Colour identification: characterisation, colour codes and mixing of colour shades

A colour identifier is a code used to uniquely identify a colour in digital form. These codes can exist in different formats, such as Hex codes (#RRGGBB), RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness), each of which describes colours with different values. Hex code is often used in web development because it is simple and easy to read by the eye. RGB and HSL formats are usually useful for application development or graphic design.

Colour identifiers are essential in the digital world as they accurately reproduce colours across different devices and platforms. Consistent colour representation is important for maintaining brand identity and improving the user experience. By using colour identifiers, designers and developers can determine exactly which colours to use, ensuring visual harmony and consistency.

RGB and HEX colour codes for colour identification

RGB and HEX colour codes identify the exact shade of colour on different devices. The RGB code contains three numbers, which are red, Green and blue components, while the HEX code is a six-character alphanumeric code.

Colour scheme	Code/Weights
Hex	#FF5733
RGB	rgb(255, 87, 51)
HSL	hsl(14, 100%, 60%)
HSV/HSB	hsv(14, 80%, 100%)
CMYK	cmyk(0%, 66%, 80%, 0%)
Contrasting colour	#00A8CC
Complementary colour	#33DFFF

Dark and light shades of grey

Click on the colour codes below to copy them to the clipboard.

Dark shades

Light shades

The complementary colour palettes of blue

The different colour palettes of the colour blue are presented in complementary, analogue, monochrome, triad, tetrad, split complementary and neutral combinations, illustrated with lighter and darker shades.

Complementary palette

Analogue palette

Monochrome palette

Triad palette

Tetrade palette

Split complementary palette

Neutral palette

what is the identifying colour of the colour?

The colour identifier colour can be RGB, HEX, HSL or another colour code format. For example, the colour red is rgb(255, 0, 0) in RGB format and #FF0000 in HEX format.

What does the colour identification colour depend on?

The colour identification colour basically depends on the colour scheme used. The most common ones include RGB, HEX and HSL encoding. RGB encoding uses a ratio of red (Red), green (Green) and blue (Blue) colour components. HEX encoding gives the hexadecimal values of the red, green and blue components. HSL uses values for Hue, Saturation and Lightness. Each colour system uses different methods to identify colour, but all are based on a combination of basic colour components or properties.

How is colour identification possible with colour mixing?

Colour mixing using colour identifiers (e.g. hexadecimal codes, RGB values) usually requires mathematical methods. The two specified colour components must be mixed one by one. For example, if you want to mix two colours - #FF0000 (red) and #0000FF (blue) - you first convert them to RGB values:

- #FF0000 -> (255, 0, 0)
- #0000FF -> (0, 0, 255)

Then average the values:

- R: (255 + 0) / 2 = 127,5 ≈ 128
- G: (0 + 0) / 2 = 0
- B: (0 + 255) / 2 = 127,5 ≈ 128

The RGB value of the new colour is therefore (128, 0, 128), which in hexadecimal is #800080 (purple).

As a simplified approach, you can also use online colour mixing tools that perform this process automatically.