As we know there are an incomprehensible number of colours. We may be able to name and standardize multiple colours but we can't standardize colour fully as it is something we still don't understand. We can define colour though.

What do you think of when you read the colour RED...

                                                                         this right?


                                                                but aren't these all red?

These are all considered red, as they are all a variation of different mixes of Hue, Saturation and Brightness(shades and tints) while still being in the red part of the colour wheel. these 3 aspects are what we use to define colour. 

Hue refers to the position or degree around the colour wheel(360 degrees). The perfect colour of red maybe at 20 degrees between the area of red 10-20 degrees (the base red). While another colour such as blue would be 180 degrees.

Saturation refers to how saturated a colour is. Meaning how vivid or rich a colour is. The higher the saturation the richer and stronger the colour gets. While the lower the saturation results in weaker overall colour, becoming a shade of grey when fully saturated. If we express hues in degrees then with saturation we use percentages (0%-100%).

Brightness refers to how much light is being or seeming to be distributed. In brightness we also use percentages to gage.  A red for example at 100% brightness would be the full red colour as as much red light as possible is being emitted and reflected. while at 0% any colour would be black as no light is being emitted.