Lightness
How light or dark a color is, from black to white.
Also called luminosity
Lightness describes where a color sits between black and white. In HSL, 0% is black, 100% is white, and the pure hue sits at 50%.
Getting lightness right matters more than hue for readability: text needs enough lightness difference from its background to stand out.
Guides that cover Lightness
- Harmony What Is Color Harmony? Color harmony explained: complementary, analogous, triadic and other harmonies, and how balanced color relationships make a design feel right. Read on.
- Neutrals Understanding Neutral Colors Neutral colors explained: warm, cool and balanced grays, beiges and muted tones, plus how to build a neutral color palette for rooms, brands and UI.
- Value What Is Color Value and Why Does It Matter? Color value is how light or dark a color is. Learn why value drives contrast, readability and depth in design and art, and how to check it. Read the guide.
- Palettes What Is a Color Palette? What is a color palette? Learn the main palette types, how many colors to use and how to build one for your brand or website. Then try our palette tools.
- Color Wheel Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors Explained Primary, secondary and tertiary colors explained across RYB, RGB and CMYK, with how each one is mixed on the color wheel. Learn the basics in 5 minutes.
- Tints & Shades Tints, Shades, and Tones Tint, shade and tone explained: see how adding white, black or gray changes a base color, and how to use each to build richer palettes. Read the quick guide.
- HSL What are HSL colors? HSL color explained: how hue, saturation and lightness define a color, how the HSL color space differs from RGB, and how to use HSL and HSLA in CSS. Read on.
- HEX What are HEX Colors? Hex colors explained: how hex color codes like #FF5733 work, how #RRGGBB maps to RGB, what shorthand hex means and how to convert hex to RGB. Read on.