Design
•
Apr 15, 2026
•
4 min read
Hex, RGB, HSL: A Color Format for Every Job
Hex is for handoffs. RGB is for math. HSL is for tweaking. Picking the right format speeds up every design task.
Hex (#RRGGBB) is concise — 6 chars represent any 24-bit color. Use in CSS handoffs and brand guidelines. RGB (rgb(255, 0, 100)) is the same color in decimal — easier for programmatic manipulation. HSL (hsl(330, 100%, 50%)) splits color into Hue (0-360 degrees on a color wheel), Saturation (0-100%) and Lightness (0-100%). HSL is the only format where "make this 10% darker" is a single-axis change. Our Hex to RGB Converter and RGB to Hex tool handle all three. For accessibility, run final colors through a WCAG contrast checker.