A colour model predicated on the separation of luminance and chrominance properties of colour. The luma component accurately represents the perceived brightness of the colour, whereas the chroma components represent the balance of hue opposites.

Since the luminance and chrominance components are fully independent of each other, it is trivial to both change the brightness of a colour without affecting its hue, and to modify its hue or saturation without changing the brightness. Such operations are difficult in colour models which do not separate these aspects of colour.