Color is a visual perception resulting from the way our eyes interpret light. To describe a color, we consider three key properties:
- Hue: This refers to the type of color, like red, green, or blue. Hue is determined by the spectral wavelength composition of the color.
- Chroma (Saturation): Chroma or saturation is the purity of a color. It represents how vivid or muted a color is, ranging from grayscale to the most intense version of that color. More saturated colors are easily visible from a distance.
- Value (Intensity): Value is the lightness or darkness of a color, ranging from black to white. It indicates the relative brightness of a color.
To describe differences in lightness, we often use two-word descriptors like light red or dark blue. Some hues are naturally lighter or darker; for example, yellow is very light, and violet is very dark.
The primary colors of illuminated light are red, green, and blue. When combined in pairs, these colors create magenta, cyan, and yellow, along with all the other visible colors in the spectrum. The additive combination of these three primary colors results in white.
Colors are often associated with temperature: long-wavelength colors like red are considered warm, while short-wavelength colors like blue are considered cool.