Color Hues, Tints, Shades, and Tones

Color Hue

Hue is just another word for color.

Simply put: Each position around the color wheel represents a different hue:

#ff0000

#ff8000

#ffff00

You can experiment with hue values using our Color Picker.

Color Value (Lightness / Darkness)

Color value is a term for how light or dark dark a color is (from white to black)

These 3 examples changes the lightness and darkness for red, orange, and yellow hues:

#ff0000

#ff8080

#800000

#ff8000

#ffcc99

#663300

#ffff00

#ffff99

#666600

You can experiment with lightness and darkness for the same hue using our Color Picker.

Color Saturation

Saturation is about intensity.

Highly saturated colors are bright. Desaturated colors have less pigment.

These 3 examples changes the saturation for red, orange, and yellow hues:

#ff0000

#cc3333

#996666

#ff8000

#cc8033

#998066

#ffff00

#cccc33

#999966

You can experiment with saturation values for the same hue using our Color Picker.