#159B9D Color

#159B9D is rgb(21, 155, 157) in RGB, hsl(181, 76%, 35%) in HSL, and about cmyk(87%, 1%, 0%, 38%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Viridian Green (#009698), below the threshold most people can see at ΔE 1.92. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#159B9D

HEX#159B9D

RGBrgb(21, 155, 157)

HSLhsl(181, 76%, 35%)

HSVhsv(181, 87%, 62%)

CMYKcmyk(87%, 1%, 0%, 38%)

OKLCHoklch(62.7% 0.103 196.5)

LABlab(57.76% -33.37 -11.11)

LCHlch(57.76% 35.17 198.41)

What #159B9D Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #159B9D, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Viridian Green#009698ΔE 1.92 Dark Cyan#008B8BΔE 6.15 Blue Lagoon#4C9C9CΔE 8.6 Verdigris#43B3AEΔE 9.62 Teal Green#00827FΔE 10.02 Light Sea Green#20B2AAΔE 10.35

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every teal in the library.

#159B9D Channel Values

How #159B9D breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 21 · G 155 · B 157	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 181° · S 76% · L 35%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 181° · S 87% · V 62%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 87% · M 1% · Y 0% · K 38%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	3.38:1 vs white · 6.21:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #159B9D background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

Fails AAWhite text3.38:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text6.21:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #159B9D in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #159B9D

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #159B9D; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #159B9D

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #159B9D.

How #159B9D Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#159B9D

Protanopia#8F8F9D

Protanomaly#72949D

Deuteranopia#82829F

Deuteranomaly#678C9E

Tritanopia#139B9B

Tritanomaly#149B9C

Achromatopsia#8C8C8C

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #159B9D in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-159b9d: #159B9D;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #159B9D;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-159b9d': '#159B9D' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.082, green: 0.608, blue: 0.616)

Android XML<color name="color_159b9d">#159B9D</color>

SVG fillfill="#159B9D"

More Teal Colors

#159B9D sits in the teal family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

002424 f5ffff 002a38 f0ffff 002d2e eefbfb 003333 ecfeff 003542 ecf7f9 003838 ebffff 006466 009999 00ebeb 0d1616 192929 24fbff 36747d 50bfe6 73a9c2 8dd9cc aec6cf ccffff

#159B9D Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #159B9D?

#159B9D is a dark teal — rgb(21, 155, 157) in RGB and hsl(181, 76%, 35%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Viridian Green (#009698), which is below the threshold most people can see at a CIE76 distance of 1.92.

What is the RGB value of #159B9D?

#159B9D is rgb(21, 155, 157) — red 21, green 155, and blue 157 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #159B9D?

#159B9D converts to approximately cmyk(87%, 1%, 0%, 38%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #159B9D be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #159B9D scores 3.38:1 against white and 6.21:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #159B9D as a CSS color keyword?

No. #159B9D is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is darkcyan (#008B8B) at a CIE76 distance of 6.15, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #159B9D in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every teal in the color library, the guide to shades of teal, or the full color library.