Color

Color

Wednesday, February 12, 14

Color matters!

Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

Source: CCICOLOR - Institute for Color Research


Powerful tool for communication


But color is subjective!

People respond differently to the same color due to:

Personal preference

Cultural background

Color memory/associations


Example: Red

FIRE/DEVIL BLOOD/WARFARE ANGER

LOVE/CUPID IMPORTANCE PROSPERITY/HAPPINESS

DEFIANCE/COMMUNISM

DANGER



In general...• Red: Passion, Love, Anger• Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality• Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Deceit• Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature• Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness• Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth• Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil• Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality• White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue• Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability• Tan or Beige: Conservative, Piety, Dull• Cream or Ivory: Calm, Elegant, Purity



Color WheelPrimary Colors: Red, yellow and bluePrimary colors are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purpleThese are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green

These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green.


Color is a general term

Hue

Saturation

Value

Tone

Shade

Tint

COLOR TERMINOLOGY:


HueAn object’s color

Blue, green, red, etc.


Saturation

How pure a color is

High saturation = purest color. No white or black added

HIGH SATURATION

LOW SATURATIONWednesday, February 12, 14

GREEN & RED HUES

HIGH SATURATION



Value

How light or dark a color is

Highest value = white

Lowest value = black

Note: colors with high saturation have a middle value

HIGH

MIDDLE

LOW



ToneCreated by adding gray to a hue

Tones are generally duller or softer-looking than pure hues


ShadeCreated by adding black to a hue, making the hue darker


TintCreated by adding white to a hue, making the hue lighter


Shade vs. Tint


Color schemes/palettesImportant to define your color palette/scheme before starting on a project

Use your color wheel!


Traditional schemesMonochromatic

Analogous

Complementary


MonochromaticMade up of different tones, shades, and tints within a specific hue.

SHADETINT

TONE

HUE





Analogous

Created by using three colors that are next to each other on the 12-spoke color wheel

Ex: Blue, blue-green, and green



Analogous Cont’dAnalogous schemes are good, but sometimes they don’t provide enough contrast to the design

Use shades, tints, and tones of colors to give more contrast



Complementary

Created by combining colors from opposite sides of the color wheel

Again, use shades, tints, and tones of complementary hues to give more contrast




Design

Color