Colour news
FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleFestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For Sale
Rang

Named shades

A particular tint or shade with a name of its own, from azure to zaffre.

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)
Yellow Turmeric A golden yellow dye and spice from the rhizome of a tropical plantColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Brown Aniline A colourless oil that darkens with air and launched the first synthetic dyesPigment 路 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany Blue Woad A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Blue Indigo A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Blue Methylene blue A synthetic blue dye and medicine first made in 1876Dye Red Carmine A deep red pigment made from cochineal insects, once prized across continentsPigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2 Red Rubia A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Yellow Tartrazine A synthetic lemon yellow dye widely used in food, cosmetics and medicinesDye #E32636 Alizarin A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +1 Purple and violet Tyrian purple A reddish-purple dye once worth its weight in silver, made from sea snailsDye 路 馃嚤馃嚙 Lebanon +4 Black Carbon black A deep black pigment and filler made by burning carbon-rich materials with little airPigment Purple and violet Crystal violet A synthetic purple dye used in science, medicine, and industryDye Blue Haematoxylin A natural dye from logwood, best known for staining cell nuclei in histologyDye 路 馃嚨馃嚟 Philippines Green Malachite green A synthetic green dye once common for silk, now controversial in aquacultureDye 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +3 Purple and violet Logwood A tree whose wood yields a dye once vital for textiles and scienceColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +3 Pink and magenta Basic fuchsine A magenta dye used in biology and textile staining since the 19th centuryPigment Orange Annatto A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote treeDye 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 #E0B0FF Mauve A pale purple named after the mallow flower and once a fashion sensationNamed shade 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France Black Bone char A deep black pigment and filter made by charring animal bonesPigment Purple and violet Mauveine A purple dye first made by accident in 1856, launching the synthetic dye industryDye Red Henna丨賽賳賻賾丕亍 A reddish dye from the henna plant, used for body art and hair since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Brown Catechu A brown plant extract used as a dye, tannin, and preservativeColour named from nature 路 馃嚡馃嚨 Japan +2 #E49B0F Gamboge A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment 路 馃嚢馃嚟 Cambodia +5 Red Kermes A deep red dye made from Mediterranean scale insects, once prized for scarlet clothDye 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Red Kumkum A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used for forehead marks in IndiaDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India Blue Tekhelet转职旨讻值诇侄转 A blue dye from sea snails, central to ancient Jewish ritual and traditionDye 路 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel +2 Red Brazilin A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +4 Red Lac啶侧ぞ啶曕啶粪ぞ A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 #A91101 Turkey red A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +4 White Titanium dioxide A brilliant white pigment made from titanium, used in paints, food and sunscreenPigment 路 馃嚚馃嚦 China +5 #E32600 Methyl orange An orange-red azo dye used as a pH indicator in chemistryDye Red Dragon's blood A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +3 Red Azo dye A large group of synthetic dyes with vivid reds, oranges, and yellowsDye #1C05B3 Trypan blue A synthetic blue azo dye used to stain dead cells in science and medicineDye Brown Juglone A plant compound that gives deep brown-orange colour to cloth, ink and foodPigment Yellow Strontium chromate A yellow pigment and corrosion inhibitor made from strontium and chromium compoundsPigment Red Polish cochinealczerwiec polski A crimson dye once vital to Poland, made from a native scale insectDye 路 馃嚨馃嚤 Poland +5 Black Cephalopod ink A dark liquid from sea creatures, once used in pens and now in Mediterranean and Japanese foodColour named from nature 路 馃嚡馃嚨 Japan +2 Red Armenian cochineal崭謤栅铡斩 寨铡謤沾斋謤 A crimson dye once prized across Armenia and the Middle East, made from a rare insectDye 路 馃嚘馃嚥 Armenia +4 Yellow Anthoxanthin A group of plant pigments ranging from white to yellow, used in foods and dyesPigment Brown Bryoria fremontii A dark brown lichen used for food, medicine, and dye by First Nations in North AmericaColour named from nature 路 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia Yellow Chrysothrix chlorina A yellow to yellow-green powdery lichen used as a dye in India and SwedenColour named from nature 路 馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden +5 Purple and violet Orcein A reddish dye made from lichens, changing colour with acidityDye 路 馃嚦馃嚧 Norway +4 #E32636 Alizarin crimson A deep red with blue undertones, once made from madder rootsNamed shade 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt Red Alizarin Red S A synthetic red dye used to reveal calcium and minerals in scienceDye Red Cudbear A red dye once made from a lichen found on rocks in upland EuropeDye 路 馃嚦馃嚧 Norway +3 Yellow Chrysophenine A golden-yellow direct dye for textiles and biological stainsDye Red Pigment Red 3 A dark red azo pigment once common in oil paintsPigment
More colours

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.