What is Colour Space and What Exactly Does It Mean?
Let’s keep it simple and in plain English. A colour space is a specific set of colours used for a particular application. Different methods are used to mix and measure the different hues to achieve a specific result. For instance, if you sample deep red in one colour space (RGB) and don’t adjust it for print (CMYK), you might end up with brown.
Various methods and universal colour palettes are available to help us achieve accurate colours. However, there are obstacles, such as the calibration of monitors and uncalibrated printers, that can give undesired results. Relying on a universal method and coding system allows for better accuracy, and this is essentially what various colour spaces are for. Below is a short description of each and its application. There are many more universal palettes available, but for the purpose of this article, I have chosen the four most popular.
CMYK
This is a print standard colour space. The letters refer to the separate and actual physical colours used to print almost anything: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (K). From the desktop printers in your office to the large format printers used in signage, many work with these four basic cartridges. The colours are combined in various saturations to create all the images, hues, and gradients you see. Therefore, when designing for print applications, it is better to use the CMYK colour space for more accurate results.
RGB
This colour space is what you see shining out from your screen right now and is a combination of light. Red, Green, and Blue are the three components here, and they combine to give you all the colours you see on your devices, television, computer, etc. There is no physical mix of colour here; instead, RGB uses light emanating from a source.
Pantone
Pantone is a more specific yet costly method to print. Colours are specially matched and loaded into a printer according to a Pantone colour chart. The process of preparing a printer for this can be time-consuming and expensive, but the results are far more accurate in terms of colour matching. Your ink cartridge is specifically ordered and calibrated to the machine according to a match from a Pantone colour chart. Larger corporations use this method as they tend to print larger quantities of branding material and require consistency throughout the process.
Hexadecimal (Hex)
Hexadecimal colour is the digital interpretation of colours from various colour models. It combines all the variations and provides a #6digit colour code. This is a great way to decide on a colour palette, utilize the code for on-screen design, and then convert it to CMYK for print applications. Hex is a digitally coded colour system and provides accuracy and consistency.
I hope the above has clarified some of the issues and uncertainties surrounding how designers use colours. Effective colour use is one of the big DOs of design. A slip of the finger, and a brand could suffer the consequences.
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