Tints & Shades
50
100
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800
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Scale from white (50) through Ocean Cyan (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #009BC4
- RGB
- rgb(0, 155, 196)
- HSL
- hsl(193, 100%, 38%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.641 0.122 225)
- CMYK
- cmyk(100%, 21%, 0%, 23%)
--color-ocean-cyanbg-[#009BC4]Accessibility
Score: 31/100On White (#FFF)
3.24:1
On Black (#000)
6.49:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
2.97:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #009BC4
color: #009BC4
bg-[#009BC4] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #009BC4
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Burnt Sienna
#E97451
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 Ocean 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
Passes AA Large
3:1 minimum required
UI Components
Meets 1.4.11
3:1 for non-text UI
Ocean Cyan is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (6.49:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #009BC4;Text
color: #009BC4;Border
border: 2px solid #009BC4;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #009BC440;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #009BC4, #5cccf7);Tailwind-style
--color-ocean-cyan: #009BC4;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Ocean Cyan without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#009BC4]Text
text-[#009BC4]Border
border-[#009BC4]Ring
ring-[#009BC4]Fill
fill-[#009BC4]From (gradient)
from-[#009BC4]Via (gradient)
via-[#009BC4]To (gradient)
to-[#009BC4]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Ocean Cyan design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-ocean-cyan: #009BC4;
--color-ocean-cyan-rgb: 0, 155, 196;
--color-ocean-cyan-hsl: 193, 100%, 38%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-ocean-cyan: #009BC4; $color-ocean-cyan-rgb: 0, 155, 196; $color-ocean-cyan-hsl: 193, 100%, 38%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'ocean-cyan': '#009BC4',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-ocean-cyan: #009BC4;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"ocean-cyan": {
"value": "#009BC4",
"type": "color",
"description": "Ocean Cyan — #009BC4"
}
}More cyan colors
View all →What Does Ocean Cyan Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Ocean Cyan at #009BC4 has the visual quality of high-frequency light—crisp, clear, and impossible to miss in complex visual fields. This perceptual character translates directly into openness: a quality that digital designers leverage for precision highlighting and attention guidance.
- Across color psychology research, cyan consistently tests high for "precision" associations, making Ocean Cyan a reliable vehicle for openness in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on cyan-family tones to project modernity and innovation—values that Ocean Cyan communicates in a deep key.
- At 100% saturation, Ocean 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.
- Ocean Cyan's deep lightness (38%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies clarity, technology, freshness, and precision at its most direct.
Precision is Ocean Cyan's promise. When that's what the design needs to communicate, nothing else does it better.
How to Use Ocean Cyan in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
The design flexibility of Ocean 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.
- Avoid: traditional or heritage brands, warm and artisanal contexts, and food packaging (no natural cyan foods).
- Color harmonies: Ocean Cyan's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Ocean 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.
- Ocean Cyan creates strong legibility with black text overlays (6.5:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Ocean Cyan as text requires a dark background; its 38% lightness means it provides 3.2:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
Precision is Ocean Cyan's promise. When that's what the design needs to communicate, nothing else does it better.
Ocean Cyan Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Ocean Cyan (#009BC4) reaches 6.49:1 contrast with black text—meeting WCAG 2.1 AA minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. It clears standard production accessibility requirements. Relative luminance: 27.4%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 3.24:1 — AA (large text only)
- As text on black (#000000): 6.49:1 — AA ✓
- Best text color on Ocean Cyan background: Black (#000000) at 6.49:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 27.4% — 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
- Ocean Cyan qualifies for normal body text and all larger sizes (AA).
- 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.
Ocean Cyan's WCAG profile makes it a compliant choice for most text applications.
Ocean Cyan in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
Across industry research, cyan-family tones consistently outperform competitors in categories built on clarity, technology, freshness, and precision. Ocean Cyan is a deep 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: Headspace, One Medical, 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: Ocean Cyan 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, Ocean Cyan works effectively in tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where clarity serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
Ocean Cyan 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 Ocean Cyan? ▾
- The hex code for Ocean Cyan is #009BC4. Its RGB values are rgb(0, 155, 196) and its HSL values are hsl(193, 100%, 38%).
- What does Ocean 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. Its deeper, richer tone gives it gravitas and sophistication, making it well-suited for primary brand colors, typography, and contexts where authority matters.
- Is Ocean Cyan WCAG accessible? ▾
- Ocean Cyan (#009BC4) passes WCAG AA-large on white with a 3.24:1 contrast ratio. Its overall accessibility score is 31/100.
- What colors go well with Ocean Cyan? ▾
- Ocean Cyan pairs well with its complementary color Burnt Sienna (#E97451). Analogous colors like Hooker's Green and Verdigris Teal also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Ocean Cyan used for? ▾
- Ocean 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 Ocean Cyan? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #009BC4` or `background-color: #009BC4`. The CSS custom property is `--color-ocean-cyan: #009BC4`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#009BC4]` for backgrounds or `text-[#009BC4]` for text.