CREATING colors in Hex format is a matter of converting each RGB value into it's hexadecimal equivalent. In the same way that an RGB color is created with a value of each color from 0-255, the same is true for hex colors except the numbers 0 - 255 are replaced with 00 - FF. A "full on" color is represented by FF, a "fully off" color is represented by 00. Below are the color strips used in the RGB section, converted into hex format:

hex

Color information is communicated in a language that computers can understand. The universal language of computing is the binary language which consists of sequences of ones and zeros. Hexadecimal is an abreviated format of binary and is also universally understood in computing. Hex numbers use combinations of 16 alpha-numeric digits:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9    A B C D E F

To communicate the color in a computing language, we translate the RGB triplet (r,g,b) into a six digit hexadecimal number. The first two digits represent the Red component, the second two digits represent the Green component and the last two digits represent Blue:

RRGGBB

The numerical equivalent of the RGB triplet is simply converted into it's hexadecimal form. There are several conversion tools available, but understanding hex digits helps you identify a color in code. Hex code can be abbreviated when each color is represented by the same hex numeral: #000000 = #000 and #FF00FF = #F0F.

TWEAKING colors in Hex format is easier than it seems. For example, by adding 1 to the first digit in each color, you can make the color brighter. By subtracting 1, you can make the color darker. This comes in handy when you're coding a site and need to darken a color for more legible text, instead of consulting a color tool, you can adjust the hex code on the fly.

Roll over the colors above to see the Hex digits transform to produce a darker shade.