Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind teal-500 #14B8A6

Tailwind CSS v3's teal-500 is #14B8A6. It is a light soft cyan in the cyan family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.704, chroma 0.123 and hue 182.5°. The nearest CSS named color is lightseagreen (#20B2AA), ΔE2000 3.8 away.

Relative luminance
0.3718
OKLCH L · C · h
0.704 · 0.123 · 182.5
Best text
Black 8.43:1
Hue family
Cyan

#14B8A6 color codes

HEX
#14B8A6
RGB
rgb(20, 184, 166)
HSL
hsl(173, 80%, 40%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.704 0.123 182.5)
OKLab
oklab(0.704 -0.123 -0.005)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 67.41, a* -42.16, b* -1.73
XYZ (D65)
X 24.31, Y 37.18, Z 41.96
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(89%, 0%, 10%, 28%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #14B8A6 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 8.43:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 2.48:1.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System
  • Black text on it

    8.43:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +55
  • White text on it

    2.48:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −53
  • As text on black

    8.43:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −53
  • As text on white

    2.48:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +48

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #008577 4.54:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.70 to 0.55 reaches 4.54:1 on white, keeping the hue.

  • For text on black

    #14B8A6 8.43:1

    It already reaches 8.43:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #14B8A6 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #14B8A6

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #14B8A6 sits at step 400.

  1. 50#D7FFF7
    White
    1.07
    Black
    19.53
  2. 100#A7FFF0
    White
    1.15
    Black
    18.20
  3. 200#7DEFDD
    White
    1.37
    Black
    15.26
  4. 300#56D6C4
    White
    1.77
    Black
    11.81
  5. 400This color#14B8A6
    White
    2.48
    Black
    8.43
  6. 500#009B8C
    White
    3.46
    Black
    6.06
  7. 600#008173
    White
    4.78
    Black
    4.38
  8. 700#00675C
    White
    6.78
    Black
    3.09
  9. 800#004B43
    White
    10.05
    Black
    2.08
  10. 900#00312B
    White
    14.24
    Black
    1.47
  11. 950#001B17
    White
    17.96
    Black
    1.16

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Tailwind CSS v3 teal scale

The real Tailwind palette, for comparison with the computed ramp above.

  1. 50#F0FDFA
    White
    1.04
    Black
    20.13
  2. 100#CCFBF1
    White
    1.12
    Black
    18.63
  3. 200#99F6E4
    White
    1.26
    Black
    16.65
  4. 300#5EEAD4
    White
    1.47
    Black
    14.19
  5. 400#2DD4BF
    White
    1.86
    Black
    11.28
  6. 500This color#14B8A6
    White
    2.48
    Black
    8.43
  7. 600#0D9488
    White
    3.74
    Black
    5.60
  8. 700#0F766E
    White
    5.47
    Black
    3.83
  9. 800#115E59
    White
    7.58
    Black
    2.76
  10. 900#134E4A
    White
    9.47
    Black
    2.21
  11. 950#042F2E
    White
    14.47
    Black
    1.45

Gamut

How vivid #14B8A6 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.126; #14B8A6 uses 98% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.170 there: 35% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.123
sRGB edge
0.126
Display P3 edge
0.170
Rec. 2020 edge
0.272
Dominant wavelength
496 nm
Excitation purity
27%
Chromaticity
x 0.2350, y 0.3594
  • This color#14B8A6
  • Most vivid in sRGB#00B8A6
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.704 0.170 182.5)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #14b8a6;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0 0.7388 0.6615); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #14B8A6

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#8ADCD3
  • OKLab50%#A2DCD2
  • OKLCH50%#A2DCD2

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#0A5C53
  • OKLab50%#03453E
  • OKLCH50%#03453E

Its complement #DE7D99

  • sRGB50%#799BA0
  • OKLab50%#9F9F9F
  • OKLCH50%#859AEC
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #14b8a6, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #14b8a6 50%, white);

In use

#14B8A6 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:18.43:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:12.48:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:12.48:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:12.48:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #008577 4.54:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:18.43:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:17.52:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:17.52:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:17.52:1 Passes

Color vision

How #14B8A6 looks with color blindness

Deuteranopia changes it most, ΔE2000 25.5; tritanopia changes it least, 3.1.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees
  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #AFADA5 ΔE2000 24.1

    Distinct

    Reads as light gray

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #9B9EA8 ΔE2000 25.5

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #00BCB2 ΔE2000 3.1

    Close match

    Reads as light soft cyan

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #A4A4A4 ΔE2000 24.2

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #DE7D99. Their lightness contrast is only 1.12:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#14B8A6 · #DE7D9959.9Stays distinct
Protanopia#AFADA5 · #8C8F9A13.6Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#9B9EA8 · #A4A19710.5Stays distinct
Tritanopia#00BCB2 · #ED768760.3Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#A4A4A4 · #9A9A9A3.1Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #14B8A6

Its complement is #DE7D99, a light soft pink, on the warm side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#14B8A6
  • Complement#DE7D99

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#5DB57A
  • Base#14B8A6
  • +30°#00B3CC
  • Base#14B8A6
  • +120°#AE8CDF
  • +240°#D58D47
  • Base#14B8A6
  • +150°#CC82C1
  • +210°#E1816D

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-teal-500: #14b8a6;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as teal-500;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        teal: { 500: '#14b8a6' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own teal-500; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-teal-500: oklch(0.704 0.123 182.5);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "teal-500": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.0784, 0.7216, 0.651],
        "hex": "#14b8a6"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 teal-500"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let teal500 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.078, green: 0.722, blue: 0.651, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Teal500 = Color(0xFF14B8A6)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Tools

Open #14B8A6 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.