Name That Color

Name That Color began with a personal need: As someone who is color blind, I often found myself wondering, “What color is that, really?” I tried using other tools, but none of them quite fit the bill - they were either too technical, not accurate enough, or just not built with accessibility in mind.

So I decided to build my own.

Name That Color is a simple, lightweight app designed to help anyone - especially those with color vision deficiency - identify and understand colors with accuracy and ease. Whether you’re color blind, designing something, or just curious about the world around you, this app aims to be your go-to color companion.

What It Does

With Name That Color, you can:

  • Use the camera in real time to see the current color
  • Capture a photo for more detailed color analysis
  • Tap or drag on a captured image to identify the exact color at any point
  • Instantly view the color’s name, along with its RGB and HEX values
  • See where the color falls on a hue/saturation wheel
  • Apply white balance correction for more accurate color detection in tricky lighting

Under the hood, it uses the CIEDE2000 (ΔE00), also known as Delta E, formula for precise color difference calculation — backed by curated color libraries.

Why It Matters

For those of us who are color blind, everyday tasks - like choosing clothes, reading charts, or designing - can involve a lot of guesswork. Name That Color helps bridge that gap by providing a tool that gives clear, trustworthy answers. And for those with full color vision, it’s a powerful way to explore the richness of color in more depth.

This is an app built with inclusion, curiosity, and simplicity in mind - and I hope it’s as useful to you as it has been to me.

Included Color Libraries

Name That Color supports a wide range of color name sources to improve accuracy and flexibility:

  • Basic - A curated set of basic colors, including light and dark variants.
  • HTML Colors – Named colors in HTML/CSS that can be used directly as keywords in CSS, SVG, or HTML code.
  • Microsoft Windows Color Names – Colors from classic Microsoft Windows systems.
  • OS X Crayons – Color names from the OS X Crayons palette, primarily used in the OS X color picker interface.
  • The Color Thesaurus - A collection of color names by Ingrid Sundberg to add emotion and depth to writing.
  • Wikipedia Color Names - Color names sourced from Wikipedia.
  • X11 Color Names - Standard color names from Xlib or the X11 protocol.
  • XKCD Colors - Top 954 RGB monitor colors identified through the xkcd color name survey.

Huge shout-out to the meodai/color-name-lists for sourcing these color libaries.