About the HSB colour model
The HSB colour model is an additive colour model used to mix light (subtractive colour models are used to mix pigments and inks).
- The main difference between the HSB colour model and the RGB colour model is how colours are represented and managed in software and apps.
- The HSB model represents colours based on hue, saturation, and brightness, while the RGB model mixes red, green, and blue light to create colours.
- HSB is popular because it offers a user-friendly way to select and modify colours when using applications like Adobe Creative Cloud for design, photography, or web development.
- On HSB colour wheels, saturation typically increases from the centre towards the edge.
In the HSB colour model:
- Hue indicates the base colour of an object, so whether it is an orange, cyan, or blue, for example, and is measured as a position on the standard colour wheel in degrees ranging from 0 to 360.
- Saturation describes the intensity of a colour, ranging from a fully saturated colour (100%) to a dull, washed-out tone that eventually becomes a monochromatic grey (0%).
- A fully saturated colour is produced by a single wavelength or a narrow range of wavelengths.
- Brightness refers to the perceived amount of light emitted by a colour, measured as a percentage from 100% (fully lit) to 0% (no light emitted).
- As the brightness of a fully saturated hue decreases it appears progressively darker.