Creating A Cohesive User Experience Using HSL Colors In CSS

My experience is that most colors used in CSS are hex or RGB. Although I have noticed a greater use of HSL colors in CSS, I believe HSL still has much to offer. Therefore, this article will show you how HSL can help us to work with CSS website layouts colors better.

Introduction

We use hexadecimal color codes (hex colors) most of the time. However, they do have some issues.

They're restrictive.

It's hard to understand them by just reading them.

Changing the color without using a color wheel or picking one yourself is difficult. It's also difficult to determine the hex code's color by looking at it.

Take a look at the following:

I chose a hex color for a sky-blue and a darker color. The hex colors do not relate to one another. It is difficult to see that they are both blue but have different shades.

You might have to create a lighter or darker shade of a particular color to quickly validate or test it. This is not possible with hex colors until you open your color picker.

HSL colors are a great way to solve this problem and open up many possibilities.

What is HSL?

HSL stands for hue saturation lightness. Based on the RGB color wheel, HSL is used. Each color is assigned an angle and a percentage for its Saturation and lightness.

Let's look at the example of the sky-blue color we talked about earlier. We first pick the color as we would normally from a colour picker. Next, we get the HSL value.

Notice: While I am using Sketch App, you can use any design tool that you like.

Take a look at the following:

You will notice the HSL values. The angle is the angle that represents the angle of the particular color. It is sky blue in this example. Once we have the angle, you can adjust the Saturation or brightness to suit your needs.

SATURATION

The Saturation of a color is how saturated it should be. 0% is completely unsaturated and 100% is fully saturated.

LIGHTNESS

It controls the color's lightness. For example, 0% is black and 100% is white.

We now have three values to represent color: angle, Saturation and brightness. This is how you can use color in CSS.

.element { background-color: hsl(196, 73%, 62%); } Copy

We can modify the angle of the color to get colors with similar Saturation and lightness. This can be very helpful when creating secondary brand colors.

Can you see how these colors relate to one another regarding Saturation and lightness? This can be achieved by simply changing the angle of the color. This is the beauty of HSL colors. HSL colors are easier to read and modify than any other type of color.

How to create a cohesive user experience using HSL colors in CSS

The user experience (UX) is a critical aspect of any website or application. The goal of a UX designer is to create a seamless and cohesive experience for users, which can be achieved through color. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) is a color system in CSS color methods that can be used to create a cohesive user experience. This essay will discuss how to create a cohesive user experience using HSL colors in CSS.

• Understanding HSL Colors HSL is a color system based on the three properties: Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. Hue is the color itself, Saturation is the intensity or purity of the color, and Lightness is how light or dark the color is. By adjusting these properties, you can create a wide range of colors that work well together.
• Defining a Color Palette When designing a website or application, it's important to define a color palette that works well together. You can create a color palette using HSL colors by selecting a base color and then adjusting the Saturation and Lightness values to create shades and tints of that color. For example, if your base color is blue, you can create a darker shade of blue by decreasing the Lightness value, or a lighter tint of blue by increasing the Lightness value.
• Applying Colors Consistently Consistency is key in creating a cohesive user experience. When using HSL colors in CSS, applying colors consistently throughout your design is important. This includes using the same base color for buttons, headings, and other elements and using the same Saturation and Lightness values for shades and tints of that color. This will help to create a unified look and feel throughout your design.
• Using Color Contrast Color contrast is an important aspect of accessibility in UX design. When using HSL colors, it's important to ensure enough contrast between text and background colors. You can achieve this by adjusting the Lightness value of the text or background color until there is a sufficient contrast ratio.
• Testing Your Design Once you've created your color palette using HSL colors in CSS, testing your design is important to ensure it works well for users. This includes testing for color contrast and readability and getting feedback from users on the overall look and feel of your design.

What is the uniqueness of HSL?

As I already mentioned, you have many options for specifying color in CSS. So what is the difference between HSL and other CSS colors?

Readability

HSL's greatest advantage is its ability to be read. HSL code is easy to read and understand, unlike HEX codes. You can, for example, look at this code and guess its color.

/*hex*/ #00aaff;

Can you guess which color it is? Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to guess the color. It would also be difficult to determine if the result is brighter, darker or completely different if you change even one character of this string.

Machines can read HEX values, but not HSL, which humans can read. HSL allows us to decode the color code and determine if it is saturated, dark, or light.

Modifying Colours

HSL is intuitively easier to understand than other color models.

Let's take HSL as an example and compare it to RGB. It is easier to imagine an HSL color than an RGB one, because we can specify the hue value.

While it is easy to adjust an HSL color, it can be difficult to adjust RGB colors using a tool such as a color picker. We would need to determine the red, green and blue values to get the desired result.

Take the hover effect example from the previous section. We only had to change one value to make it slightly darker. We would have had problems if we used RGB or HEX colors.

Conclusion

This tutorial will show you how to use HSL in CSS. HSL is different from RGB and HEX colors.

When used correctly, the HSL color model can be a powerful tool. It makes it easier to choose and change colors. You don't even have to be a professional to use it.

Learn how to use HSL, from Website Design Services to CSS. You can also explore the CSS Color Module Level 5 for more CSS color functions.