Cyan (process)
HEX: #00B7EB | Modern Palette
Color Specifications
#00B7EB
0, 183, 235
193°, 100% ,92%
100, 22.13, 0, 7.84
About Cyan (process)
Cyan (process) (#00B7EB) is a color with RGB(0, 183, 235) and HSL(193.28°, 100%, 92.16%). It is commonly associated with Playful moods. In design, it fits Neon, Cool styles and is suitable for Text, Button, Background. Its complementary color is #EB3400, which creates strong contrast. Its triadic palette includes #EB00B7 and #B7EB00. The name comes from Cyan (English).
- HEX: #00B7EB
- RGB: 0, 183, 235
- HSL: 193.28°, 100%, 92.16%
- Mood: Playful
- Style: Neon, Cool
- Use case: Text, Button, Background
- Complementary color: #EB3400
- Triadic colors: #EB00B7, #B7EB00
- The name comes from Cyan (English).
Live Components
Color Palettes
Color Harmonies
Complementary
The color directly opposite on the color wheel — creates maximum contrast and vibrance.
Analogous
Colors adjacent on the wheel — naturally harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
Triadic
Three colors equally spaced 120° apart — bold, balanced, and visually rich.
Split-Complementary
Two colors flanking the complement — high contrast with less tension than full complementary.
Tetradic (Square)
Four colors at 90° intervals — rich variety, best when one color dominates.
Monochromatic
Shades and tints of the same hue — cohesive, elegant, and easy to work with.
Shades & Tints
A seamless scale of #00B7EB from deepest shade to lightest tint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Name, History & Etymology
History
The concept of 'cyan' as a primary subtractive color (along with magenta and yellow) is fundamental to modern color reproduction. Its history is intertwined with the development of color photography and printing. * **Early 19th Century:** Scientists like Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz laid the groundwork for understanding color vision and additive color mixing (red, green, blue). * **Mid-19th Century:** James Clerk Maxwell's work on color photography in the 1850s and 1860s demonstrated that any color could be reproduced by combining three primary colors of light. While he used red, green, and blue filters for capture, the reproduction implicitly involved subtractive primaries. * **Late 19th Century:** Louis Ducos du Hauron and Charles Cros independently published methods for color photography in 1869, both proposing the use of subtractive primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) for printing or viewing. They understood that to reproduce a full spectrum of colors, one needed pigments or dyes that absorbed specific parts of the spectrum. * **Early 20th Century:** The development of commercial color photography processes (like Autochrome Lumière, though an additive process) and later, more sophisticated subtractive processes, cemented the role of cyan. The printing industry, particularly with the advent of four-color process printing (CMYK), standardized cyan as one of its key inks. * **Modern Era:** Cyan remains a critical component in all forms of subtractive color reproduction, from inkjet printers to professional offset printing, and is a standard color in digital color models (CMYK).
First Recorded Use
The term 'cyan' as a color name, derived from the Greek 'kyanos' (dark blue, lapis lazuli), began to be used in English in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its specific application to a process color, particularly in photography and printing, solidified in the mid-to-late 19th century with the development of color photography and subtractive color mixing principles.
Cultural Associations
In Western culture, cyan is often associated with water, sky, and technology. It evokes feelings of calmness, serenity, and sometimes innovation. In the context of printing and digital media, it's primarily recognized as one of the fundamental 'process colors' (CMYK). Its distinct hue, often described as a greenish-blue or 'aqua,' has found its way into various branding, design, and fashion applications.
Code Snippets
/* Background */
.element {
background-color: #00B7EB;
}
/* Text */
.element {
color: #00B7EB;
}
/* Border */
.element {
border: 1px solid #00B7EB;
}/* Linear gradient to complementary */
.element {
background: linear-gradient(
to right,
#00B7EB,
#FFE0D7
);
}
/* Radial gradient */
.element {
background: radial-gradient(
circle,
#00B7EB,
#FFE0D7
);
}// SCSS variable
$cyan-(process): #00B7EB;
// With RGB channels (useful for rgba() usage)
$cyan-(process)-r: 0;
$cyan-(process)-g: 183;
$cyan-(process)-b: 235;
// Usage
.element {
background-color: $cyan-(process);
color: rgba($cyan-(process)-r, $cyan-(process)-g, $cyan-(process)-b, 0.8);
}