Color Theory Terminology and Success Factors

These flashcards cover essential terminology and concepts related to Color Theory, as outlined in the lecture notes.

Achromatic Gray

A mix of pure White and Pure Black.

Additive (color mixing) System

Colors mixed directly from light, considered to be projected colors.

Analogous Color Scheme

A group of colors that are adjacent on the color wheel and begin with a Primary and end with a Secondary color, with a Tertiary between. Example: Yellow / Yellow-Orange / Orange

Atmospheric Perspective

The spatial effect by which elements become cooler, less saturated, and less contrasting as they recede.

Bezold Effect

Phenomenon discovered by Willhelm von Bezold. Where the appearance of a design is dramatically changed by changing only one color.

Chromatic Gray

The mix of 2 Complementary Hues that produces a highly desaturated color.

Color

A formal element of design and property of light, perceived through the projection or reflection of light waves.

Color Chording

A series of colors ordered to appear as a scale, made with parents and middle mixtures.

Color Harmony / Color Scheme

Organized groupings of Hues that help a designer unify colors. Examples: Monochromatic, Analogous, Complementary

Color Temperature

The relative warmth or coolness of a color.

Color Wheel

An organizational tool that positions the 12 pure Hues of the visible spectrum.

Complements / Complementary Colors

Colors positioned directly across from each other on the color wheel.

Craftsmanship

Attention to the execution of the artwork.

Critique

An objective assessment of a work of art.

Crop, Cropping

Occurs when part of an object is selectively cut off.

Emphasis (formerly Focal Point)

The area that first attracts the viewer’s attention.

Hue

One of the four color qualities, the root or named source of color.

Juxtaposition

Colors or shapes placed next to one another so they touch.

Middle Mixture

A color visually equidistant between two parent colors in Hue, Value, Saturation, and Temperature.

Negative Space

The area around perceived forms, as important in design as positive space.

Neutral

A color which has no noticeable Hue.

Optical Mixing

The act of juxtaposing small bits of saturated colors (traditional media or digital media) to create the color you want the viewer to perceive. The perceived color is mixed with the viewers’ eyes, optically, instead of the designer mixing the color on the palette

Parent Color

Two colors that determine a Middle Mixture or three-quarter mixture.

Pattern

Regularly occurring repetition of an element or motif.

Pigment

The coloring matter suspended in a medium.

Pointillism

A late 19th century art style in which small dots of saturated color are placed in close proximity to create optically blended color mixtures.

Primary Hue

Red, Blue, or Yellow on a reflective/subtractive color wheel.

Process Book

A visual journal containing research, exercises, ideation, and sketches.

Saturation

The relative purity of a Hue.

Secondary Hue

A middle mixture of 2 primary colors.

Shade

A color created by mixing a Hue with black.

Simultaneous Contrast

The tendency for contrasting colors to intensify each other when juxtaposed.

Split-Complementary Color Scheme

Based upon a Hue and the 2 Hues on each side of its complement, plus their tints, tones, and shades

Subtractive (color mixing) System

Colors created by mixing pigments and considered to be reflected colors. As colors are mixed, light is subtracted, and the result is a lower value color.

Temperature

The relative coolness or warmth of a Hue.

Tertiary Hue

A middle mixture of a primary Hue with an adjacent secondary Hue.

Tetradic Color Scheme

Created by placing a square on the color wheel and choosing the equidistant colors at each corner.

Three-Quarter Mixture (3/4 Mixture)

A color mix between 2 Parent Colors that is comprised of three-quarters of one Parent and one-quarter of the other.

Thumbnail Sketch

Small, quick, linear visual ideas created in the design process.

Tint

A color created by mixing a Hue with white.

Tone

A desaturated color created by mixing a Hue with its complement or achromatic gray.

Triadic Color Scheme

Triadic are found equally spaced on the color wheel, in a triangular configuration. Triadic color schemes are based upon 3 equidistant Hues on the color wheel and their Tints, Tones, and Shades

Value

One of the 4 color properties and an element of design; it is the relative lightness or darkness of a color.