SENSATIONAL COLOR GLOSSARY

Achromatic

Free of color, without hue; includes black, white, and gray.

Achromatic Simultaneous Contrast

Contrast that occurs between achromatic colors: white, black, and gray.

Admixture

A color with a small amount of another hue mixed in; a subtle modification.

Additive Color System

Color model using light to create color (e.g., RGB – red, green, blue).

Afterimage, Negative

An optical illusion where the eye sees the complementary color after looking away.

Afterimage, Positive

A brief image that appears the same color as the original after it's removed (e.g., flashbulb effect).

Aging Eye

The eye lens yellows and darkens with age, affecting the perception of dark colors.

Analogous Colors

Colors next to each other on the color wheel; harmonious and often used together.

Balance

A design principle involving even distribution of color, space, and form.

Black

The absence of light in additive color; often produced by mixing all pigments in subtractive color.

Bulky Color

A partly or wholly transparent color perceived as filling a three-dimensional space.

Cast

An overspread of a color or alteration caused by a trace of added hue.

Chroma

Another word for hue; refers to the saturation or intensity of a color.

Chromatherapy

The use of color in lighting to support relaxation and well-being.

Chromatic

Relating to or produced by color.

Chromatic Gray

A gray that shows subtle but discernible hue.

Clashing Colors

Colors that appear jarring or unpleasant when paired together; often subjective.

CMYK Color Model

A subtractive color model used in printing that includes cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Color

The visual attribute of an object based on light reflection or emission.

Color Association of the United States (CAUS)

A for-profit organization providing color forecasting and consulting services.

Color Blindness / Color Vision Deficiency

An inherited condition affecting color perception; more common in men.

Color Cast

A shift in color tone caused by a trace hue; also referred to as cast.

Color Combination

Any pairing or group of colors used together in a composition.

Color Forecasting

The prediction of future color trends for product and design planning.

Color Marketing Group (CMG)

A nonprofit organization of color professionals that predicts global color trends.

Color Palette

A planned set of colors designed to work together in a composition.

Color Proportion

The ratio or relationship between colors used in a design.

Color Scheme

An organized arrangement of colors intended to be viewed as a whole.

Color Spaces

Systems that define a range of reproducible colors (e.g., sRGB, Pantone).

Color Temperature

The perceived warmth or coolness of a color.

Color Theory

The study of how colors interact, combine, and affect perception and emotion.

Color Wheel

A circular diagram that shows the relationships among colors.

Complement

A color directly opposite another on the color wheel.

Complementary Contrast

The effect seen when complementary colors are placed next to each other.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision.

Contrast

The visual difference between two or more elements, especially color.

Contrast of Hue

Variation between pure hues that creates strong visual distinction.

Contrast of Temperature

Difference in the visual warmth or coolness of colors.

Contrast of Value

Variation in lightness and darkness between colors.

Contrast of Saturation

Difference between pure colors and those muted or diluted.

Simultaneous Contrast

The effect that occurs when two colors influence each other's appearance.

Contrast of Extension

Contrast created by the relative size of color areas in a composition.

Cool Colors

Colors that evoke a cool feeling; includes greens, blues, and purples.

Deutan or Protan Color Vision Deficiency

Red-green color blindness caused by malfunction of red or green cones.

Diad

Two colors separated by one color on the color wheel.

Discordant Colors

Nearly complementary colors that create an unsettling effect.

Double Complement

A color scheme made of two pairs of complementary colors.

Earth Tones

Colors inspired by nature, such as browns, ochres, and siennas.

Fad

A short-lived micro-trend often tied to a broader trend.

Film Color

A soft, vague field of color perceived without a definite shape or edge.

Forecasting

Predicting future conditions or trends, such as color preferences.

Form

A 3D object having height, width, and depth.

Gray

A mixture of black and white; a neutral without hue.

Grayscale

A range of values from black to white.

Ground

The background or field color in a composition.

Color Harmony

A visually satisfying arrangement of colors.

Harmony, Objective

Color harmony achieved by following standard color theory principles.

Harmony, Subjective

Color harmony based on personal or emotional preferences.

High-Key

Colors ranging from mid-tones to white; light and airy compositions.

Hue

The attribute of color that denotes its name (e.g., red, blue, yellow).

Intensity

The brightness or purity of a color.

Intermediate Colors

Colors made by mixing a primary and adjacent secondary hue.

International Color Authority (ICA)

A London-based organization offering color forecasting services.

Key

The dominant value range in a composition (high, mid, low key).

Light, Natural

Illumination from the sun, moon, and atmosphere.

Line

A continuous mark used to define shape or suggest motion.

Low-Key

Colors ranging from mid-tones to black; darker, moodier compositions.

Luminosity

The inherent brightness of a color, regardless of saturation.

Metamerism

A condition where colors match under one light source but not another.

Mid-Key

Colors centered between light and dark values.

Monochromatic

A color scheme using variations of a single hue.

Monochromacy

Complete color blindness; the world is perceived in grayscale.

Monotone

A uniform color without variation.

Mood

The emotional tone conveyed by colors and design elements.

Motif

A repeating design element used to create patterns.

Muted Color

A desaturated color; often created by adding gray or a complement.

Neutral

Colors with no strong hue—black, white, and gray.

Objective Color

Scientific, measurable aspects of color.

Optical Mixing

When small dots of color blend visually into a new color.

Partitive Color

The optical result of adjacent colors blending in the eye.

Pattern

A design repeated across a surface.

Photoreceptors

Cells in the retina (rods and cones) that convert light to signals.

Polychromatic

Composed of many colors.

Primary Colors

Colors that cannot be made by mixing others; source colors.

Prismatic Color

As pure a hue as can be achieved with pigment or light.

Proportion Temperature

The degree of warmness or coolness relative to a composition.

Pure Color

Color at its highest intensity and saturation.

Recede

To visually move back or appear distant in a composition.

Relative Temperature

How warm or cool a color appears in context with other colors.

Retina

The light-sensitive layer of the eye where photoreceptors reside.

RGB Color Model

Additive system using red, green, and blue to create colors on screens.

Rods

Photoreceptors sensitive to light but not color; provide night and peripheral vision.

Saturation

The intensity or vividness of a color.

Secondary Hues

Colors made by combining two primary hues.

Scale

The relationship of size between elements in a design.

Shade

A color made darker by adding black.

Shape

A flat, enclosed space; 2D outline of an object.

Chromatic Simultaneous Contrast

A color’s appearance changes due to the influence of adjacent hues.

Space

The distance or area between and around design elements.

Spatial Effect

The way colors appear to advance or recede in space.