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Pulsing Bahamas

#2bb0e6
Notes

Pulsing Bahamas (#2BB0E6) is a true cyan with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (197°, 79%, 54%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary orange. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#2bb0e6
RGB
rgb(43, 176, 230)
HSL
hsl(197, 79%, 54%)
HWB
hwb(197 17% 10%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.2% 0.133 231.2)
P3
color(display-p3 0.3440 0.6804 0.8820)
HSV
hsv(197, 81%, 90%)
LAB
lab(67.48% -16.41 -36.85)
LCH
lch(67.48% 40.34 246.00)
CMYK
cmyk(81%, 23%, 0%, 10%)

Etymology

Pulsing
adjective

The progressive participle of pulse, to throb. Used as a color modifier for hues that read as if they were alternating between two states of luminance — the vibration of a high-saturation color against a contrasting background. Sits in the bright-bucket center alongside electric, with the implication of optical motion rather than static luminance.

Bahamas
noun

The Atlantic archipelago — and the saturated turquoise of Bahamian Pink Sands Beach shallows at Harbour Island and the cyan-blue of Exuma Cays lagoon water. Bahamas color refers to a Bahamian shallow-water lagoon at midday: a saturated, slightly cool bright blue-green with the optical clarity of warm Caribbean water.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

Click any swatch to explore

Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#2bb0e6
Original
#95aee9
Protanopia
#7c9de5
Deuteranopia
#00bfc2
Tritanopia
#989898
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon White
2.48:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
8.46:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##2BB0E6
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.3440 0.6804 0.8820)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.133

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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