There are three main components of color: hue, saturation, and brightness. We need all three of these components to be able to fully describe color.
When we say "color" we are often talking about hue. It is the component of color we talk about most. It indicates whether a color looks red, green, blue, yellow, orange, etc.

As an example, look below at the line of different hues. Notice how they look like colors from a rainbow.
Color Hues
Hue values range between 0 and 360 degrees. They take on these values because they are placed around a circle.

Saturation represents how pure a color is. As an example of saturation, think about rubies color increasing the saturation will change the color from:

pinkish-red -> red -> intense red -> vivid red -> deep red.
Brightness tells us how strong a color is. For example, the sun has a high brightness, while a birthday candle has a low brightness. Colors like whites and yellows have a high brightness. Colors like browns and grays have a medium brightness. Colors like black have a low brightness.
[Sample Brightnesses]
As an example, here are several bluish squares. As you go from left to right they increase in brightness.
Blue Brightness Bar
When we talked about hue we said that hue values are between 0 and 360 degrees because they are frequently laid out around a circle.

If we lay them out around a circle and also increase the saturation as we move away from the center, we get the circle shown below. The hue changes as we go around the circle, and the colors also get more saturated as you move towards the edge of the circle. In the center they are very faded; near the outside of the circle they are very pure.
Color Circle
If you change the circle to a cylinder, along the axes of the cylinder, the change in brightness can be shown


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