyan Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Cyan (#00FFFF) achieves a 16.75:1 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: 78.7%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 1.25:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 16.75:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Cyan background: Black (#000000) at 16.75:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 78.7% — high-luminance (near-white)—it provides excellent readability for dark text overlays and integrates naturally into light design systems
- Cyan 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.
Cyan's WCAG profile makes it a compliant choice for most text applications.
Cyan in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Cyan (#00FFFF) is most at home in industries where clarity, technology, freshness, and precision are key brand values. Its medium quality makes it particularly effective in Technology & Software contexts, where the vivid saturation signals freshness at exactly the right register.
- 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: Notion, Slack, 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: Cyan is best suited for brands projecting modernity, innovation, clarity. Categories outside this positioning—traditional or heritage brands—tend to see weaker results.
- Adjacent applications: Beyond primary industries, Cyan works effectively in social platform accents, clean energy brands, cyberpunk and sci-fi aesthetics—contexts where freshness serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
The industries where Cyan performs best are those where the audience expects freshness. Build brand strategy around this alignment, not against it.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Cyan? ▾
- The hex code for Cyan is #00FFFF. Its RGB values are rgb(0, 255, 255) and its HSL values are hsl(180, 100%, 50%).
- What does Cyan 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 Cyan WCAG accessible? ▾
- Cyan (#00FFFF) does not pass WCAG AA on white (1.25:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 16.75:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Cyan? ▾
- Cyan pairs well with its complementary color Red (#FF0000). Analogous colors like Mint Cream and Opal also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Cyan used for? ▾
- Cyan 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 Cyan? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #00FFFF` or `background-color: #00FFFF`. The CSS custom property is `--color-cyan: #00FFFF`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#00FFFF]` for backgrounds or `text-[#00FFFF]` for text.