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Understandingcolour

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12K views

Understandingcolour

Uploaded by

api-126729035
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Using Colour in Design

Colours are the native language


of the subconscious.
Carl Jung, Psychiatrist
Understanding the principles of colour theory
and its use in graphic design.



Using Colour in Design
How We Perceive Colour

http://www.skidmore.edu/~hfoley/images/spectrum.jpg

Colour is based on light

Colour perception based on the two components: wavelength and luminosity

Colour of light is determined by wavelength and how it hits a surface


Using Colour in Design
How We Perceive Colour

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/images/eta_car_pix/0099_infrared_lg.jpg

Colour can exist beyond the spectrum visible to humans:


ultraviolet and infrared light are examples
Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Hue: Any single colour in the spectrum (red, yellow, blue, etc).

Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Value: The relative lightness or darkness of a colour.


Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Tint: A colour with white added.

Shade: A colour with black added.



Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Saturation: The relative intensity or brightness of a colour

Bright, vibrant colours (reds or oranges) have a saturation


dull or muted colours (browns) have a low degree of saturation
Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Saturation: The relative intensity or brightness of a colour

Bright, vibrant colours (reds or oranges) have a saturation


dull or muted colours (browns) have a low degree of saturation
Using Colour in Design
Terminology

Colours can be of the same hue and still have varying degrees of saturation

Using Colour in Design
How Do These Ideas Work Together?

Like the elements of design, hue, saturation and value can be used
to emphasize certain areas of a composition or deemphasize others

Colours can balance, organize and harmonize a design, or to create discord

Colours with high saturation intensity and brighter value are more visible
and demanding of a viewer s attention

Colours with low saturation can be used to set apart secondary information
or to create background elements
Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Primary Colours: Red, yellow and blue; the hues that form colour wheel base

Secondary Colours: Green, orange and violet; hues that are mixed
by combining two primary colours.

Intermediate Colours: Colours created by mixing a secondary colour and a primary


colour. Examples are blue green, red orange, red violet, etc.

Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Monochromatic: Composition using tints and shades of only one hue.


Easiest scheme to balance visually, but lacks high impact of other more
contrasting and complicated schemes.

Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Complementary Colours: Colours that are opposites on the colour wheel that,
when combined, neutralize one another. Scheme provides strong visual
contrast and demands attention. For best use, de-saturate the cool colours
rather than the warm ones.

Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Analogous Colours: Colours that fall in adjacent proximity to each other on


the colour wheel, such as red, red orange, orange

Using analogous colours in a design creates unity and harmony



Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Split Complementary: Colour scheme using a hue and the two colors that lay on
either side of its compliment on the colour wheel
Provides more visual variety than complementary scheme; strong contrast
Harder to balance than monochromatic, analogous colour schemes
For best results, use one warm color with a range of cool colours or vice versa
and avoid de-saturated warm colours

Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Triadic: Colour scheme uses three colours equally spaced around the colour wheel.
Provides strong visual contrast while adding balance and richness.

For best use, choose one colour to be used in larger amounts than others;
experiment with colour saturation and value

Colour Design
Colour Schemes

Tetradic (Double Complementary): This is the richest of all the schemes;


utilizes four colours arranged into two complementary colour pairs

Can be hard to harmonize; if all four colours are used in equal amounts, this
scheme risks looking unbalanced and chaotic, so choose one colour to be dominant

Colour Design
Simultaneous Contrast

Simultaneous Contrast: The concept of colour perception based on


the other colours surrounding it.

Colour can look completely different when set against different hues,
and is perceived in relation to its surroundings.

Colour Design
Advancing and Receding Colour

Advancing/ Receding Colour: Warm and bright colours give


the illusion of being closer to a viewer within a composition,
while cool and dull colours appear to be further away.
Colour Design
Advancing and Receding Colour

Advancing/ Receding Colour: Warm and bright colours give


the illusion of being closer to a viewer within a composition,
while cool and dull colours appear to be further away.
Colour Design
Vibration

Vibration: Complementary colours of equal saturation and brightness


compete with our eye for attention when seen in close proximity to
one another.
Colour Design
Weight

Weight: Colours differ in visual weight based on their hue and intensity.

For example, red is considered a heavy colour, and would demand


a viewer s attention, even if shown in only a small amount within a
composition.

Color Design
Weight

Weight: Colors differ in visual weight based on their hue and intensity.

For example, red is considered a heavy color, and would demand


a viewer s attention, even if shown in only a small amount within a
composition.

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