Aqua Blue #02D8E9
Aqua Blue is a light, moderately saturated teal or cyan with hex code #02D8E9 and RGB rgb(2, 216, 233).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (12.00:1).
About this color
#02D8E9 is a light, moderately saturated teal or cyan. In OKLCH its lightness is 80%, its chroma 0.137 and its hue 205°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. It is the named color Aqua Blue. Black text reads best on it, at 12.00:1.
| Hue family | Teals and cyans |
| Lightness | light (80%) |
| Chroma | moderately saturated (0.137) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Aqua Blue |
| Black text | 12.00:1 |
| White text | 1.74:1 |
Colors that go with Aqua Blue
Matches found by rotating Aqua Blue around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Aqua Blue
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Aqua Blue, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Aqua Blue, with their ΔE distance.
- Dark Turquoise #00CED1 ΔE 0.039
- Medium Turquoise #48D1CC ΔE 0.040
- Vivid Sky Blue #4CC9F0 ΔE 0.048
- Turquoise #40E0D0 ΔE 0.050
- Bright Sky Blue #02CCFE ΔE 0.052
- Sky Blue #87CEEB ΔE 0.068
- Lightblue #7BC8F6 ΔE 0.073
- Light Sky Blue #87CEFA ΔE 0.077
More about Aqua Blue
How to make Aqua Blue
A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.
- 4 parts white
- 2 parts blue
- 1 part green
Recipe result: #8CC6D2, a difference of ΔE 0.077 from Aqua Blue. That is close; add a little more of one paint to match.
Codes for Aqua Blue in every format
| HEX | #02D8E9 |
| RGB | rgb(2, 216, 233) |
| HSL | hsl(184, 98%, 46%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(80.5% 0.137 204.9) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #02D8E9 | 1.74:1 | Fails | Lc -35.1 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| Black text on #02D8E9 | 12.00:1 | AAA | Lc 72.6 | Content text, not long reading |
| #02D8E9 text on white | 1.74:1 | Fails | Lc 31.2 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #02D8E9 text on black | 12.00:1 | AAA | Lc -71.5 | Content text, not long reading |
Shades and tints of Aqua Blue
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 300.
-
Step 50
50
#E8F9FB
oklch(97% 0.018 205.3)
-
Step 100
100
#CCF2F6
oklch(93.5% 0.04 204.3)
-
Step 200
200
#9CE8F1
oklch(88.5% 0.076 205.3)
-
Step 300
300 (this color)
#02D8E9
oklch(80.5% 0.137 204.9)
-
Step 400
400
#00B6C4
oklch(70.8% 0.121 204.6)
-
Step 500
500
#009CA8
oklch(63.2% 0.108 204.4)
-
Step 600
600
#00838E
oklch(55.7% 0.095 205.2)
-
Step 700
700
#006E77
oklch(49.1% 0.084 204.7)
-
Step 800
800
#005A62
oklch(42.7% 0.073 205.3)
-
Step 900
900
#004B52
oklch(37.7% 0.064 205.5)
-
Step 950
950
#002D31
oklch(27.1% 0.046 204.1)
Aqua Blue with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #C5CFEA | 0.135 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #ABBCEA | 0.124 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #00E2DD | 0.037 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #C4C4C4 | 0.138 |
Use Aqua Blue in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.