Tints & Shades
50
100
200
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800
900
Scale from white (50) through Dark Turquoise (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #00CED1
- RGB
- rgb(0, 206, 209)
- HSL
- hsl(181, 100%, 41%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.772 0.131 197)
- CMYK
- cmyk(100%, 1%, 0%, 18%)
--color-dark-turquoisebg-[#00CED1]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
1.95:1
On Black (#000)
10.75:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
1.79:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #00CED1
color: #00CED1
bg-[#00CED1] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #00CED1
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Garnet
#733635
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. Its deeper, richer tone gives it gravitas and sophistication, making it well-suited for primary brand colors, typography, and contexts where authority matters.
Industry Usage
Common contexts and industries where Dark Turquoise 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
Dark Turquoise is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (10.75:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #00CED1;Text
color: #00CED1;Border
border: 2px solid #00CED1;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #00CED140;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #00CED1, #65ffff);Tailwind-style
--color-dark-turquoise: #00CED1;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Dark Turquoise without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#00CED1]Text
text-[#00CED1]Border
border-[#00CED1]Ring
ring-[#00CED1]Fill
fill-[#00CED1]From (gradient)
from-[#00CED1]Via (gradient)
via-[#00CED1]To (gradient)
to-[#00CED1]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Dark Turquoise design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-dark-turquoise: #00CED1;
--color-dark-turquoise-rgb: 0, 206, 209;
--color-dark-turquoise-hsl: 181, 100%, 41%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-dark-turquoise: #00CED1; $color-dark-turquoise-rgb: 0, 206, 209; $color-dark-turquoise-hsl: 181, 100%, 41%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'dark-turquoise': '#00CED1',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-dark-turquoise: #00CED1;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"dark-turquoise": {
"value": "#00CED1",
"type": "color",
"description": "Dark Turquoise — #00CED1"
}
}More cyan colors
View all →What Does Dark Turquoise 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 #00CED1, Dark Turquoise resolves this tension as openness, a reading that makes it invaluable for brands operating at the intersection of technology and vitality.
- 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.
- Dark Turquoise's medium lightness (41%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies clarity, technology, freshness, and precision at its most direct.
- At 100% saturation, Dark Turquoise 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.
The future feels like Dark Turquoise in design systems that want to get there first.
How to Use Dark Turquoise in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
In UI design, Dark Turquoise punches above its weight. Even small applications—a chart accent, an active state indicator, a badge color—carry significant visual energy in this wavelength range.
- UI components: highlight states, data visualization accents, tech-forward CTAs—Dark Turquoise performs reliably in all these roles with its medium tonal character.
- Brand & identity: tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where Dark Turquoise's vivid quality creates the right register.
- Typography: Dark Turquoise as text requires a dark background; its 41% lightness means it provides 1.9:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
- Dark Turquoise creates strong legibility with black text overlays (10.8:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Proportional use: Dark Turquoise's vivid saturation (100%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
The future feels like Dark Turquoise in design systems that want to get there first.
Dark Turquoise Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Dark Turquoise (#00CED1) achieves a 10.75:1 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: 48.8%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 1.95:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 10.75:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Dark Turquoise background: Black (#000000) at 10.75:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 48.8% — above-median luminance—it reads as a light to mid-tone background, compatible with dark text while retaining color personality
- Dark Turquoise 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.
For production use, test Dark Turquoise against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Dark Turquoise in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Dark Turquoise's brand positioning falls squarely in the territory of clarity, technology, freshness, and precision. Industry data supports its strongest performance in technology, healthcare, water & marine categories, where the vivid saturation calibrates the message at a medium, considered level.
- 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: Dark Turquoise 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, Dark Turquoise works effectively in tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where technology serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, Dark Turquoise is a commitment to clarity, technology, freshness, and precision. Match it with industries that make that promise and it will pay dividends consistently.
Accessibility & Design Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the hex code for Dark Turquoise? ▾
- The hex code for Dark Turquoise is #00CED1. Its RGB values are rgb(0, 206, 209) and its HSL values are hsl(181, 100%, 41%).
- What does Dark Turquoise 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. Its deeper, richer tone gives it gravitas and sophistication, making it well-suited for primary brand colors, typography, and contexts where authority matters.
- Is Dark Turquoise WCAG accessible? ▾
- Dark Turquoise (#00CED1) does not pass WCAG AA on white (1.95:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 10.75:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Dark Turquoise? ▾
- Dark Turquoise pairs well with its complementary color Garnet (#733635). Analogous colors like Phthalo Green and Persian Teal also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Dark Turquoise used for? ▾
- Dark Turquoise 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 Dark Turquoise? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #00CED1` or `background-color: #00CED1`. The CSS custom property is `--color-dark-turquoise: #00CED1`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#00CED1]` for backgrounds or `text-[#00CED1]` for text.