Cross-Platform Color Consistency

The same hex code renders differently on different platforms. #00ffff on a wide-gamut display versus an sRGB display. #00ffff in CSS versus in a PNG versus in a PDF. #00ffff printed on coated versus uncoated paper. Cross-platform color consistency requires managing these transformations explicitly.

The color pipeline for our brand: source of truth is the brand.json color system, specified in sRGB hex. Web rendering: CSS uses the hex values directly — browser color management handles display adaptation. Social platform images: exported as sRGB PNG — social platforms strip ICC profiles, so the image must be in sRGB to prevent unintended shifts. Email: use web-safe approximations where necessary (some email clients use limited color rendering). Print: CMYK conversion profiles per printer — #00ffff in CMYK is approximately C100 M0 Y0 K0, but the actual printed result depends on the paper and printer profile.

The brand critic includes platform-aware color evaluation. An asset destined for print is evaluated against the CMYK conversion target, not the RGB original. An asset destined for social is evaluated against sRGB rendering. The same asset at the same hex value may pass for web but fail for print if the CMYK conversion produces an unacceptable shift.