Color Spaces Profiles

Overview

Color space: A way to describe colors (RGB, CMYK, etc). In most cases for the web, this will be RGB because the majority of images on websites are sourced digitally and using RGB. HEX colors are also a subset of RGB.

Color profile:

A color profile is data that defines what the color space of a device is, and can be used to convert between different spaces. The common ones are given names, such as sRGB (or more formally, IEC 61966-2-1).

• Like most of the web, our general profile target is the sRGB color space, as that is currently the most widely viewed and available
• Image compressors like ImageOptim and Optimage may strip the color profile from images to further squeeze file sizes

Additional reading

• Web Color Management for Images and CSS
• Color models and color spaces
• Improving color on the web
• The HSB Color System: A Practitioner's Primer
• Original spec for sRGB - a boring read