I know the HTML specification 4.01 defines 16 color names, but I was wondering if there was any exhaustive specification (RFC?) for color names.
It's worth mentioning that the gold standard for color definition is Pantone. Any professional dealing with color in a real-world context will use the Pantone system at some point. It's commercial, proprietary and expensive, but if you ever deal with commercial or industrial color definition, be that graphical design, textiles, paint, publishing or many other things then you'll end up using Pantone. Pantone doesn't only handle 'normal' colors, but oddities like metallics and fluorescents too.
That aside, for coding purposes I generally reach for the X11 names as they are comprehensive enough for most purposes and widely used.
Take a look at http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/Dictionaries, it lists several existing color names dictionaries.
147 color names are defined in the HTML and CSS color specification
(16 basic color names plus 130 more). The table below lists them all,
along with their hexadecimal values.
The 16 basic color names are: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green,
lime, maroon, navy, olive, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and
yellow.
You can find full list here: https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_names.asp
Or here: http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-color/#svg-color
I think there is not an official specification for color names, however CSS defines some color names, and so does X11.
Related
Im trying to calibrate/adjust my screen color configuration more towards a specific paint color like RAL.
Im using Encycolorpedia works great tot determine (what color) and even deltas between specific paints. However my screen doesn't come close to the real life situation, I've received a color wheel and oh my gosh... what a huge difference. So ordering paint online is an absolute no-no.
The big question how to close that gap between Adobe RGB Color and paint-colors like (Sikkens) RAL or Pantone? Something within the ICC profile of the monitor (which is a Samsung)?
I know there are color-spiders to calibrate screens, but I really wonder if there's an online database or which corrections or calibrated settings for monitors ?
You cannot do it. And possibly you do not have correct understanding of ICC, colour profiles, and RAL.
If you want to calibrate your screen, you should have a good screen (I recommend one "hardware calibrated", so you will not lose colours), and a calibration device. So you will have a good calibrated monitor, which display the correct colours. You will use the ICC file to tell the screen (or graphic card) how to handle colours, and to the program, so they know which range of colours they can use.
A ICC profile just tell a screen how to convert numbers (colours). An AdobeRGB profile will not make your screen to see AdobeRGB colours, it will just transform the colours so that you will have the "numbers" as expected by a 100% precise AdobeRGB screen (which never exist, so it is better to use device specific profiles). If your screen is not 100% AdobeRGB it will display some colours in an unexpected way. Our eyes may adapt colours (so for a single person, this is not a huge problem, but if you are doing a magazine, with 15 graphic editors, the reader want consistency (there is not time to adapt eyes for every image).
But then you go to Pantone and RAL: there are different kind of colour description (really, forget RGB for such colours: you need spectral distribution). These are for real objects, so they are seen with different lighting conditions (illumination), and an object can be seen in different colours (as RGB), but being of the same colour (as paint/dye).
And Pantone and RAL have discrete colours (enumerated colours, not homogeneously distributed). And for screens we just use LUT or LUT3D, so simple matrix conversion of received colour numbers to displayed colour numbers). Not a thing a screen can do so quickly (60 time per second, for every pixel).
Finally: screens are very different technologies as objects. There are some screens which create the same feeling (and also they seems more "opaque"), but this is not a thing we can every reach with standard (or most of good wide-gamut screens). And screens sucks on yellows and yellow greens (now I'm thinking at various RAL used for emergency). Out of reach for most monitors. An interaction with a soft printing is necessary (and you need a [frequently] calibrated printer).
Note: usually you get drivers for your monitor (look online for your monitor manuals and drivers [and look just at manufacturer website]). They will usually have the "driver", which it is a ICC profile. But this is just a "standard" profile. Monitors will change with time (either cold [at start-up] to hot), but also with long period using it. And different batched may be different (especially if produced in different places, common for very common monitors). If you use their profile, you should get better colours. If you calibrate yourself, you will have much better colours, but as I wrote, it is probably not possible to have good/very good matching colours.
I can't find the word in any dictionary, neither in regular ones nor etymology ones. Only Wikipedia says:
The modern use of "shader" was introduced to the public by Pixar with their "RenderMan Interface Specification, Version 3.0" originally published in May 1988.
I know it's a program that runs on the GPU, but how did the Pixar guys come up with the name shader for it?
Although shader is not part of most dictionaries, the noun shading should be. dictionary.com, for example, defines it as
a slight variation or difference of color, character, etc.
This is is exactly what a shader does: It allows the programmer to add variations of color to a surface.
Shades is a very very very important factor in human vision. It allows recognizing shapes. And it's so because we live in a planet with plenty of shades, because of mainly Sun.
Realism needs shades. The Sun is not the only light. Conclusion: Good coloring implies shading from one or several lights. "Shaders" is the natural name for that programs that do it.
I am wondering whether exist a way how to transform colors of specific CMYK color space (lets say FOGRA39) to CIEXYZ.
I know how to sRGB to CIEXYZ, as there are dozens of 'how-to' on internet.
But I never found similar transformation equation for FOGRA39 (or any other printing color space).
Have somebody experiences to share them with me?
Thank you.
Short answer
These colorspace transformations are not described as formulae but as (mostly) look-up tables in ICC profiles (.icc files).
Longer answer
The color values in some color spaces are related to other color spaces via relatively simple closed-form expressions. Well known examples are the relation between XYZ and Lab, and the relation between sRGB and XYZ that you mentioned. Often the corresponding transformation formulae are obtained from color-theoretical considerations.
On the other hand, the color spaces corresponding to actual or idealised printing processes (such as FOGRA39) are characterised by performing actual printing experiments. This is done by printing a large number of different color patches under controlled circumstances on the device that is being profiled (a printing press for example), and measuring the color of the resulting printed patches with a photo spectrometer.
These measurements do not yield a simple formula for conversion between color spaces, but instead a table of a large number of pairs of color values: the known amount of ink printed (e.g. CMYK) versus measured color. This color profile table is then typically stored in a standardised (file) format: the ICC profile. Here is an ICC profile for FOGRA39. (Actually, while look-up tables are an important part of typical ICC profiles, ICC profiles also support parametric curves and matrix transformations to do colorspace conversions.)
For most users, the ICC file format is too complicated to parse and interpret, and color management too cumbersome to implement oneself from scratch. If you need to perform color conversion to or from a color space represented by an ICC profile, one typically uses the color management facilities offered by the operating system, or a by third-party library.
Virtually all color management systems (CMS) in use today have support for ICC profiles, and their APIs have support for color conversion using ICC profiles.
The major platforms Mac and Windows have their own color management systems and APIs that you can use, and on Linux open source solutions (such as little cms) are available as well. The specifics however depend on the platform one targets, and programming language one intends to use.
How do you choose your colour schemes for your applications and/or web designs?
Is it a gut instinct thing or can logic be applied here too? I have looked at some colour theory but my combinations seemed wrong.
I am looking at a monochrome webpage. Rather than pluck colours out of the air as usual I would like to see if there is a science behind this. Links and opinions welcome.
Kuler is a great utility for choosing color schemes that work in harmony.
I have someone else who lives and breathes color and design do it for me.
Most graphic designers make terrible programmers, and most programmers make terrible graphic designers. So I dodge the issue entirely.
To be totally honest, I usually rip off someone elses color scheme for my own personal stuff (for work stuff, hire a designer). I will grab the main color and complimentary color from a site I think looks nice, plug those into one of the hundreds of online color tools out there, and build out a pallet. Once I have the colors down, I will do a few subtle gradients in photoshop, and just sort of go from there.
Colourlovers: http://www.colourlovers.com/
Or just look around. Go around your town with a camera, take random pictures and pick colours. Good places are the fruit section of a market, park, etc.
Use the system defaults for applications. That's where the user sets THEIR preference, which you should honor.
It is a science and an art, and a big one. 61,000,000 results on google for "color design".
You might also be interested in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Graphic_design
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory
Usually I'm told what to use.
If I'm not and have a logo or an image and use this Colors Palette Generator it lets you upload an image and then gives you a generated colour scheme.
If nether I borrow something from around the web.
I bought a designers/printers reference book that contains pre-defined sets of colours and tones. It includes the RGB values for the colours so I can put them directly into my apps.
The book contains sets such as "contemporary", "autumn", "winter", "cool modern".
Your public library should have a copy of the book Color Index which contains various color combinations which work harmoniously. Also, you could look into purchasing a Color Wheel from your local art supply store. It's not expensive, it lets you play with mono, complementary, triad and tetrad schemes. The Color Scheme Designer site is also very nice.
Another alternative is colorcombos.com, which can grab colors from any website. You can browse its library for different combinations or try to change them, then make yours.
Since the vast majority of monitors are 16-bit color or more, including mobile devices, does it make sense to even consider web-safe colors when choosing color schemes? Or is it something that ought to be relegated to history as a piece of trivia?
For those of you that don't know what web-safe colors are:
Another set of 216 color values is commonly considered to be the "web-safe" color palette, developed at a time when many computer
displays were only capable of
displaying 256 colors. A set of colors
was needed that could be shown without
dithering on 256-color displays; the
number 216 was chosen partly because
computer operating systems customarily
reserved sixteen to twenty colors for
their own use; it was also selected
because it allows exactly six shades
each of red, green, and blue (6 × 6 ×
6 = 216).
The list of colors is often presented
as if it has special properties that
render them immune to dithering. In
fact, on 256-color displays
applications can set a palette of any
selection of colors that they choose,
dithering the rest. These colors were
chosen specifically because they
matched the palettes selected by the
then leading browser applications. [Wikipedia]
For me web safe color palette is no longer primary concern. Optimize for the largest target audience.
According to w3schools site visitors:
In January 2009 1% of site visitors had 256 color displays, 95% of users had
24 or 32 bit.
[Update] In January 2015 0.5% had 256 colours, 0.5% had 24 bit and 99% had 32 bit
I found similar numbers from a business app site that I look after:
32-bit 79.01%
24-bit 15.64%
16-bit 5.27%
8-bit 0.08%
I don't think web safe colors are relevant any more. To me, a much bigger problem for smartphones are all the fixed-width 960-pixel wide web pages.
I think the most important thing when choosing a colour palette is keeping in mind colour-blindness. There are a few different types that I know of, but the main thing is making sure that you have enough contrast between colours.
For example green text on a red background might be easier for some to read, but very difficult or maybe impossible for others (5-10% of males!), especially if the values of the colours are close.
For those of us (like me) that didn't know exactly what web safe colors are, they were
developed at a time when many computer
displays were only capable of
displaying 256 colors. A set of colors
was needed that could be shown without
dithering on 256-color displays; the
number 216 was chosen partly because
computer operating systems customarily
reserved sixteen to twenty colors for
their own use; it was also selected
because it allows exactly six shades
each of red, green, and blue (6 × 6 ×
6 = 216).
The list of colors is often presented
as if it has special properties that
render them immune to dithering. In
fact, on 256-color displays
applications can set a palette of any
selection of colors that they choose,
dithering the rest. These colors were
chosen specifically because they
matched the palettes selected by the
then leading browser applications.
It's hard to imagine any of this applying to today's modern displays, since almost nobody runs their display in 256 colors anymore (unless perhaps they are playing an old version of Leisure Suit Larry).
It depends what you mean by web safe colours.
In terms of 16bit colour it's probably not worth worrying about. However Colours do not appear the same across devices. This can lead to all sorts of problems particularly if a designers gamma settings are different to your particular monitor set up.
So you still need to test your design across multiple set ups.
In my opinion, it's just history.
Yes, it's definitely a thing of the past. Place its importance right next to your marquee tags.
IMHO the point is really moot. Colors that aren't web safe are dithered anyway. It may not look the best in 256-color modes but as long as functional elements of the page/applications are not dependent on those colors it will not disturb the user experience that much.
Also most users surfing in 256-color modes will be aware of the fact colors will be dithered as I don't think that a lot of sites adhere to the web-safe colorschemes anymore.
According to research, even the web safe colors were not web safe. It was an interesting idea while it was relevant, thankfully that's over now.
Web safe colors are pretty much not a problem anymore unless you are dealing with consumers that will have legacy (think > 10 year old) video display equipment.
It's still important if your target very poor to developing nations, such as countries in here south asia. I personally have a full blown IPS monitor with Windows 10, so it's not a problem to me, but we are minorities, and majority of them have old hardware/computers/operating systems except mobiles phones, as it's cheap to buy a latest mobile phone, but computer hardware are expensive due to the taxes/ import cost etc.. compared to the salary of an average person.I personally witnessed many people still use old Windows XP, 98 PC with 256 colors on Pentium 4 processors. So if you target such audience, it's better to use web safe colors, but if you are doing a business it's not worth, as they are less likely to be your customers, but if you are doing an information site, a blog, an activist site that people can read and get informed without having to pay for something then always use fallback theme or something with web safe colors. since such people are mostly on windows xp/98, try to detect the OS, and if the user is from such operating systems, then use the fallback theme.
So remember that, most of people in this world are poor, and most of people still use old hardware and technologies. If you want to cover them all without working a lot hard on your current theme, then always use fallback themes. One for old mobiles, one for old desktop displays, one for modern displays and modern mobiles (responsive)
Some colors do not display on some mobile devices. (trying to make a list)
The title bars are supposed to be a blue fade from CSS:
background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #0099CC1, #0033CC) repeat-x scroll 0 0 #006DCC;
On many devices the background is not visible, and the header looks like white-on-white.
So, I'm just trying to explain the tip to determine browser-safe colors just by looking at its hex code
For a hex color #xxyyzz, the color is browser safe if
For pairs:
position 12 i.e xx values are same
position 34 i.e yy values are same
position 56 i.e zz values are same
Allowed values are
0
3
6
9
C
F