Color description semantics

When describing color in natural language to approximate it in RGB, there are several keywords that can convey its properties effectively

# Parse complex color descriptions
color = color_from_description("very bright, slightly warm muted blue")

Hue

• Description: Hue refers to the basic color family, such as red, blue, green, or yellow.
• Translation to RGB:
  • The hue determines which of the primary RGB channels (red, green, or blue) will be most prominent. For example, “red” means a strong red channel with low green and blue, while “blue” means a high blue channel with low red and green.
  • Hues like "yellow" indicate both red and green channels are high with blue low, while "purple" combines red and blue with little green.

Saturation (Intensity)

• Description: Saturation, or chroma, is how pure or intense the color is. Terms like “vibrant,” “dull,” or “washed out” refer to saturation.
• Translation to RGB:
  • High saturation (vibrant): Increase the difference between the dominant channel(s) and others. For example, making the red channel much higher than green and blue for a vibrant red.
  • Low saturation (dull): Reduce the contrast between channels, creating a blend closer to grayscale. For instance, balancing red, green, and blue channels to similar values lowers saturation.

Brightness (Value or Lightness)

• Description: Brightness refers to how light or dark the color appears. Words like “bright,” “dim,” “dark,” or “pale” are often used.
• Translation to RGB:
  • High brightness (bright): Increase the values across all channels.
  • Low brightness (dark): Decrease values across channels while maintaining the hue's relative balance.

Temperature (Warmth/Coolness)

• Description: Color temperature reflects whether a color feels warm or cool. Terms like "warm red," "cool green," or "cold blue" apply here.
• Translation to RGB:
  • Warm colors: Increase red or red and green channels.
  • Cool colors: Increase blue or decrease red.

Opacity/Transparency

• Description: Opacity doesn’t affect RGB but is relevant for color perception, especially in design. Terms like “translucent,” “opaque,” or “sheer” describe it.
• Translation to RGB:
  • Opacity affects the alpha channel (RGBA) rather than RGB values.

These keywords give a structured way to translate a natural-language color description into an RGB approximation.

Color keywords

Each language ships a color_descriptors.json file that maps a modifier category to the words that signal it. Each of the four properties — saturation, brightness, temperature and opacity — has four categories: a very_high_*, high_*, low_* and very_low_* variant. The parser applies the strongest matching category in each property.

Example structure:

{
  "high_saturation": ["vibrant", "rich", "bold", "deep"],
  "low_saturation": ["dull", "muted", "washed-out", "faded"],
  "high_brightness": ["bright", "light", "pale", "luminous"],
  "low_brightness": ["dim", "dark", "shadowy", "faint"]
}

Modifier words are matched on word boundaries, so "light" applies in "light blue" but not in "flighty". Color name lists in each language determine the hue.

English ships roughly 14,700 color-name mappings.

Below are some examples of non-color-name keywords that define other qualities of a color

Saturation (Intensity)

• Very High Saturation: For colors that are extremely intense or vivid.
  • Keywords: “neon,” “saturated,” “intense,” “brilliant,” “flamboyant”
• High Saturation: These adjectives indicate vibrant or intense colors where the hue is pronounced.
  • Keywords: “vibrant,” “rich,” “bold,” “deep,” “vivid,” “intense,” “pure,” “electric”
• Low Saturation: These adjectives imply a muted or washed-out appearance, often making the color appear closer to grayscale.
  • Keywords: “dull,” “muted,” “washed-out,” “faded,” “soft,” “pale,” “subdued,” “pastel”
• Very Low Saturation: For colors that are very desaturated, nearing grayscale.
  • Keywords: “drab,” “grayed,” “washed-out,” “faded,” “subdued”

Brightness (Lightness/Value)

• Very High Brightness: Extremely bright colors, often implying high lightness or near-whiteness.
  • Keywords: “blinding,” “radiant,” “glowing,” “white,” “light-filled”
• High Brightness: Bright colors, often indicating a lighter shade or close to white.
  • Keywords: “bright,” “light,” “pale,” “glowing,” “luminous,” “brilliant,” “clear,” “radiant”
• Low Brightness: These terms describe darker or dimmer shades, closer to black.
  • Keywords: “dim,” “dark,” “shadowy,” “faint,” “gloomy,” “subdued,” “deep,” “midnight”
• Very Low Brightness: Colors that are nearly black or very dark.
  • Keywords: “pitch-dark,” “black,” “shadowed,” “deep,” “ink-like”

Temperature (Warmth)

• Very High Temperature (Very Warm): Intense warm colors, strongly leaning toward red, orange, or intense yellow.
  • Keywords: “fiery,” “lava-like,” “burning,” “blazing”
• High Temperature (Warm Colors): Warmer colors suggest a shift towards red or yellow tones, giving the color a warmer feel.
  • Keywords: “warm,” “hot,” “fiery,” “sunny,” “toasty,” “scorching,” “amber,” “reddish”
• Low Temperature (Cool Colors): Cooler colors involve blue or green tones, giving the color a cooler or icy appearance.
  • Keywords: “cool,” “cold,” “chilly,” “icy,” “frosty,” “crisp,” “bluish,” “aqua”
• Very Low Temperature (Very Cool): Extremely cool tones, verging on cold, icy blues or greens.
  • Keywords: “icy,” “arctic,” “frigid,” “wintry,” “glacial”

Opacity/Transparency

• Very High Opacity: Extremely solid or dense colors.
  • Keywords: “impenetrable,” “opaque,” “thick”
• High Opacity: Describes solid colors without transparency.
  • Keywords: “opaque,” “solid,” “dense,” “thick,” “cloudy,” “impenetrable,” “strong”
• Low Opacity: Indicates transparency or translucency, where the background may show through.
  • Keywords: “transparent,” “translucent,” “sheer,” “see-through,” “misty,” “delicate,” “airy”
• Very Low Opacity: Highly transparent or barely visible colors.
  • Keywords: “ethereal,” “ghostly,” “barely-there,” “translucent”

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