Aqua (cyan) color: #00ffff
The CSS keyword aqua (also written cyan) is #00ffff, rgb(0, 255, 255) or hsl(180, 100%, 50%). Its codes to copy, 50–950 tint scale, harmonies and contrast on white and black.
Part of design tools.
About Aqua
Aqua is a very light cyan. Its hue sits at 195° in OKLCH and 180° in HSL — the two wheels are spaced differently, which is why the numbers disagree.
The keyword aqua is one of the sixteen original HTML 4 colors, the whole palette of CSS 1, so it is understood by every browser and every email client ever shipped. It can also be written cyan: same value, and both spellings work in any stylesheet.
Aqua tint scale, 50 to 950
Eleven steps at fixed perceived lightness, in OKLCH, holding aqua’s own hue from end to end. The keyword itself falls closest to step 200 (#86eceb), the one outlined; step 500 is #009a9a.
Harmonies built on Aqua
Hue angles measured in OKLCH, so every accent keeps aqua’s perceived lightness. Its complement is #ffd3d5, closest to the named color mistyrose.
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Split-complementary
Aqua on white and on black
Black text reads better on aqua (16.74:1). As a text color it belongs on a dark background: on white it only reaches 1.25:1, under the 4.5:1 that body text needs, while on black it reaches 16.74:1. AA asks 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; AAA asks 7:1.
Named colors close to Aqua
Open aqua in the full tools
- Open in Color Converter — convert it to any other notation.
- Open in Palette Generator — export its scale as --aqua-50 … --aqua-950 tokens.
- Open in Color Harmonies — turn the wheel and compare OKLCH with HSL.
- Open in Contrast Checker — test it against any background, with the closest passing shade.
- Open in Color System Generator — derive a light and dark token set from it.
Or browse every named color from the color converter.