Color Theory

Aspects of Color Physics

  • Color is light, either man-made or natural.

  • White light is a mixture of all colors (RGB - Red, Green, Blue).

  • Physical colors: light source (light bulb)

How We See Color

  • Color originates in light; objects absorb colored light rays and reflect the color we see.

  • Electromagnetic radiation transmits energy.

  • The Color Rendering Index (CRI) measures a light source's attributes.

Light Sources and Color

  • Color appearance varies with different light sources.

  • Natural white light (sunlight) is a mixture of all spectrum colors.

  • Man-made light includes incandescent and fluorescent light.

Color in Chemistry

  • Colorant: Coloring matter or pigment, chemically or physically analyzable.

  • Color Effect: Reaction of a client to a proposed color scheme (psycho-physiological).

  • 3 Levels of Color Communication:

    • Impressionistic: Visual and physical level, universal.

    • Expressionistic: Emotional, subjective.

    • Constructive: Symbolical meaning based on culture, age, etc.

Factors in Perception

  • Light quality affects color perception.

  • Media and techniques: Absorption and transmission of light.

  • Eye and brain: Perception based on memory; green most visible in daylight, yellow in darkness.

Synesthesia

  • Neurological condition where stimulation of one pathway leads to experiences in another (e.g., grapheme-color synesthesia).

Color Study

  • Sound-to-color synesthesia.

  • Eye training helps distinguish colors.

  • Three Color Attributes: hue, value, saturation.

  • Color control minimizes color instability.

Color Blindness

  • Inability to distinguish certain colors, often inherited.

  • Red/Green color blindness is the most common.

  • Total color blindness is extremely rare.

Color Systems and Color Wheel

  • Subtractive Color: Mixing pigments absorbs more light (used in painting).

  • Additive Color: Mixing colored light, becomes lighter (used in lighting, screens).

  • Partitive Color: Colors seen in relation to each other, not in isolation.

1. Additive Color:

  • How it works: Additive color mixing involves combining different colored lights (typically red, green, and blue) to create a wider range of colors. When all additive primaries are combined at full intensity, they produce white light. 

  • Examples: Computer monitors, televisions, smartphones, and other digital displays use additive color mixing. 

  • Primary colors: Red, green, and blue. 

2. Subtractive Color:

  • How it works:

    Subtractive color mixing involves mixing pigments, dyes, or inks that absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others. When all subtractive primaries are combined, they absorb most of the light, resulting in a darker color, often perceived as black or a dark brown. 

  • Examples:

    Printing processes (like CMYK), painting, and creating colored materials like fabrics. 

  • Primary colors:

    Cyan, magenta, and yellow (though red, yellow, and blue are often used in traditional painting). 

3. Partitive Color:

  • How it works: Partitive color is not a color mixing system in itself, but rather a way of describing how colors interact and appear different when placed near each other.

  • Examples: A small red dot placed next to a large yellow area might appear orange due to the viewer's perception of the colors blending together.

  • Key concept: The way colors interact and influence each other's appearance. 

In essence, additive color is about adding light, subtractive color is about subtracting light, and partitive color is about how colors interact visually

Color Models

  • RGB Color Model: Additive, used for screens (Red, Green, Blue).

  • CMYK Color Model: Subtractive, used in printing (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black).

Color Matching

  • Pantone Color Matching System (PMS): Shows hue percentages for specific colors.

Color Wheels

  • Pigment Wheel: Subtractive color mixing (Primary: Red, Yellow, Blue).

  • Munsell Color Wheel: Based on partitive color, from afterimages.

  • Light Wheel: Additive color system, for lighting and projection.

Color Harmonies

  • Color harmony is a satisfying balance of colors.
    Color Scheme : Partitive combination of pure hues

  • Types: Monochromatic, Achromatic, Complementary, Triadic, Analogous, Split Complementary, Double Complementary/Tetradic.

Color Harmonies Details

  • Monochromatic: One hue varied in value or saturation.

  • Achromatic: Black, white, grays.

  • Complementary: Opposite colors on the wheel.

  • Triadic: Three equally spaced colors.

  • Analogous: Three adjacent hues.

  • Split Complementary: One hue with two equally spaced from its complement.

  • Double Complementary: Two sets of complementary colors forming an X on the wheel.

Dimensions of Color

  • Hue: The true color (red, yellow, blue).

  • Value: Lightness and darkness; add white to increase, black to decrease.

  • Chroma: Saturation or intensity.

Value

  • Tint: Adding white (highest value).

  • Tone: Adding gray (medium value).

  • Shade: Adding black (lowest value).

  • Primary Colors: cannot be created by mixture of other colors.

  • Secondary Colors: formed by mixture of two primaries.

  • Tertiary Tones: formed by mixture of a primary and a secondary.

Saturation

  • Saturation also known as Chroma or intensity : contrast between dull and vivid . add white (increase saturation) add black (decrease saturation)

  • Pure hues are fully-saturated.

  • Muted colors are less saturated.

  • Achromatic: Completely desaturated.

  • Broken Hue: Combination of all primaries in unequal amounts.

Color Scales

  • Chromatic Scale: Linear series of hues in spectrum order.

  • Chromatic Colors: Any color other than white, gray, black.

  • Achromatic Colors: Black, white, gray.

  • Neutral Colors: Mixture of complementaries.

  • Bright Colors: Mixture of chromatic with little achromatic.

  • Dull Colors: Mixture of chromatic with complementary and/or achromatic.

Color Intensity and Proportion

  • Color Proportion: Ratio of colors.

    • Dominant Color: Largest area.

    • Subdominant Color: Smaller prominent area.

    • Accent Color: Small area, contrasting hue/intensity/saturation.

Color Temperature

  • Warmness and coolness of colors.

  • Active Range: Warm colors (red, orange, yellow).

  • Passive Range: Cool colors (blue, green, purple).

  • Relative Temperature: Hues affect perception of warmth/coolness.

    • Cooler: More blue, violet, or green.

    • Warmer: More red, orange, or yellow.

Mixing Colors

  • Hue + Black: Warmer hue.

  • Hue + White: Cooling effect.

  • Hue + Complementary: Reverses temperature.

  • Warm/Cool Neutrals: Black and grays vary depending on creation.

Light Temperature

  • Measured in Kelvin (K), impacts ambiance.

    • Warm Light (2000-3000K): Cozy.

    • Cool White (3100-4500K): Bright.

    • Daylight (4600-6500K): Crisp.

Color Progression

  • Shade Progression: Hue + black.

  • Tint Progression: Hue + white.

  • Proportional Color Inventory: Records colors and proportions.

Color Psychology

  • Study of how color affects behavior and mood.

  • Examples:

    • Black: Sophistication, elegance, power.

    • White: Purity, cleanliness, peace.

    • Red: Strong emotions, love.

    • Blue: Calmness, peace.

    • Green: Nature, tranquility.

    • Yellow: Cheerfulness.

    • Violet: Royalty, wealth.

    • Orange: Excitement, enthusiasm.

Color Theorists - Ancient World

  • Empedocles: Extramissionist theory.

  • Democritus: Atomic theory of color.

  • Aristotle: Colors from blending sunlight/fire/light/lack of light.

Color Theorists - Renaissance

  • Leonardo Da Vinci:

    • Black and white are colors.

    • Sfumato technique.

    • Complementary colors intensify each other.

Color Theorists - Modern World

  • Sir Isaac Newton: English scientist / Visible light spectrum, additive color system.

  • Moses Harris: english entomologist / book NATURAL SYSTEM OF COLORS/ Harris Wheel based on red, yellow, blue.

  • Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: german poet / Function of eye in color perception, Goethe’s Color Wheel.

  • Philipp Otto Runge: german romantic painter / Color Sphere model.

  • Michel Eugene Chevreul: french chemist / Simultaneous contrast and optical mixing. / his work is still being used today

  • Albert Munsell: American painter and teacher of art / Munsell Color Tree (Hue, Value, Chroma).

  • Wilhelm Ostwald: german chemist / Ostwald’s Color Solid. / geometric progression

  • Johannes Itten: swiss teacher and artist / itten’s Color Star, 7 contrasts of color.

  • Josef Albers: german american teacher / Color interactions, visual training.

  • Hans Hoffman: german american painter / Pictorial space, push-pull tension.