COLOUR COMPOSITION

History of colour theory

The first colour wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton. He split white sunlight into red,
orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue beams; then he joined the two ends of the colour
spectrum together to show the natural progression of colours.
Newton associated each colour with a note of a musical scale.
A century after Newton, Johann Wolfgang Goethe began studying psychological effect of
colours. He noticed that blue gives a feeling of coolness and yellow has a warming effect.
Goethe created a colour wheel showing the psychological effect of each colour. He divided
all the colours into two groups - the plus side (from red through orange to yellow) and the
minus side (from green through violet to blue). Colours of the plus side produce excitement
and cheerfulness. Colours of the minus side are associated with weakness and unsettled
feelings.
The current form of colour theory was developed by Johannes Itten, a Swiss colour and art
theorist who was teaching at the School of Applied Arts in Weimar, Germany. This school is
also known as 'Bauhaus'. Johannes Itten developed 'colour chords' and modified the colour
wheel. Itten's colour wheel is based on red, yellow, and blue colours as the primary triad
and includes twelve hues.
Mixing (red-yellow-blue) colour wheel
Traditionally, artists used a colour wheel composed of the primary colours red, yellow, and
blue. Currently, the mixing colour wheel is commonly accepted as a visual representation of
colour theory. This colour wheel was invented by Johannes Itten, a Swiss colour and art
theorist. According to Itten, the primary use of his colour wheel is for mixing pigments.
However, many artists use this colour wheel to create visually harmonious colour
combinations.
Visual (red-green-blue) colour wheel
As opposed to the mixing version of the colour wheel, the visual colour wheel is based on
the primary colours red, green, and blue. The RGB primaries are used for computer
monitors, cameras, scanners, etc. The secondary (subtractive) triad of the RGB wheel is CMY
(cyan, magenta, yellow), which is a standard in printing. Also, the human eye contains RGB
receptors. Because of this fact, many artists believe that the visual RGB colour wheel should
be used instead of the traditional RYB wheel to create visual complements.
The purpose of Colour Wheel Pro is to create visually harmonious colour schemes, but not
to teach you to mix pigments. So we recommend that you use the visual RGB wheel because
it reflects human colour perception correctly. Of course, you can experiment with both
types of the colour wheel.
Colour Meaning
Red
Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength,
power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It enhances human metabolism, increases
respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs,
stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate
courage. It is a colour found in many national flags.
Red brings text and images to the foreground. Use it as an accent colour to stimulate people
to make quick decisions; it is a perfect colour for 'Buy Now' or 'Click Here' buttons on
Internet banners and websites. In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings (red
lips, red nails, red-light districts, 'Lady in Red', etc.). Red is widely used to indicate danger
(high voltage signs, traffic lights). This colour is also commonly associated with energy, so
you can use it when promoting energy drinks, games, cars, and items related to sports and
high physical activity.
Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigour, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing,
malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
Orange
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy,
sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity,
determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot colour, so it gives the sensation of heat.
Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the
brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted
among young people. As a citrus colour, orange is associated with healthy food and
stimulates appetite. Orange is the colour of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic
of strength and endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most
important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products
and toys.
Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust. Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual
passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action. Gold evokes the feeling of
prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes
high quality.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and
generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an
attention getter, which is the reason why taxicabs are painted this colour. When overused,
yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms.
Yellow is seen before other colours when placed against black; this combination is often
used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honour and loyalty. Later the meaning
of yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote
children's products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting
attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually
perceive yellow as a very light-hearted, 'childish' colour, so it is not recommended to use
yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men - nobody will buy a yellow
business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous colour, so avoid
using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into
white, so it usually needs a dark colour to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually
unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy. Light yellow is
associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
Green
Green is the colour of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green
has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated
with money.
Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can
improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of
experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and
hope. Green, as opposed to red, means safety; it is the colour of free passage in road traffic.
Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. Green is directly
related to nature, so you can use it to promote 'green' products. Dull, darker green is
commonly associated with money, the financial world, banking, and Wall Street.
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional colour of peace.
Blue
Blue is the colour of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It
symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and
produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquillity and calmness. In
heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.
You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification
filters, cleaning liquids, and vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, and air conditioners),
water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colours like
red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest
precision when promoting high-tech products. Blue is a masculine colour; according to
studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise,
and stability; it is a preferred colour for corporate America. Avoid using blue when
promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with
warm colours like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example,
blue-yellow-red is a perfect colour scheme for a superhero.
Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquillity, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Purple
Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with
royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and
extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery,
and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other
colours. Purple is a very rare colour in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.
Light purple is a good choice for a feminine design. You can use bright purple when
promoting children's products.
Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings. Dark purple evokes gloom and sad
feelings. It can cause frustration.
White
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to
be the colour of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to
black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning.
In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity. In advertising, white is associated with coolness
and cleanliness because it's the colour of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in
high-tech products. White is an appropriate colour for charitable organizations; angels are
usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and
sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is
often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.
Black
Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.
Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually
has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humour, 'black death'). Black denotes strength
and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour (black tie,
black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes
readability. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black or grey
background to make the other colours stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colours.
Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colours – black gives a very aggressive
colour scheme.
Colour Symbolism Chart
Red: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression,
danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate, sincerity, happiness
(Only in Japan)
Pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.
Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige
symbolizes calm and simplicity.
Yellow signifies joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope,
sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit,
illness, hazard and friendship.
Dark Blue: Symbolizes integrity, knowledge, power, and seriousness.
Blue: Peace, tranquillity, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence,
conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression,
appetite suppressant.
Turquoise: symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water.
Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
Purple: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom,
enlightenment, cruelty, honour, arrogance, mourning, temperance.
Orange: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding
of attention.
Green: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity,
fertility, jealousy, service, inexperience, envy, misfortune.
Brown: Earth, stability, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity.
Grey: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative,
practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm
White: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision,
innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern
cultures), cold, clinical.
Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil,
unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good
technical colour, mourning, death (Western cultures), austerity, detachment.

EXERCISE:
1. Given below are the two t-shirts, on each of the t-shirt design a suitable graphics and
write a suitable caption or quote or a slogan. Colour and graphics of the t-shirt should depict
the following two themes Feminine and Masculine.
2. Select any two theme out of the options given below. You are required to represent the
theme in the form of composition with the use of minimum 4 colour.
Love, anger, lust, active, bonding, power, balance, rhythm, joy, amazement, rejoice,
Apprehension, Festival, celebration, forest area, surprise, joker, freedom, peace, monsoon,
Night life, Strength, wealth.
3. Depict face expressions using colour.
Example for colour composition:
4. Create a composition using maximum 5 colour which gives same effect as in the following
form.
Sun Flower, Tiger, Cockroaches, Butterfly, Peacock, Banana, Dry Leaf
5. Think about any famous personality and represent him/her using colours.
6. Create two different layouts with the help of triangle, square & rectangle and fill with
different colour to depict the following words. (Any two)
Love, Celebrations, Argument, Anger, Trust, Entertainment.

What is a Mood Board?

A mood board is an easy and creative method of putting visual details together into a
beautiful and cohesive vision. Taken from the interior design and fashion worlds, it’s a perfect
place to experiment with colour schemes, and get a feeling for how everything will work
together in a room. Your mood board can make creating a colour scheme for your
home easier.

What is a Colour Mood Board?

Unlike a design board, a colour mood board is truly about the mood you're hoping to create.

A colour mood board is used to inspire you as you put together a colour palette from the
vision you've revealed on the board. This simply means that you're saying to yourself "I want
this feeling when I walk into my living room," not "I want that chair in my living room."
Referring to your colour mood board, you can identify decor and paint colours you'd like to try
in your space, but it's also valuable to communicate the mood those colours will create.

What Should You Put on Your Colour Mood Board?

A colour mood board is all about colour. Your colour scheme mood board will come to life
with colour swatches, photos of anything that reflects your colour inspiration including
landscapes and products. If your colour vision has a vintage feel, then a photo from a vintage
decorating magazine could steer you to the perfect colour scheme. If your vision is a Tuscan-
style colour scheme, a landscape photo can yield the perfect colour inspiration, and can help
you build a palette around it.