coloronly

Coloronly is a term used in design and digital imaging to describe the selective use of color information while omitting luminance and texture cues. In color-only rendering or analysis, chromatic information—hue and saturation—is preserved, whereas brightness and lightness variations are stripped away. This approach emphasizes color relationships and harmony, allowing researchers and designers to study the perceptual effects of color independent of depth or shading.

Applications of coloronly appear in color theory education, perceptual experiments, and certain rendering workflows where the goal is to evaluate palettes, contrasts, or visual communication without the influence of luminance. It is also used in accessibility testing and design reviews to assess whether color schemes remain distinguishable and meaningful when brightness cues are minimized or removed. In art and media, color-only presentations can be employed to convey mood or concept through hue and saturation alone.

Limitations of coloronly include potential ambiguity, as removing luminance can make scenes harder to interpret and reduce realism. It is thus typically used as a supplementary, not a primary, representation method. Familiarity with color relationships and context is important when interpreting color-only visuals.

See also: Color theory, Luminance, Chromaticity, Color contrast.