Understanding color
7 likes•1,187 views
This document explores the principles of color theory and its application in graphic design, emphasizing how colors affect perception and composition. It discusses terminology such as hue, value, tint, shade, and saturation, as well as various color schemes including monochromatic, complementary, and triadic. The document highlights the importance of color in creating visual harmony, balance, and contrast in design.
Understanding color
- 2. Using Color in Design Colors are the native language of the subconscious. –Carl Jung, Psychiatrist! ! Understanding the principles of color theory and its use in graphic design.
- 3. Color is based on light Color perception based on the two components: wavelength and luminosity Color of light is determined by wavelength and how it hits a surface http://www.skidmore.edu/~hfoley/images/spectrum.jpg Using Color in Design How We Perceive Color
- 4. Color can exist beyond the spectrum visible to humans: ultraviolet and infrared light are examples http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/images/eta_car_pix/0099_infrared_lg.jpg Using Color in Design How We Perceive Color
- 5. Hue: Any single color in the spectrum (red, yellow, blue, etc).! Using Color in Design Terminology
- 6. Value: The relative lightness or darkness of a color. Using Color in Design Terminology
- 7. Tint: A color with white added. Shade: A color with black added.! Using Color in Design Terminology
- 8. Saturation: The relative intensity or brightness of a color Bright, vibrant colors (reds or oranges) have a saturation dull or muted colors (browns) have a low degree of saturation Using Color in Design Terminology
- 9. Using Color in Design Terminology Saturation: The relative intensity or brightness of a color Bright, vibrant colors (reds or oranges) have a saturation dull or muted colors (browns) have a low degree of saturation
- 10. Colors can be of the same hue and still have varying degrees of saturation! Using Color in Design Terminology
- 11. Like the elements of design, hue, saturation and value can be used to emphasize certain areas of a composition or deemphasize others Colors can balance, organize and harmonize a design, or to create discord Colors with high saturation intensity and brighter value are more visible and demanding of a viewer s attention Colors with low saturation can be used to set apart secondary information or to create background elements Using Color in Design How Do These Ideas Work Together?
- 12. Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue; the hues that form color wheel base! Secondary Colors: Green, orange and violet; hues that are mixed by combining two primary colors. Tertiary Colors: Colors created by mixing a secondary color and a primary color. Examples are blue green, red orange, red violet, etc.! Color Design Color Schemes
- 13. 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. ! Color Design Color Schemes
- 14. Complementary Colors: Colors that are opposites on the color wheel that, when combined, neutralize one another. Scheme provides strong visual contrast and demands attention. For best use, de-saturate the cool colors rather than the warm ones.! Color Design Color Schemes
- 15. Analogous Colors: Colors that fall in adjacent proximity to each other on the color wheel, such as red, red orange, orange Using analogous colors in a design creates unity and harmony! Color Design Color Schemes
- 16. Split Complementary: Color scheme using a hue and the two colors that lay on either side of its compliment on the color wheel Provides more visual variety than complementary scheme; strong contrast Harder to balance than monochromatic, analogous color schemes For best results, use one warm color with a range of cool colors or vice versa and avoid de-saturated warm colors! Color Design Color Schemes
- 17. Triadic: Color scheme uses three colors equally spaced around the color wheel. Provides strong visual contrast while adding balance and richness. For best use, choose one color to be used in larger amounts than others; experiment with color saturation and value! Color Design Color Schemes
- 18. Tetradic (Double Complementary): This is the richest of all the schemes; utilizes four colors arranged into two complementary color pairs Can be hard to harmonize; if all four colors are used in equal amounts, this scheme risks looking unbalanced and chaotic, so choose one color to be dominant! Color Design Color Schemes
- 19. Simultaneous Contrast: The concept of color perception based on the other colors surrounding it. Color can look completely different when set against different hues, and is perceived in relation to its surroundings.! Color Design Simultaneous Contrast
- 20. Advancing/ Receding Color: Warm and bright colors give the illusion of being closer to a viewer within a composition, while cool and dull colors appear to be further away. Color Design Advancing and Receding Color
- 21. Color Design Advancing and Receding Color Advancing/ Receding Color: Warm and bright colors give the illusion of being closer to a viewer within a composition, while cool and dull colors appear to be further away.
- 22. Vibration: Complementary colors of equal saturation and brightness compete with our eye for attention when seen in close proximity to one another. Color Design Vibration
- 23. 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.! Color Design Weight
- 24. 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.! Color Design Weight