RGB is a poor space for color reasoning because interpolation muddies through gray

RGB describes how a screen emits light and how shaders output, but mixing and interpolating in RGB desaturates and muddies colors through gray. HSV/HSB (hue, saturation, value) is a perceptual space that matches design intent: choose a hue, then set vividness (saturation) and lightness independently. Most palette reasoning—choosing colors, building harmonies, controlling mood—is done in HSV, even when the output is RGB.

Examples

Fading between red and green in RGB produces a brown/gray midpoint. In HSV, the same fade follows the hue wheel through yellow, staying vivid throughout.

Assessment

Explain why fading two vivid RGB colors produces a desaturated midpoint and describe which color space to use instead when designing a palette.