Affinity Designer can use different color models to represent different ways of describing color. A model (RGB, CMYK, LAB, or Grey) can be selected as you create your new document.
Color definitions are described comprehensively on the internet, so in this chapter we'll just focus on how to set a color model, the model's color space, and how a color profile represents that color space.
In terms of selecting color as you design, Affinity Designer offers the Color panel, which shows the HSL color wheel by default but offers RGB, CMYK, HSL or LAB sliders instead. Within the panel, a Swatches section offers easy access to preset swatches for single-tap application.
If you're happy to leave color management until output is required, you can create new documents with the suggested default color format RGB/8 with sRGB IEC61966-2.1 color profile. However, for professional printing it's recommended to ensure a CMYK color profile is adopted on document creation.