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The four main colour spaces



If you're a small business owner, chances are you've come across / needed to supply specific colour codes for various projects like printing, signage, or digital designs. If so, did you feel a little stumped as to which code to use?


That's okay, they're not as scary as they look! Let's break it down...


There are four main colour spaces that you will probably come across in digital and print design. These are:


  • rgb

  • cmyk

  • hex

  • pantone


If your branding was created by a graphic designer, it's likely you were given a style guide outlining your fonts, logos and brand colours - including their different colour codes.


If you don't have a style guide, take a look at my Canva style guide template - it'll make your life 1000 x easier!


So what are the four different colour spaces used for? Let's take a look!


RGB

'Red, Green, Blue'


This is the colour space used for digital designs. Its colour code is made up of 3 numbers e.g. 255, 14, 92.


CMYK

'Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black'


This is the colour space used for printed designs. Its colour code is made up of 4 numbers e.g. 1, 0, 20, 9.


HEX

Hex codes are a hexadecimal format for identifying colours and are used for digital designs. It is made up of 6 characters e.g. #b56628.


Pantone

The Pantone Colour System is a standardised colour matching system used around the world. It allows printers and designers to specify and control colours that can’t be mixed in traditional CMYK for printing projects. Pantone codes differ, however will look something like this - PANTONE Cool Gray 1 U.



Want to keep your colours (and more importantly your branding) consistent? Check out my Canva style guide template!







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