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Colour & Colour Management

Chroma

The colourfulness of an area judged relative to the brightness of a similarly lit white, a perceptually defined counterpart to saturation.

Measured in C* (CIELAB)

In depth

Chroma differs from saturation in its reference: saturation is colourfulness relative to the area's own brightness, chroma relative to a white reference in the same conditions. The distinction matters in colour science and in the CIELAB model, where chroma and hue together describe a colour's position independently of its lightness.

Examples in practice

A dark navy and a bright sky blue can share the same hue while differing greatly in both chroma and lightness.