Visual Literacy Quiz 5

Components of Color

> Hue

> Value

> Intensity

> Temperature

Color

Range of visible frequencies of light, light is color; things have color

Primary Color

Red, Blue, Yellow

Secondary Color

Orange, Purple, Green

Hue

“Redness” or “blueness,” etc., that locates it on spectrum; human eyes can distinguish 150 distinct hues; primary colors; secondary triad

Value

Every hue has its own value; add white/black—some colors will maintain their typical character; monochromatic-one hue w/ variation of value

Intensity

Brilliance or dullness (greyness); add black, white, grey, or color’s complement to make neutral (lower intensity)

Temperature

Warm/cool; psychological impact; any hue can be mixed warm or cool

Structure of Color

> Complementary Color

> Color Systems

> Mixing Light

> Mixing Pigment

> Color Harmony

> Color Keyes

> Interaction

Complementary Color

Exact opposite; negative afterimage; each complement will make same neutral

Color Systems

Various systems to classify colors; printers Oswald, Munsell, Pantone

> CMYK - Printer primaries; cyan, magenta, yellow (& black)

> RGB - Digital; red, green, blue

> Gamut

> Ostwald

> Munsell (color tree)

> Pantone - a proprietary, standardized system for identifying, matching, and communicating colors across different industries like graphic design, printing, fashion, and manufacturing

Gamut

Range of colors available in a given system

Ostwald Color Wheel

> Green as “4th primary”

> Central to his theory were four basic hues: yellow, red, blue, and sea green. By placing additional hues between these core hues, Ostwald created secondary hues such as orange, purple, turquoise, and leaf green, and eventually a circle of 24 evenly spaced colors.

Mixing Light

Light primaries - red, blue-violet & green

Mixing Pigment

Additive Color: More colors mixed together = more light = additive

Subtractive Color: More colors mixed together = less light = subtractive

> Color comes from reflected wavelengths; each hue absorbs more wavelengths so more colors, more absorption, less reflection

Color Harmony

> Monochromatic Color

> Analogous Color

> Triadic Harmonies

> Split-Complementary Harmonies

> Color Keyes

> Interaction

Monochrome Color

All same hue at different values & intensities; one hue with variations of value; hue with either black (shade) or white (tint)

Analogous Color

Hues close to or touching on color wheel, often at different values & intensities

Triadic Harmonies

Three color groups evenly space on color wheel

Split-Complementary Harmonies

A color with the two colors adjacent to its’ complement; harmony is subjective

Color Keys

Music analogy; full/high/mid/low hue value ranges

Interaction

Always in context; simultaneous contrast - the color of a field will call forth its opposite quality in a color placed in it

> Bezold Effect: color perception changes with context 

Uses of Color

> Weight & Balance

> Making Light

> Making Space

> Local Color

> Volume & Atmosphere

> Descriptive & Subjective Color

> Color Symbolism

Weight & Balance

Darker hues = heavier

Making Light

A kind of consistency that unified all the different color areas

Making Space

Cool colors tend to recede, warm advance; find various levels

Local Color

When local color is strong, light appears to be colorless

Volume & Atmosphere

Amospheric perspective - objects increasingly take on the color of the light the farther away they are

Descriptive & Subjective Color

Even realism is a type of abstraction (translation)

Color Symbolism

Over history, various systems, cultural ideas

Unity & Variety

Compositional strategies to provide cohesion & interest

> Levels of Order

> Harmony & Dissonance

> Balance

> Tension

> Symmetry & Asymmetry

> Clarity & Ambiguity

> Hierarchy & Subdivision

> Families of Forms

> Repetition & Variation

> Rhythm

> Curve

> Arabesque

> Straightness

Levels of Order

Hierarchies; dominant/secondary forms; order/”randomness”

Harmony & Dissonance

Both deal with the viewer’s expectations

Balance

Lively configuration of visual forces to create something greater than a simple sum of parts

Tension

Some degree of distortion, deformation or resistance

Symmetry & Asymmetry

> Radial Symmetry

> Bilateral Symmetry

> Asymmetry 

Radial Symmetry

Balance from center point

Bilateral Symmetry

Right/left or top/bottom balance

Asymmetry

About differences and tensely resolved contrasts

Clarity & Ambiguity

Eye has build-in preference for clarity (Pragnanz); purposeful ambiguity is thought-provoking

Hierarchy & Subdivision 

Hierarchy allows seeing the whole organizational structure, the subdivisions into which smaller parts fit

Families & Forms

Connections/subtle variations between shapes, colors, and textures

Repetition & Variation

Context-dependent; can emphasize mechanical, huge quantities, tedium, etc.

Rhythm

Structuring visual motion; music analogy 

Curve

Lyrical; movement; organic

Arabesque 

Complicated, interweaving linear compositions; grid alternative

Straightness

Visual symbol of non-interaction; beyond merely straight