UNDERSTANDING OF COLOUR

DR.NEERU BHARTI SHARMA

ASSISTANT PROFFSOR (DEPT. OF FINE ARTS)

HMV COLLEGE JALANDHAR

Understanding Colour

We are surrounded by color at our every step. Wherever there is light, there is also color and  without any doubt, color  represents one of the key element of every design. It can carry out a message of itself and a good color sense is what separates the good designer from all the rest.

The Science of Color

• Color is the perceptual characteristic of light described by a color name. Specifically, color is light, and light is composed of many colors those we see are the colors of the visual spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

• As simple as it might seem, color is actually  very complex  and a good knowledge of how color works and its properties is very important for an efficient using of color in your every day design

Color Wheel

• The Color Wheel is a perfect instrument for understanding color. It shows the primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

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COLORS

• PRIMARY COLOR-- Blue, red and yellow are primary colors. They are pure colors and can’t  be made from any other color.
• SECONDARY COLOR-- Secondary colors are orange, green and violet which are made from equal amounts of any two primary colors. For example green is made of equal amount of blue and yellow.

• TERTIARY COLOR-- Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with the secondary color nearest to it. On our color wheel yellow orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green and yellow-green are tertiary colors.

• Complementary Colors-- Complementary colors such as red and green lie opposite each other the color wheel create a strong contrast bringing energy, vigor and excitement to any design.
• Analogous Colors-- Meanwhile analogous colors like green and blue for example lie adjacent to each other and create a pleasant, low-contrast harmony

HUE�Tint,Color,Shade

• HUE-- A pure color such as yellow or blue is known as the HUE. A single hue may have many variations of its pure color ranging from light to dark. . The term describing this is TONE (or value).
• Tint- A color with added white is called a tint .
• Shade- A color with added black is called a shade.

SATURATION

• Saturation- A hue will vary according to its brightness. This is known as the saturation. The saturation of the hue ranges from full intensity to low intensity from bright to grey

TEMPERATURE

• Temperature- Temperature of the color is yet another important characteristic of color.
• Warm Color- Colors containing red are warmer.
• Cool Color- Colors containing blue are considered to be colder.

COLOR THEORY

• Advancing Colors -- Color containing red create the illusion of advancing towards the viewer.
• Receding Colors- Colors that contain blue (like green or violet) seem to recede.

SIMULTANEOUS CONTRAST

• Simultaneous Contrast-- When seeing to neighboring colors, the human eye tends to emphasize the differences

between them rather than the similarities. The perception of one color will always be

influenced by the presence of another color ,as you can see in this  example. The word

blue is the same color  on both backgrounds but it’s perceived to look brighter on

yellow and darker on red.

VIBRATION & WEIGHT

• Vibration-Complementary colors of high saturation and equal luminosity tend to appear more brilliant.
• Weight- Colors differ in weight also. For example colors from the blue-green range appear to be much easier than the ones who contain red which appear to be heavier.

Choosing the right color for your text

• Poor color legibility- Poor legibility of the text is a common error which affects directly the way you message

is transmitted to the reader. So  a good legibility is a always a must and you can

achieve it by taking in consideration  some  basic elements like the font you are

using(that we will be discussing in the near future) and also…yes u have guessed color.

• Good color legibility- Good color legibility is assured by always using colors that create a strong contrast. For

example a white background and a violet text (violet- the color closest to black) is a good

choice but putting on the same white background a yellow text (color closest to white)

will result in a lower legibility.

Use the color wheel to make your choice of color

• Also you can use the color wheel to make your choice of color. Colors that are opposite

(like blue and orange) create a strong contrast and good readability while the contrary

effect is obtained when using a red/orange text on a red ground.

The Psychology of Color

• Colors have particular associations that most likely have became deeply rooted in the

human psychology. So we donâ€TMt just perceive color with our eyes, but we also have an emotional response to it. Of course the meaning of color may vary in different

cultures but despite the local differences certain colors do seem to have universal

significance.

RED

• RED -- RED is a bright, warm color that evokes strong emotions. It stimulates a faster

heartbeat and breathing. Red is associated with love, warmth, passion, strength, energy,

fire, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, leadership, masculinity, power,

danger, Â blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, socialism, communism, aggression,

summer, autumn, stop, Mars (planet), respect, Aries (star sign), December.

BLUE

• BLUE--BLUE is the color associated with the ocean, men, productive (interior) skies, peace,

unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, trust, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water,

ice, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness, technology, winter, depression, coldness,

idealism, obscenity, tackiness, air, wisdom, royalty, nobility, Earth (planet), Virgo (light

blue), Pisces (pale blue) and Aquarius (dark blue) (star sign), strength, steadfastness,

light, friendliness, July (sky blue), February (deep blue), peace . It’s the most common

color used for men products being most preferred by men. It causes the opposite

reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals

and calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity.

YELLOW

• YELLOW--YELLOW is cheerful sunny and an attention getter. Yellow stands for sunlight, joy,

happiness, earth, optimism, intelligence, idealism, wealth (gold), summer, hope, air,

liberalism, cowardice, illness (quarantine), hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness,

greed, femininity, gladness, sociability, summer and  friendship. It is  also the most

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difficult color for the eye to take in due to the high amount of light that is reflected, so it

can be overpowering if overused.

GREEN

• GREEN--GREEN is a calming, refreshing color, currently the most popular decorating

color. Green symbolizes nature and the natural world also great intelligence, nature,

spring, fertility, youth, environment, wealth, money (US), good luck, vigor, generosity,

go, grass, aggression, coldness, jealousy . It is the easiest color on the eye and can

improve vision.

VIOLET

• VIOLET--VIOLET is the color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, Â

sophistication,sensuality, bisexuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, ceremony,

mystery, wisdom, enlightenment, arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, mourning,

profanity, exaggeration, confusion, pride, romanticism (light purple), delicacy (light

purple). However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

ORANGE

• ORANGE--ORANGE is a combination of yellow and red and is considered an energetic color.
• Orange calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth and Â

flamboyance, playfulness along with aggression, arrogance, gaudiness, over emotion

and is associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, Â energy, balance, heat, fire, warning,

danger, autumn, desire.This color is often used to draw attention, such as in traffic signs

and advertising.