Colour news
Seeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision ModelCraft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessoriesPigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'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’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueSeeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision ModelCraft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessoriesPigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'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’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blue
Rang

Colours of textiles and dress

Dyed, woven, printed and worn.

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 · 🇮🇳 India +5 Blue Woad A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye · 🇫🇷 France +3 Blue Indigo A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye · 🇮🇳 India +5 Red Rubia A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 Blue Haematoxylin A natural dye from logwood, best known for staining cell nuclei in histologyDye · 🇵🇭 Philippines Purple and violet Logwood A tree whose wood yields a dye once vital for textiles and scienceColour named from nature · 🇲🇽 Mexico +3 Orange Annatto A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote treeDye · 🇲🇽 Mexico +5 Red Hennaحِنَّاء A reddish dye from the henna plant, used for body art and hair since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 Brown Catechu A brown plant extract used as a dye, tannin, and preservativeColour named from nature · 🇯🇵 Japan +2 #E49B0F Gamboge A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment · 🇰🇭 Cambodia +5 Red Brazilin A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye · 🇧🇷 Brazil +4 #E32636 Rose madder A traditional red pigment made from the roots of the madder plantPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 #A91101 Turkey red A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade · 🇹🇷 Turkey +4 Black Ebony A jet-black hardwood valued for its smooth finish and rarityColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 Red Dragon's blood A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +3 Brown Juglone A plant compound that gives deep brown-orange colour to cloth, ink and foodPigment Yellow Anthoxanthin A group of plant pigments ranging from white to yellow, used in foods and dyesPigment Purple and violet Orcein A reddish dye made from lichens, changing colour with acidityDye · 🇳🇴 Norway +4 #E32636 Alizarin crimson A deep red with blue undertones, once made from madder rootsNamed shade · 🇪🇬 Egypt #FADA5E Stil de grain yellow A yellow pigment made from buckthorn berries, once known as 'pink' or 'sap green'Pigment · 🇫🇷 France +2 Red Cudbear A red dye once made from a lichen found on rocks in upland EuropeDye · 🇳🇴 Norway +3 Brown Gambiered Guangdong gauze A silk from Guangdong, China, dyed with plant juice and river mudTraditional colour · 🇨🇳 China +1 #195905 Lincoln green A yellowish-green cloth colour first made in medieval Lincoln, EnglandNamed shade Red Santalin Red pigments obtained from the wood of the red sandalwood treePigment Blue Coventry blue A blue cloth from Coventry, dyed with woad and known for its lasting colourNamed shade Yellow Saffronزعفران A golden-yellow colour from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus flowerColour named from nature · 🇮🇷 Iran +5 Yellow Safflower A thistle-like plant whose petals yield red and yellow dyesColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +4 Brown Walnut A brown dye and ink made from the husk of the walnut fruitColour named from nature · 🇮🇷 Iran +5 Orange Annatto A natural orange-red dye from the seeds of a tropical shrubColour named from nature · 🇲🇽 Mexico +5 Red Tormentil red A red dye for leather made from the root of the tormentil plantDye · 🇺🇦 Ukraine Orange Carotene The orange pigment found in carrots and many fruits and vegetablesPigment Blue Butterfly pea blue A vivid blue from the butterfly pea flower, used in Asian food and drinkColour named from nature · 🇮🇩 Indonesia +5 Yellow Tansy yellow A golden-yellow dye from the flowers of the tansy plantColour named from nature · 🇮🇪 Ireland Blue Indigofera tinctoria A shrub whose leaves yield natural indigo dyeColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +5 Red Rose madder A red dye and pigment from the roots of a climbing plantDye · 🇮🇳 India +4 Red Brazilwood redybyrapytanga A deep orange-red dye from the heartwood of Brazil’s national treeDye · 🇧🇷 Brazil +1 Yellow Lutein A yellow-orange plant pigment used in food and supplementsPigment · 🇺🇸 United States +2 Brown Catechu A reddish-brown dye and extract from the heartwood of Senegalia catechuDye · 🇮🇳 India +3 Yellow Dyer's greenweed A yellow dye plant with golden flowers, found across Europe and TurkeyColour named from nature · 🇹🇷 Turkey Red Dragon's blood (from Dracaena cinnabari) A deep red resin from the Socotra dragon tree, prized as a dye and medicineColour named from nature · 🇾🇪 Yemen +1 Yellow Tagetes patula dye A golden yellow dye and spice made from French marigold flowersColour named from nature · 🇲🇽 Mexico +3 Red Sappanwood A tropical Asian tree whose heartwood yields a red dye called brazilinColour named from nature · 🇳🇵 Nepal +4 Yellow Weld A plant once prized for its bright yellow dyeDye · 🇫🇷 France +3 Yellow Quercitron A yellow dye once made from the inner bark of the black oak treeColour named from nature · 🇺🇸 United States +1 Red Alkanet A Mediterranean plant whose root gives a red dye used since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇺🇦 Ukraine +2 Yellow Cota tinctoria A daisy-like plant once used to make yellow and golden-orange dyesColour named from nature Yellow Dyer's saw-wort A European plant once used for its yellow dye from the leavesColour named from nature · 🇮🇪 Ireland +3 Blue Indigofera suffruticosa A shrub from the Americas used to make indigo dye and Maya blue pigmentColour named from nature · 🇺🇸 United States +5
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.