Tints & Shades
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Scale from white (50) through Turquoise (500) to black (900), interpolated in Lab color space.
Color Values
- HEX
- #40E0D0
- RGB
- rgb(64, 224, 208)
- HSL
- hsl(174, 72%, 56%)
- OKLCH
- oklch(0.822 0.131 185)
- CMYK
- cmyk(71%, 0%, 7%, 12%)
--color-turquoisebg-[#40E0D0]Accessibility
Score: 48/100On White (#FFF)
1.64:1
On Black (#000)
12.79:1
On Light Gray (#F5F5F5)
1.51:1
Best text color on this background:
Design Applications
background-color: #40E0D0
color: #40E0D0
bg-[#40E0D0] text-[#000000]
border-left: 4px solid #40E0D0
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Ruby
#9B111E
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 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
Turquoise is a light color. Use black (#000000) text on top of it for maximum readability (12.79:1). Avoid white text on this background.
CSS & Code Examples
Background
background-color: #40E0D0;Text
color: #40E0D0;Border
border: 2px solid #40E0D0;Box Shadow
box-shadow: 0 4px 20px #40E0D040;Gradient
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #40E0D0, #7fffff);Tailwind-style
--color-turquoise: #40E0D0;Tailwind CSS Utilities
Use arbitrary value syntax in Tailwind CSS to apply Turquoise without a custom config.
Background
bg-[#40E0D0]Text
text-[#40E0D0]Border
border-[#40E0D0]Ring
ring-[#40E0D0]Fill
fill-[#40E0D0]From (gradient)
from-[#40E0D0]Via (gradient)
via-[#40E0D0]To (gradient)
to-[#40E0D0]Design Tokens
Ready-to-use Turquoise design token in CSS custom properties, SCSS, Tailwind v3/v4, and JSON formats.
CSS Custom Properties
:root {
--color-turquoise: #40E0D0;
--color-turquoise-rgb: 64, 224, 208;
--color-turquoise-hsl: 174, 72%, 56%;
}SCSS Variables
$color-turquoise: #40E0D0; $color-turquoise-rgb: 64, 224, 208; $color-turquoise-hsl: 174, 72%, 56%;
Tailwind v3 Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'turquoise': '#40E0D0',
},
},
},
};Tailwind v4 (@theme)
/* tailwind.css */
@theme {
--color-turquoise: #40E0D0;
}JSON Design Token (W3C format)
{
"turquoise": {
"value": "#40E0D0",
"type": "color",
"description": "Turquoise — #40E0D0"
}
}Related Palettes & Combinations
Color Combinations
More cyan colors
View all →What Does Turquoise Mean? Color Psychology & Cultural Symbolism
Turquoise at #40E0D0 has the visual quality of high-frequency light—crisp, clear, and impossible to miss in complex visual fields. This perceptual character translates directly into clarity: a quality that digital designers leverage for precision highlighting and attention guidance.
- Across color psychology research, cyan consistently tests high for "precision" associations, making Turquoise a reliable vehicle for clarity in cross-demographic audiences.
- Brand designers draw on cyan-family tones to project modernity and innovation—values that Turquoise communicates in a mid-tone key.
- At 72% saturation, Turquoise reads as moderately saturated—neither overwhelming nor passive, landing in the clarity, technology, freshness, and precision zone with measured confidence.
- Turquoise's mid-tone lightness (56%) shifts its psychological register: a balanced mid-tone that embodies clarity, technology, freshness, and precision at its most direct.
The future feels like Turquoise in design systems that want to get there first.
How to Use Turquoise in Design: Applications, Pairings & Best Practices
In UI design, 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.
- Avoid: traditional or heritage brands, warm and artisanal contexts, and food packaging (no natural cyan foods).
- Color harmonies: Turquoise's complementary color creates a high-energy split ideal for promotional design; its analogous palette (±30° hue) builds cohesive, monochromatic sophistication.
- Proportional use: Turquoise's moderately saturated saturation (72%) means small applications—accents, highlights, icons—deliver maximum impact without visual fatigue. Reserve large-scale use for intentional brand moments.
- Turquoise creates strong legibility with black text overlays (12.8:1 contrast ratio), making it a reliable background or surface color in design systems
- Typography: Turquoise as text requires a dark background; its 56% lightness means it provides 1.6:1 contrast on white, not meeting WCAG AA.
The future feels like Turquoise in design systems that want to get there first.
Turquoise Accessibility: WCAG Contrast Ratios, Color Blindness & Inclusive Design
Turquoise (#40E0D0) achieves a 12.79:1 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: 59.0%.
- As text on white (#FFFFFF): 1.64:1 — Fail
- As text on black (#000000): 12.79:1 — AAA ✓
- Best text color on Turquoise background: Black (#000000) at 12.79:1
- WCAG 2.1 luminance: 59.0% — above-median luminance—it reads as a light to mid-tone background, compatible with dark text while retaining color personality
- 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 Turquoise against your specific background colors rather than assuming #FFFFFF or #000000 performance translates. Surrounding colors alter perceived contrast.
Turquoise in Industry: Branding, Design & Market Applications
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 moderately saturated saturation calibrates the message at a mid-tone, 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: 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, Turquoise works effectively in tech products, data dashboards, medical imaging—contexts where openness serves a secondary but reinforcing role.
For marketers and brand strategists, 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 Turquoise? ▾
- The hex code for Turquoise is #40E0D0. Its RGB values are rgb(64, 224, 208) and its HSL values are hsl(174, 72%, 56%).
- What does 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. 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 Turquoise WCAG accessible? ▾
- Turquoise (#40E0D0) does not pass WCAG AA on white (1.64:1 ratio). Use it on dark backgrounds where it achieves 12.79:1. Its overall accessibility score is 48/100.
- What colors go well with Turquoise? ▾
- Turquoise pairs well with its complementary color Ruby (#9B111E). Analogous colors like Feldgrau and Medium Aquamarine also work harmoniously. Check the Color Harmonies section above for the full palette.
- What is Turquoise used for? ▾
- 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 Turquoise? ▾
- In CSS, use `color: #40E0D0` or `background-color: #40E0D0`. The CSS custom property is `--color-turquoise: #40E0D0`. In Tailwind CSS, use the arbitrary value class `bg-[#40E0D0]` for backgrounds or `text-[#40E0D0]` for text.