The RGB color mode

Since you're almost certainly reading this article through a screen, I'm starting to tell you right away that you already know what RGB color mode is, or at least you've certainly seen colors that fall into this gamut.

But if we come to the daily activity of those involved in graphic design or creativity in the visual field, knowing how the different color ranges work and being able to manage them in the best possible way avoids errors, wasted time and improves results.

It is a subject that may even seem obvious, but with respect to which many questions always arise and doubts often arise.

In this article, then, we start from the basics in order to really explain in depth what it is when it comes to the RGB color method , what you need it for in practice and how to best use it in your projects.

What does RGB mean?

The acronym RGB indicates the three channels , therefore in practice the three colors from which all the others are obtained within this color method.

In particular it is about

• R for red , hence “red”
• G for green , i.e. “green”
• B stands for blue , in Italian "blue"

Attention, despite the similarity of this triad, it is not about the primary colors , which are red, blue and yellow.

Since there are three basic colors which then go to make up all the others, we can also define this color method as three-color, as an alternative to four-color which indicates the CMYK method instead.

By mixing light beams of these three colors in different percentages, we are able to build a very wide range , which also includes very bright, clear and saturated hues.

The greater versatility of this method compared to CMYK can be attributed precisely to the different physical characteristics of light and matter . I'll explain it to you better

Color-light: additive synthesis

When two or more beams of colored light overlap, they create a new color , which will be brighter than the basic colors from which it is formed.

This phenomenon is called additive synthesis . The classic example that is used to explain it is that of green and red light beams projected onto a white wall, which in the section where they overlap give life to yellow.

The properties of additive synthesis mean that the RGB color method guarantees the possibility of creating a very large number of colours , even very bright ones, without the support of black or white as instead happens for the CMYK method which must make use of the key black channel.

How RGB colors are created

A brief infographic that explains how the others are created from two (or three) of the three colors of the three-colour process

Every time you work on a project based on the RGB color mode, you create the different colors you need by acting on the red, green and blue values .

In the RGB color mode, each channel can be associated with a value ranging from 0 to 255 .

Since it is a method based on additive synthesis (adding color I add brightness) when all three channels are set to the maximum value , therefore 255, white is obtained .

Conversely, when all three channels are at 0, black is obtained.

If you want to create gray in RGB you will have to set the same value for all three channels ;‌ by varying the value you can get the whole gray scale. The lower the value, the darker grays will correspond, the higher the value, increasingly lighter grays .

If, on the other hand, you want to explore the entire tonal range of a color, you can only act on that channel by modifying the value and keeping the others at zero.

To get all the colors that are not white, black, red, green or blue you have to adjust the values of all three channels.

When to use RGB color mode?

As we said at the beginning, precisely because of its specificity, this is the color method to be set every time you start a project for a graphic or visual product that will be enjoyed through a screen .

We are therefore talking about a very broad field of application, which includes:

• website and app design
• social media
• visual content such as video, graphics intended for digital environments, photography for sites, social networks and apps.

As far as the branding side is concerned, however, we must pay particular attention to the management of the color method .

In fact, if the visual elements that identify a brand, such as the logo or other graphic products, will be used digitally , the correct method to work is obviously RGB .

But it's really very rare, not to mention almost impossible, that a brand logo is never used for products made with letterpress printing, even if they were just business cards.

When it comes to designing something that will be reproduced both on screen and in print , therefore, you have to work on two different levels and always make sure that when you are choosing a color in RGB, it can work just as well with an alternative color method for digital destinations. 'use different.

In this sense, if you use the most common Adobe design software , such as Illustrator and Photoshop, you can choose the color mode you want to use in the new document creation window.

If, on the other hand, you want to change the color mode when the project has already started, you can do it both in Photoshop, thanks to the Convert profile function, and in Illustrator from the color menu . This conversion can be of great help to verify that your brand image project can maintain the right impact through different means and supports.

Color modes beyond RGB

As I anticipated, the three-color or RGB color method is the right one for all your projects that are enjoyed through screens.

As I anticipated, however, if what you create must be printed , it is preferable to use other color methods. In particular , four-color printing, or the CMYK color method, is usually used for letterpress printing . It is called quadrichromy precisely because‌ it is based on four channels :‌ cyan, magenta, yellow and key black (the channel necessary to obtain intense black).

We will delve into the CMYK color method in one of the next articles, but we have already compared these two methods and their uses in more detail in this article: RGB and CMYK what they are and how to use them

In reality today, when it comes to offset printing , you can also choose the method defined as CMYK+3, since there are machines capable of using, in addition to the four standard inks, also 3 other colors (the secondary ones:‌ orange, green, viola).

If, on the other hand, you want to obtain a color that does not exist in the CMYK gamut through printing, perhaps a color that you have designed in RGB and which, once converted, seems unconvincing to you, you have another option . In fact, you can use “spot colors” ;‌ a very famous example of a color method based on spot colors think of Pantone colors. We will also talk about spot colors in one of the next articles.

Conclusions

Correctly managing the color method in a graphic project, as you could understand, is really important to work in the most effective way and to obtain the desired results.

The three-color process allows you to make the most of the potential of digital screens and tools. Knowing the world of colors is a fundamental skill to become a good graphic designer.