16 + 109 = 125 Colours

=== by Bob Sutherland ===

The Original 16 Colours for Creating Websites

The following is the original sixteen colours that were first given names and standardized so that they should appear the same on all computer devices that access the Internet.

Chart 1a: The original 16 named colours and their RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers
#c0c0c0 - silver #000000 - black #808080 - gray #ffffff - white
#800000 - maroon #ff0000 - red #800080 - purple #ff00ff - fuchsia
#008000 - green #00ff00 - lime #808000 - olive #ffff00 - yellow
#000080 - navy #0000ff - blue #008080 - teal #00ffff - aqua
Chart 1b: The original 16 named colours rearranged in a slightly different pattern
#000000 - black #808080 - gray #c0c0c0 - silver #ffffff - white
#008000 - green #808000 - olive #00ff00 - lime #ffff00 - yellow
#000080 - navy #008080 - teal #0000ff - blue #00ffff - aqua
#800000 - maroon #800080 - purple #ff0000 - red #ff00ff - fuchsia
Chart 2: Testing the spelling of Grey and Gray
#ffffff - white grey gray #000000 - black

Hopefully grey and gray should be the same colour on your computer screen if your hardware and software are calibrated correctly.


Experimenting with the hexadecimal numbers C0 and 40

The rest of this web page includes 109 colours that I have created by extending mathematical patterns I noticed among the RGB hexadecimal numbers in the original list of 16 named colours. I am experimenting to see what colours can be created with the hexadecimal numbers FF C0 80 40 00.

Chart 3: Adding #404040 to complete the gray scale of the original 16 named colours
#ffffff - white #c0c0c0 - silver #808080 - gray #404040 - colour #000000 - black
Chart 4: Creating some colours using the hexadecimal numbers C0 and 40
#ff0000 - red #00ff00 - lime #0000ff - blue #ffff00 - yellow #ff00ff - fuchsia #00ffff - aqua
#c00000 - colour #00c000 - colour #0000c0 - colour #c0c000 - colour #c000c0 - colour #00c0c0 - colour
#800000 - maroon #008000 - green #000080 - navy #808000 - olive #800080 - purple #008080 - teal
#400000 - colour #004000 - colour #000040 - colour #404000 - colour #400040 - colour #004040 - colour

108 New colours

I have created three different versions of chart 5 and two different versions of chart 6 by rearranging some of the colours. I will leave it up to your observation skills to notice any differences in your perception of the colours simply because they have been rearranged. You may notice a three dimensional effect caused by grey shadowing when viewing at least one of the charts.

There are 60 colours in chart 5 and 60 colours in chart 6. Add them together to get 120 colours. We then have to subtract 12 named colours from chart 5 because they were included in the original 16 named colours. That gives us a subtotal of 108 new colours that I have created by experimenting with hexadecimal numbers FF C0 80 40 00. Add colour #404040 from the grey scale up above to get the total of 109 colours that I alluded to in the title of this page.

Chart 5a: All of the colours that can be created with FF C0 80 40 00 where 2 out of 3 of the RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers are the same
#ffc0c0 - colour #c0ffc0 - colour #c0c0ff - colour #c0ffff - colour #ffc0ff - colour #ffffc0 - colour
#ff8080 - colour #80ff80 - colour #8080ff - colour #80ffff - colour #ff80ff - colour #ffff80 - colour
#ff4040 - colour #40ff40 - colour #4040ff - colour #40ffff - colour #ff40ff - colour #ffff40 - colour
#ff0000 - red #00ff00 - lime #0000ff - blue #00ffff - aqua #ff00ff - fuchsia #ffff00 - yellow
#c08080 - colour #80c080 - colour #8080c0 - colour #80c0c0 - colour #c080c0 - colour #c0c080 - colour
#c04040 - colour #40c040 - colour #4040c0 - colour #40c0c0 - colour #c040c0 - colour #c0c040 - colour
#c00000 - colour #00c000 - colour #0000c0 - colour #00c0c0 - colour #c000c0 - colour #c0c000 - colour
#804040 - colour #408040 - colour #404080 - colour #408080 - colour #804080 - colour #808040 - colour
#800000 - maroon #008000 - green #000080 - navy #008080 - teal #800080 - purple #808000 - olive
#400000 - colour #004000 - colour #000040 - colour #004040 - colour #400040 - colour #404000 - colour
Chart 5b: All of the colours that can be created with FF C0 80 40 00 where 2 out of 3 of the RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers are the same
#ff0000 - red #00ff00 - lime #0000ff - blue #00ffff - aqua #ff00ff - fuchsia #ffff00 - yellow
#c00000 - colour #00c000 - colour #0000c0 - colour #00c0c0 - colour #c000c0 - colour #c0c000 - colour
#800000 - maroon #008000 - green #000080 - navy #008080 - teal #800080 - purple #808000 - olive
#400000 - colour #004000 - colour #000040 - colour #004040 - colour #400040 - colour #404000 - colour
#804040 - colour #408040 - colour #404080 - colour #408080 - colour #804080 - colour #808040 - colour
#c04040 - colour #40c040 - colour #4040c0 - colour #40c0c0 - colour #c040c0 - colour #c0c040 - colour
#ff4040 - colour #40ff40 - colour #4040ff - colour #40ffff - colour #ff40ff - colour #ffff40 - colour
#ff8080 - colour #80ff80 - colour #8080ff - colour #80ffff - colour #ff80ff - colour #ffff80 - colour
#ffc0c0 - colour #c0ffc0 - colour #c0c0ff - colour #c0ffff - colour #ffc0ff - colour #ffffc0 - colour
#c08080 - colour #80c080 - colour #8080c0 - colour #80c0c0 - colour #c080c0 - colour #c0c080 - colour
Chart 5c: All of the colours that can be created with FF C0 80 40 00 where 2 out of 3 of the RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers are the same
#c0ffff - colour #ffc0ff - colour #ffffc0 - colour #ffc0c0 - colour #c0ffc0 - colour #c0c0ff - colour
#408080 - colour #804080 - colour #808040 - colour #804040 - colour #408040 - colour #404080 - colour
#004040 - colour #400040 - colour #404000 - colour #400000 - colour #004000 - colour #000040 - colour
#80c0c0 - colour #c080c0 - colour #c0c080 - colour #c08080 - colour #80c080 - colour #8080c0 - colour
#008080 - teal #800080 - purple #808000 - olive #800000 - maroon #008000 - green #000080 - navy
#80ffff - colour #ff80ff - colour #ffff80 - colour #ff8080 - colour #80ff80 - colour #8080ff - colour
#40c0c0 - colour #c040c0 - colour #c0c040 - colour #c04040 - colour #40c040 - colour #4040c0 - colour
#40ffff - colour #ff40ff - colour #ffff40 - colour #ff4040 - colour #40ff40 - colour #4040ff - colour
#00c0c0 - colour #c000c0 - colour #c0c000 - colour #c00000 - colour #00c000 - colour #0000c0 - colour
#00ffff - aqua #ff00ff - fuchsia #ffff00 - yellow #ff0000 - red #00ff00 - lime #0000ff - blue

Chart 6a: All of the colours that can be created with FF C0 80 40 00 where each of the RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers are different
#c0ff80 - colour #c080ff - colour #80c0ff - colour #ffc080 - colour #ff80c0 - colour #80ffc0 - colour
#c0ff40 - colour #c040ff - colour #40c0ff - colour #ffc040 - colour #ff40c0 - colour #40ffc0 - colour
#c0ff00 - colour #c000ff - colour #00c0ff - colour #ffc000 - colour #ff00c0 - colour #00ffc0 - colour
#80ff40 - colour #8040ff - colour #4080ff - colour #ff8040 - colour #ff4080 - colour #40ff80 - colour
#80ff00 - colour #8000ff - colour #0080ff - colour #ff8000 - colour #ff0080 - colour #00ff80 - colour
#40ff00 - colour #4000ff - colour #0040ff - colour #ff4000 - colour #ff0040 - colour #00ff40 - colour
#80c040 - colour #8040c0 - colour #4080c0 - colour #c08040 - colour #c04080 - colour #40c080 - colour
#80c000 - colour #8000c0 - colour #0080c0 - colour #c08000 - colour #c00080 - colour #00c080 - colour
#40c000 - colour #4000c0 - colour #0040c0 - colour #c04000 - colour #c00040 - colour #00c040 - colour
#408000 - colour #400080 - colour #004080 - colour #804000 - colour #800040 - colour #008040 - colour
Chart 6b: All of the colours that can be created with FF C0 80 40 00 where each of the RGB (red-green-blue) hexadecimal numbers are different
#ff8040 - colour #ff4080 - colour #40ff80 - colour #80ff40 - colour #8040ff - colour #4080ff - colour
#ff4000 - colour #ff0040 - colour #00ff40 - colour #40ff00 - colour #4000ff - colour #0040ff - colour
#c08040 - colour #c04080 - colour #40c080 - colour #80c040 - colour #8040c0 - colour #4080c0 - colour
#c04000 - colour #c00040 - colour #00c040 - colour #40c000 - colour #4000c0 - colour #0040c0 - colour
#804000 - colour #800040 - colour #008040 - colour #408000 - colour #400080 - colour #004080 - colour
#ffc080 - colour #ff80c0 - colour #80ffc0 - colour #c0ff80 - colour #c080ff - colour #80c0ff - colour
#ff8000 - colour #ff0080 - colour #00ff80 - colour #80ff00 - colour #8000ff - colour #0080ff - colour
#c08000 - colour #c00080 - colour #00c080 - colour #80c000 - colour #8000c0 - colour #0080c0 - colour
#ffc040 - colour #ff40c0 - colour #40ffc0 - colour #c0ff40 - colour #c040ff - colour #40c0ff - colour
#ffc000 - colour #ff00c0 - colour #00ffc0 - colour #c0ff00 - colour #c000ff - colour #00c0ff - colour