52 Types of White Color

Anna Mar, September 05, 2018 updated on December 02, 2019

White is the color that is perceived by the eye when confronted with all visible wavelengths of light. The composition of white light are the colors of the rainbow that include red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. White light can also be created with the primary colors red, green and blue. Materials that scatter light in every direction appear as white. Sunlight is white when viewed from space and white colors are pervasive in nature including snow, sand and clouds. White is associated with purity as white things easily show stains. As such, wearing white is a type of countersignaling that shows you aren't dirty. White is also historically associated with goodness, cleanliness, newness and neutrality. It is a pervasive color in modern minimalist architecture due to its neutrality and perceived simplicity. The following are common variations of white and whitish colors.

Abbey White

#ebe5d0

Abstract White

#ede9dd

Acoustic White

#efece1

Aircraft White

#edf2f8

Atrium White

#f1eee4

Bright White

#f4f5f0

Brilliant White

#edf1fe

Broken White

#eeebe3

Cake Batter

#f0eddb

Cardboard White

#f7f7f7

Cascading White

#f7f5f6

Ceramic

#fcfff9

Cloud White

#f2f2ed

Coconut Butter

#f2efe1

Coconut White

#e9edf6

Commercial White

#edece6

Cotton Ball

#f2f7fd

Delicate White

#f1f2ee

Feather White

#e7eae5

Foundation White

#eeeeff

Ghost White

#f8f8ff

Glamour White

#fffcec

Grim White

#f6f1f4

Igloo

#fdfcfa

Indigo White

#ebf6f7

Insignia White

#ecf3f9

Latte Froth

#f3f0e8

Marshmallow

#f0eee4

Milk

#fdfff5

Moon White

#eaf4fc

Night White

#e1e1dd

Off White

#ffffe4

Pacific Pearl

#e8eae6

Painter's White

#f2ebdd

Paper White

#f7fcfe

Pearl White

#f3f2ed

Photon White

#f8f8e8

Polar Bear

#eae9e0

Refined Mint

#f1f9ec

Shadow White

#eef1ea

Shiroi

#ebf5f0

Snow

#fffafa

Swan White

#fcfcfc

White

#ffffff

White Chalk

#f6f4f1

White Heat

#fdf9ef

White Porcelain

#f8fbf8

White Smoke

#f5f5f5

White Whale

#edeeef

Whitecap Foam

#dee3de

Whitest White

#f8f9f5

Whitewash

#fefffc

Why White is a Color

It is sometimes argued that white isn't a color because it doesn't correspond to a specific wavelength of light. This is a flawed argument because almost all colors that exist in nature include more than one wavelength of light. For example, there are hundreds of unique hues that people identify as red but most of these colors aren't pure wavelengths of red light. Likewise, colors such as brown don't have a wavelength of their own but are composites of primary colors. Human color perception is more than a simple detection system for wavelengths of light as wavelengths are blended in different ways by the brain to produce color. As such, white is considered a color according to common definitions. In optics, it is considered a non-spectral color.

Overview: White Color
Type	Colors Non-spectral Color
Example Composition	Red + Green + Blue in equal parts
Primary Color	No
Positive Associations	Purity Goodness Cleanliness Newness Neutrality
Negative Associations	Associated with aging i.e. white hair. Historically associated with funerals, mourning and ghosts.
Complementary Color	Black
Color Temperature	Neutral
Special Uses	Often used as a background for text in both digital and physical formats such as a book.
Related Concepts	Colors » Colors Of The Rainbow » Red » Orange » Yellow » Green »