What exactly is hex color? Learn the definition of hex colors, and discover how to use them in your designs.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What Are Hex Colors and How Do They Work?
- How to Use Hex Color Codes and RGB Color Values
- Advantages of Using Hex Colors in Design
- Using Hex Colors Effectively + Color Design Tips
- How Many Hex Colors Are There?
- Leave a Lasting Impact
Hex colors allow designers to create visual appeal and convey powerful emotions. They ensure consistency, accessibility, and adaptability.
Let’s explore the world of hex colors and answer the following questions: What are Hex codes? How are they used? And what advantages do they offer designers? Learn how effectively use colors in your designs below.
What Are Hex Colors and How Do They Work?
The term “hex” comes from the word “hexadecimal,” which is a numeral system with a base of 16. You can think of them like RGB color codes. They represent the amount of Red, Green, and Blue (or RGB values.)
What is a hexadecimal notation? If you are unfamiliar with this term, you’re not alone. The decimal system we’re all familiar with utilizes 10 digits. In a hexadecimal system, digits are represented using standard symbols such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 for the corresponding values, and the first six letters of the alphabet—A, B, C, D, E, F—for values 10 through 15.
Hex colors are a way of representing primary colors from the color wheel through hexadecimal values. A hexadecimal notation follows the “pair of characters” format #RRGGBB, where RR is the red value, GG is green value, and BB is blue value. These hexadecimal integers can be in a range of 00 to FF to specify the intensity of the color.
A simple example of a Hex code is #FF0000. This color is pure red, because the red component is at its max value of FF and the green and blue components are at their lowest of 00.
Soon, you’ll be an expert at using these RGB color values!
How to Use Hex Color Codes and RGB Color Values
What is hex color’s use? Using hex codes to represent different colors is an easy way to differentiate between colors. Once you understand how they work, you can easily change red, blue, or green values to create different (and exact) shades using hexadecimal notation.
There are many color picker tools that can help you find the perfect hex code. Most design apps have them built in using the Eyedropper tool. Google has a wonderful color picker that is extremely user friendly.
If you’re looking for color inspiration, we’ve pulled together some of the world’s most popular colors, along with their hex codes, sample color palettes, and color charts.
The color palettes include a monotone palette, an analogous palette, a contrasting color palette, and a triadic color palette. All palettes include their corresponding hexadecimal color codes.
We also have an wonderful color palette generator which can pull a color palette and provide hex codes for any photo you upload into the tool!
Advantages of Using Hex Colors in Design
1. Consistency
Hex colors provide a standardized way to communicate colors across different platforms and devices. Since they use a combination of letters and numbers, they can be easily understood by designers and developers, globally ensuring the basic colors of your design carry through.
2. Wide Range of Colors
With millions of possible combinations, hex colors offer an extensive palette for designers to choose from. This enables them to bring their creative visions to life and select the perfect shade or hue for their design projects.
3. Compatibility Across Software Applications
Hex colors are widely supported across various design software, including graphic editing tools, web development platforms, and content management systems. This ensures that the chosen colors will appear consistently across different mediums and maintain their desired appearance using the proper hex code.
Using Hex Colors Effectively + Color Design Tips
Using hex colors effectively can greatly enhance the overall aesthetic and appeal of your designs. One tip is to choose colors that create a harmonious, visually-pleasing palette.
This can be achieved by using a color wheel or color theory to select colors that are complementary or analogous. Additionally, it’s important to consider the context and purpose of your design when choosing hex colors.
For example, bright and bold colors may be attention-grabbing and suitable for certain types of designs, while muted and neutral tones may be more appropriate for a subdued and elegant look.
Experimenting with different combinations and shades of hex colors can help you create visually-striking designs that effectively convey your intended message.
Here are some handy tips for creating beautiful color harmonies.
Understand Color Psychology and Color Theory
Different colors evoke different emotions and have psychological effects on viewers. Before selecting hex colors for your design, consider the mood and message you want to convey and choose colors accordingly.
Color possibilities are endless, and this can really help you refine your vision. There are lots of resources for researching color meanings. Make sure you listen to experts in this space, and do proper research. Color meanings can change from country to country.
Test Color Combinations
Experiment with different hex color combinations to ensure they complement each other harmoniously. Tools like color palette generators can assist in finding pleasing color schemes and help you to generate a list of colors that are perfect for your design.
Check Contrast Accessibility
Ensure that the contrast between the background color and the text, or other elements, is strong enough to maintain readability, especially for websites or applications that need to adhere to accessibility standards.
Optimize for Web
When using hex colors for web design, keep in mind that some colors may appear differently on different screens and browsers. To ensure consistency, test the colors on various devices and browsers to achieve the desired effect.
Web-Safe Colors
Web-safe colors are limited to a palette of 216 specific colors, consisting of six shades each of red, green, and blue. The limitations on web-safe colors have become less relevant in recent years with the advancement of technology and the use of more sophisticated color management systems.
Nonetheless, the concept still serves as a guideline for designers to choose colors that are more likely to appear consistently across multiple platforms.
How Many Hex Colors Are There?
In standard #RRGGBB notation, each RR, GG, and BB can contain 256 different values, ranging from 00 to FF. So, that means there are 256^3 color combinations available, or 16,777,216!
An interesting side note is that many modern browsers also support transparency. This means that an entirely new set of color codes, in the form of #AARRGGBB, raising the number to 256^4, or 4,294,976,296!
It’s important to keep in mind that the addition of the transparency does not indicate that there are extra colors, since solely adding transparency does not change the color. This merely adds more information and more available color codes depending on transparency/level of opacity.
Leave a Lasting Impact
Hex colors offer a flexible and standardized way for designers to represent an extensive range of colors in a variety of formats using red, blue, and green values—primary color values.
By understanding how hex colors work and following best practices, designers can create visually-captivating, cohesive designs that effectively communicate their message and leave a lasting impact on their audience.
Want to learn more about color? Check out these articles:
- What Is CMYK? Spot Color and Process Color in Print Designs
- 25 Eye-Catching Neon Color Palettes to Wow Your Viewers
- All About Purple: Origin, Theory, Design Applications & Color Schemes
- What is a Color Scheme: Definitions, Types, and Examples
- All About Red: Origin, Theory, Design Applications, and Color Schemes
License this cover image via Nynke van Holten.
