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Graphic Design vocabulary · Colour Theory

Saturation

Meaning in graphic design, with examples

/ˌsætʃəˈreɪʃən/nounCommon term

In graphic design, saturation means: How strong or pure a colour is. High saturation gives bright, intense colours; low saturation makes colours look softer, greyer or more muted.

In Turkish: doygunluk, renk doygunluğu

How it is used

Used in photo editing, colour discussions and critiques. You increase, reduce or boost the saturation; colours are described as saturated, oversaturated, desaturated or muted.

Example sentences

  1. The food photos look fake; can you bring the saturation down a little?

  2. Low saturation and lots of white space give the skincare brand a calm feel.

Common collocations

  • high saturation
  • reduce the saturation
  • boost the saturation
  • hue and saturation
  • hueThe basic colour family of a colour, such as red, blue or green, without considering how light, dark or strong it is.
  • tintA lighter version of a colour made by adding white, or in print by using a percentage of the ink, for example a 20% tint of the brand blue.
  • contrastA clear difference between elements, for example dark and light, big and small or thick and thin, used to attract attention and make text and shapes easy to see.
  • colour paletteThe limited set of colours chosen for a project or brand, usually with main colours, supporting colours and neutrals, so that all designs look consistent.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Colour Theory

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