colors | VACCC
VisiBone Anglo-Centric Color Code
VisiBone Anglo-Centric Color Code

http://www.visibone.com/vaccc/

Peter Hamer correctly points out that this naming scheme should not be confused with names given to spectral colors, such as those that follow the mnemonic "Roy G. Biv": Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. The distinction is between the physical nature of light and the human perception of if.

Humans can't distinguish yellow light from a mixture of red and green light. That's due to the color detection mechanism of the human eye. The "cones" on the surface of the retina respond differentially to red, green and blue light. (The "rods" on the other hand are very sensitive to the brightness of light but can't distinguish hues.) So computer phosphors don't attempt to transmit yellow light at all. They simulate it by transmitting both red and green. At least humans can be fooled in this way.

There's much more to light than the human eye can measure. Besides the fact that visible light is a narrow subset of all the light coming from the sun, there a whole dimension in the variation of frequency and amplitude to which the eye is "tone deaf". This dimension is important to astronomers and chemists. Their instruments measure aspects of light that can reveal, for example, the composition of a star as well as that of a material found at a crime scene.

Only when light is "for eyes only," your's or anyone's, can we simplify theory and measurement to varying quantities of red, green and blue. (Ever use a magnifying glass on your computer screen to see the little dots? Watch that eyestrain! Didn't I say a magnfying glass?!) So the physics of color and the perception of color are different disciplines.

Another interesting distinction, "hues" on a computer monitor as well as in the mind of a user, follow a circular series, as named above in the hue list. Magenta and Pink are as close to each other in perception as Green and Teal. But the physics of light is linear, a spectrum. Violet in the color spectrum is the furthest thing from Red. With real light, there's no such thing as magenta. The eye, when the red and blue cones are stimulated "sees" magenta, but it doesn't correspond to any frequency of light, the way most other hues do.

Incidentally, the distinction between Red, Green, Blue (RGB) and Cyan, Magenta, Yellow (CMY or CMYK when Black is added to the mix) is purely tactical. Printers use light-absorbing ink and computer monitors use light-transmitting phosphors. The perfect cyan ink would completely absorb red light and be completely transparent to green and blue. The tactic of mixing cyan and yellow ink to get green is backwards from mixing red and green light to get yellow. But the strategy is the same: fooling human eyeballs by manipulating the red, green and blue light that ultimately hits the retina.
Swatch | List | Palette | 216 colors

Azure-Azure-Blue
#0066ff

Azure-Azure-Cyan
#0099ff

Black
#000000

Blue
#0000ff

Blue-Blue-Azure
#0033ff

Cyan
#00ffff

Cyan-Cyan-Azure
#00ccff

Cyan-Cyan-Teal
#00ffcc

Dark Azure-Blue
#003399

Dark Azure-Cyan
#006699

Dark Blue-Azure
#0033cc

Dark Blue-Violet
#3300cc

Dark Cyan-Azure
#0099cc

Dark Cyan-Teal
#00cc99

Dark Dull Azure
#336699

Dark Dull Blue
#333399

Dark Dull Cyan
#339999

Dark Dull Green
#339933

Dark Dull Magenta
#993399

Dark Dull Orange
#996633

Dark Dull Pink
#993366

Dark Dull Red
#993333

Dark Dull Spring
#669933

Dark Dull Teal
#339966

Dark Dull Violet
#663399

Dark Dull Yellow
#999933

Dark Faded Blue
#000099

Dark Faded Cyan
#009999

Dark Faded Green
#009900

Dark Faded Magenta
#990099

Dark Faded Red
#990000

Dark Faded Yellow
#999900

Dark Gray
#666666

Dark Green-Spring
#33cc00

Dark Green-Teal
#00cc33

Dark Hard Azure
#0066cc

Dark Hard Blue
#0000cc

Dark Hard Cyan
#00cccc

Dark Hard Green
#00cc00

Dark Hard Magenta
#cc00cc

Dark Hard Orange
#cc6600

Dark Hard Pink
#cc0066

Dark Hard Red
#cc0000

Dark Hard Spring
#66cc00

Dark Hard Teal
#00cc66

Dark Hard Violet
#6600cc

Dark Hard Yellow
#cccc00

Dark Magenta-Pink
#cc0099

Dark Magenta-Violet
#9900cc

Dark Orange-Red
#993300

Dark Orange-Yellow
#996600

Dark Pink-Magenta
#990066

Dark Pink-Red
#990033

Dark Red-Orange
#cc3300

Dark Red-Pink
#cc0033

Dark Spring-Green
#339900

Dark Spring-Yellow
#669900

Dark Teal-Cyan
#009966

Dark Teal-Green
#009933

Dark Violet-Blue
#330099

Dark Violet-Magenta
#660099

Dark Weak Blue
#333366

Dark Weak Cyan
#336666

Dark Weak Magenta
#663366

Dark Weak Red
#663333

Dark Weak Yellow
#666633

Dark Yellow-Orange
#cc9900

Dark Yellow-Spring
#99cc00

Green
#00ff00

Green-Green-Spring
#33ff00

Green-Green-Teal
#00ff33

Light Azure-Blue
#6699ff

Light Azure-Cyan
#66ccff

Light Blue-Azure
#3366ff

Light Blue-Violet
#6633ff

Light Cyan-Azure
#33ccff

Light Cyan-Teal
#33ffcc

Light Dull Azure
#6699cc

Light Dull Blue
#6666cc

Light Dull Cyan
#66cccc

Light Dull Green
#66cc66

Light Dull Magenta
#cc66cc

Light Dull Orange
#cc9966

Light Dull Pink
#cc6699

Light Dull Red
#cc6666

Light Dull Spring
#99cc66

Light Dull Teal
#66cc99

Light Dull Violet
#9966cc

Light Dull Yellow
#cccc66

Light Faded Blue
#6666ff

Light Faded Cyan
#66ffff

Light Faded Green
#66ff66

Light Faded Magenta
#ff66ff

Light Faded Red
#ff6666

Light Faded Yellow
#ffff66

Light Gray
#999999

Light Green-Spring
#66ff33

Light Green-Teal
#33ff66

Light Hard Azure
#3399ff

Light Hard Blue
#3333ff

Light Hard Cyan
#33ffff

Light Hard Green
#33ff33

Light Hard Magenta
#ff33ff

Light Hard Orange
#ff9933

Light Hard Pink
#ff3399

Light Hard Red
#ff3333

Light Hard Spring
#99ff33

Light Hard Teal
#33ff99

Light Hard Violet
#9933ff

Light Hard Yellow
#ffff33

Light Magenta-Pink
#ff33cc

Light Magenta-Violet
#cc33ff

Light Orange-Red
#ff9966

Light Orange-Yellow
#ffcc66

Light Pink-Magenta
#ff66cc

Light Pink-Red
#ff6699

Light Red-Orange
#ff6633

Light Red-Pink
#ff3366

Light Spring-Green
#99ff66

Light Spring-Yellow
#ccff66

Light Teal-Cyan
#66ffcc

Light Teal-Green
#66ff99

Light Violet-Blue
#9966ff

Light Violet-Magenta
#cc66ff

Light Weak Cyan
#99cccc

Light Weak Green
#99cc99

Light Weak Magenta
#cc99cc

Light Weak Red
#cc9999

Light Weak Yellow
#cccc99

Light Yellow-Orange
#ffcc33

Light Yellow-Spring
#ccff33

Magenta
#ff00ff

Magenta-Magenta-Pink
#ff00cc

Magenta-Magenta-Violet
#cc00ff

Medium Azure-Blue
#3366cc

Medium Azure-Cyan
#3399cc

Medium Faded Blue
#3333cc

Medium Faded Cyan
#33cccc

Medium Faded Green
#33cc33

Medium Faded Magenta
#cc33cc

Medium Faded Red
#cc3333

Medium Faded Yellow
#cccc33

Medium Orange-Red
#cc6633

Medium Orange-Yellow
#cc9933

Medium Pink-Magenta
#cc3399

Medium Pink-Red
#cc3366

Medium Spring-Green
#66cc33

Medium Spring-Yellow
#99cc33

Medium Teal-Cyan
#33cc99

Medium Teal-Green
#33cc66

Medium Violet-Blue
#6633cc

Medium Violet-Magenta
#9933cc

Medium Weak Blue
#666699

Medium Weak Cyan
#669999

Medium Weak Green
#669966

Medium Weak Magenta
#996699

Medium Weak Red
#996666

Medium Weak Yellow
#999966

Obscure Dull Azure
#003366

Obscure Dull Blue
#000066

Obscure Dull Cyan
#006666

Obscure Dull Green
#006600

Obscure Dull Magenta
#660066

Obscure Dull Orange
#663300

Obscure Dull Pink
#660033

Obscure Dull Red
#660000

Obscure Dull Spring
#336600

Obscure Dull Teal
#006633

Obscure Dull Violet
#330066

Obscure Dull Yellow
#666600

Obscure Gray
#333333

Obscure Weak Blue
#000033

Obscure Weak Cyan
#003333

Obscure Weak Green
#003300

Obscure Weak Magenta
#330033

Obscure Weak Red
#330000

Obscure Weak Yellow
#333300

Orange-Orange-Red
#ff6600

Orange-Orange-Yellow
#ff9900

Pale Dull Azure
#99ccff

Pale Dull Blue
#9999ff

Pale Dull Cyan
#99ffff

Pale Dull Green
#99ff99

Pale Dull Magenta
#ff99ff

Pale Dull Orange
#ffcc99

Pale Dull Pink
#ff99cc

Pale Dull Red
#ff9999

Pale Dull Spring
#ccff99

Pale Dull Teal
#99ffcc

Pale Dull Violet
#cc99ff

Pale Dull Yellow
#ffff99

Pale Gray
#cccccc

Pale Weak Blue
#ccccff

Pale Weak Cyan
#ccffff

Pale Weak Green
#ccffcc

Pale Weak Magenta
#ffccff

Pale Weak Red
#ffcccc

Pale Weak Yellow
#ffffcc

Pink-Pink-Magenta
#ff0099

Pink-Pink-Red
#ff0066

Red
#ff0000

Red-Red-Orange
#ff3300

Red-Red-Pink
#ff0033

Spring-Spring-Green
#66ff00

Spring-Spring-Yellow
#99ff00

Teal-Teal-Cyan
#00ff99

Teal-Teal-Green
#00ff66

Violet-Violet-Blue
#6600ff

Violet-Violet-Magenta
#9900ff

White
#ffffff

Yellow
#ffff00

Yellow-Yellow-Orange
#ffcc00

Yellow-Yellow-Spring
#ccff00