Exploring the Color #52B9BD

#52B9BD sits at 182° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 45% saturation and 53% 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 82, 185, 189 produces a 9.03:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #52B9BD is a clear variant of CSS turquoise — about 47 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