HEX, RGB, HSL: Understanding Color Formats
A clear explanation of common digital color formats.
Digital colors are represented in several formats, each with specific advantages. Understanding these formats helps you work more effectively with color in web design and development.
HEX Colors
HEX colors use hexadecimal notation to represent RGB values. The format is #RRGGBB where each pair is a value from 00 to FF (0-255 in decimal). For example, #FF0000 is pure red, #00FF00 is green, and #0000FF is blue.
HEX is the most common format in web design because it is compact and widely supported. CSS also supports shorthand notation where #RGB expands to #RRGGBB.
RGB Colors
RGB represents colors as red, green, and blue values from 0 to 255. The format in CSS is rgb(red, green, blue). For example, rgb(255, 0, 0) is pure red.
RGBA adds an alpha channel for transparency: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5) is 50% transparent red.
HSL Colors
HSL represents colors using hue (0-360 degrees on the color wheel), saturation (0-100%), and lightness (0-100%). This format is often more intuitive for humans because it maps to how we think about color.
To make a color lighter, increase lightness. To make it more muted, decrease saturation. To shift the color, change the hue. This direct relationship makes HSL ideal for creating color variations programmatically.
Which Format to Use
Use HEX for quick color specification in CSS. Use RGB when you need to manipulate individual channels. Use HSL when creating color schemes or generating variations. Our converters make it easy to switch between formats.
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