Color Models

HSV / HSB

A cylindrical color model describing colors using hue, saturation, and value (brightness), commonly used in color pickers.

HSV (also called HSB for Hue-Saturation-Brightness) differs from HSL primarily in how it handles the lightness dimension. In HSV, value of 100% represents the brightest version of the hue (not white), and reducing value darkens the color toward black. This makes HSV more intuitive for selecting colors the way a painter would, starting with a vivid color and adjusting its brightness. HSV is the default model in most graphic design software color pickers (Photoshop, Figma, Sketch) because it maps naturally to how people think about mixing paint with black.

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