“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things I had no words for.” — Georgia O’Keeffe

CMYK, Pantone, RGB and RAL are four distinct color systems. By understanding color systems, you can achieve consistency for your brand design across printed materials, digital experiences, and production.

CMYK - Four colour printing process

• Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black
• 4 plates used in printing press
• Colours mixed make up black / darker colours (SUBTRACTIVE COLOR SYSTEM)

PANTONE

• Used in printing
• Can be specified for a distinct brand colour
• Ensures consistency of brand colour reproduction

RGB

• Screen and electronic displays
• Colours formed using 3 light beams of various intensity
• Colours mixed make up white (ADDITIVE COLOR SYSTEM)

NB. RGBa is RGB with an alpha channel for specifying opacity

RAL

• Used mainly for powder coating, varnish and plastic coloring.
• You might use this if you require something to be painted in your brand colours like a product or interior walls.

HEXADECIMAL - Used in displaying web pages

• Displayed in 6 digits with # preceeding it, ie. #FFFFFF (White) #000000 (Black)

• Can be used to specify colours in CSS or HTML

• Red — Red stands for passion, excitement and anger. It can signify importance and command attention.

• Orange — Orange stands for playfulness, vitality and friendliness. It is invigorating and evokes energy.

• Yellow — Yellow evokes happiness, youth and optimism, but can also seem attention-grabbing or affordable.

• Green — Green evokes stability, prosperity, growth and a connection to nature.

• Light Blue — A light shade of blue exudes tranquility, trust, openness. It can also signify innocence.

• Dark Blue — Dark blue stands for professionalism, security and formality. It is mature and trustworthy.