Exploring the Color #81C5D6

#81C5D6 sits at 192° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 51% saturation and 67% lightness, it reads as a moderately saturated, light tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 129, 197, 214 produces a 10.89:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AAA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #81C5D6 is a close cousin of CSS sky blue — about 24 units away from #87CEEB. 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