diff --git a/ReAgent.cs b/ReAgent.cs
index a6b78a8..1f49485 100644
--- a/ReAgent.cs
+++ b/ReAgent.cs
@@ -441,13 +441,15 @@ public override void Render()
             Graphics.DrawBox(position, position + textSize, Color.Black.ToSharpDx());
             Graphics.DrawText(text, position, ColorFromName(color).ToSharpDx());
         }
-    }
-
+    }     
+   
     private static Color ColorFromName(string color)
     {
+        if (color.StartsWith("#")) return ColorTranslator.FromHtml(color);  // allow hex based colors
         return Color.FromName(color);
     }
 
+
     private void ApplyPendingSideEffects()
     {
         var applicationResults = _pendingSideEffects.Select(x => (x, ApplicationResult: x.Apply(_state))).ToList();
@@ -518,4 +520,4 @@ private bool ShouldExecute(out string state)
         state = "Ready";
         return true;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}