Free on iOS

What Color Is This? Find the Name of Any Color

You see a color you can't quite name — is it dusty rose or blush? Slate blue or steel? Color Identifier App gives you the precise color name for any color you photograph or point your camera at, drawing from thousands of named colors.

Why generic color names are insufficient

Colors in design, fashion, and interior decoration have specific names that communicate much more precisely than broad categories. "Blue" covers an enormous range. "Dusty Cornflower," "Steel Blue," "Powder Blue," and "Slate" are all blue but meaningfully different — and having the right name is the starting point for communicating about a color accurately.

The app's color naming database prioritizes the kind of specific, descriptive names that designers and makers actually use — not just primary colors, but the subtle, in-between tones that require precise language.

The color naming process

When you tap a color or lock it in live mode, the app searches its database for the named color whose measured values (L*a*b* in CIELAB color space) are closest to the sampled color. The distance is measured in delta E (ΔE) — a number that represents the perceptual color difference.

A ΔE below 2.3 is generally considered imperceptible to most people; the app displays the ΔE value for the closest match so you know how precise the name is.

Names across multiple color systems

The app shows names from multiple naming systems: a descriptive English name (e.g., "Warm Sage"), the closest CSS named color (e.g., "darkolivegreen"), and the closest Pantone name if the color falls within the Pantone solid coated library.

Multiple naming systems are useful depending on context: descriptive names for communication with clients or contractors; CSS names for web developers; Pantone names for print and branding work.

Color name for communication and documentation

Having a precise color name solves real communication problems: describing a color verbally to a contractor without having the paint chip handy, specifying a color for a client presentation, documenting the existing colors in a space, or communicating with a team about a design direction.

Share the color name directly from the app via text or email, along with the hex code and paint brand match, so the recipient has everything they need to find or reproduce the color.

Name Any Color Instantly

Download Color Identifier App free on iOS — precise color names, hex codes, and paint matches from your camera.

Download on the App Store — Free