The chartreuse color is halfway between yellow and green. Some shades of chartreuse have been described as apple green, lime green, grass green, light green, light green with a yellow tinge, and soft yellow.
Chartreuse is a mix of warm and cool colors. The greener shades of chartreuse have a fresh, spring-like feel, and can be a bit ’60s retro. The yellowest chartreuse is a cheery color, but its warmth is tempered by bits of green.
Chartreuse is calming and refreshing. Like most greens, it is restful, and as a bright, light green, chartreuse represents new life and growth.
History of Chartreuse
Chartreuse is the name and color of a liqueur that has been made by Carthusian monks since the 17th century. The name comes from the Chartreuse mountains, where the Grande Chartreuse monastery is located, in Grenoble, France.
There are two different varieties of Chartreuse liqueur: yellow and green. Both are made from herbs and plants that are steeped in alcohol.
Using Chartreuse in Design Files
When planning a design project that will go to a commercial printing company, use CMYK formulations for chartreuse in your page layout software or select a Pantone spot color. For display on a computer monitor, use RGB values. Use hexadecimal designations when working with HTML, CSS, and SVG. Chartreuse shades are best achieved with the following:
- Chartreuse Green: Hex #7fff00 | RGB 127,255,0 | CMYK 45.0,100.0
- Chartreuse Yellow: Hex #dfff00 | RGB223, 255, 0 | CMYK 13.0,100.0
- Pear: Hex #d1e231 | RGB209, 226, 49 | CMYK8,0,78,11
- Green-Yellow: Hex #adff2f | RGB 173,255,47 | CMYK 32.0,82.0
- Yellow-Green: Hex #9acd32 | RGB 154,205,50 | CMYK25,0,76,20
Choosing Pantone Colors Closest to Chartreuse
When working with printed parts, sometimes a cheaper option is solid color chartreuse, rather than a CMYK mix. The Pantone Matching System is the most widely recognized spot color system. Here are the Pantone colors suggested as the best to go with chartreuse.
- Chartreuse Green: Pantone Solid Coated 2285 C
- Chartreuse Yellow: Pantone Solid Coated 2297 C
- Pear: Pantone Solid Coated 2297 C
- Green-Yellow: Pantone Solid Coated 2290 C
- Yellow-Green: Pantone Solid Coated 2292 C
Note: Because the eye can see more colors on a screen than can be mixed with CMYK inks, some hues are not exactly reproduced in print.