Exploring the Color #51B5C4

#51B5C4 sits at 188° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 49% saturation and 54% lightness, it reads as a moderately saturated, balanced tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 81, 181, 196 produces a 8.76:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #51B5C4 is a clear variant of CSS turquoise — about 48 units away from #40E0D0. Designers reach for cyan hues at this saturation when the brief calls for a conversational, mid-energy register, and at this lightness when they want a present, comfortable mid-canvas voice. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades