• Color is the light reflected from a surface.

• Visible light is made up of the wavelengths of light between infrared and ultraviolet radiation (between 400 and 700 nanometers).

What is Color?

What do x-rays, sun rays that tan us, the warmth from rays of candle light, TV and radio waves all have in common?

They are all forms of light.

Some light you can see, and some light you cannot. The light you can't see includes x-rays and radio signals.

Energy with wavelengths too short to see is "bluer than blue". Light with such short wavelengths is called "Ultraviolet" light.

Energy with wavelengths too long to see is "redder than red". Light with such long wavelengths is called "Infrared" light.

The term "Infra-" means "lower than".

Forms of Light

What do x-rays, sun tanning, the warmth from a candle, TVs, and radios all have in common?

http://skyserver.sdss.org/dr1/en/proj/advanced/color/whatis.asp

They are all forms of light.Some light you can see, and some light you cannot. The light you can't see

includes x-rays and radio signals.

The light you can see is called the visible spectrum.

The visible spectrum is like a rainbow.

Blue Light

The visible blue light has a wavelength of about 475 nm. Because the blue wavelengths are shorter in the visible spectrum, they are scattered more efficiently by the molecules in the atmosphere. This

causes the sky to appear blue.

Green Light

The visible green light has a wavelength of about 510 nm. Grass, for example, appears green because all of the colors in the visible part of the spectrum are absorbed into the leaves of the grass

except green. Green is reflected, therefore grass appears green.

Forms of Light

Our eyes are sensitive to light which lies in a very small region of the

electromagnetic spectrum labeled "visible light". This "visible light"

corresponds to a wavelength range of 400 - 700 nanometers (nm) and a

color range of violet through red. The human eye is not capable of

"seeing" radiation with wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. The

visible colors from shortest to longest wavelength are: violet, blue,

green, yellow, orange, and red. Ultraviolet radiation has a shorter wavelength than the visible violet

light. Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength than visible red light.

White light is a mixture of the colors of the visible spectrum. Black is a

total absence of light.

Earth's most important energy source is the Sun. Sunlight consists

of the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Additive Model RGB, Light

Color Models

Subtractive Model CMYK, Pigment

Additive Model RGB, Light

A representation of additive color mixing. Projection of primary color lights on a screen shows secondary colors where two

overlap; the combination of all three of red, green, and blue in appropriate intensities makes white. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model

Subtractive Model CMYK, pigment

Layers of simulated glass show how semi-transparent layers of color combine on paper into a spectrum of CMY colors.

The CMYK color model (process color, four color) is a subtractive color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself.

CMYK refers to the four inks used in some color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key or black.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model

The CMYK model works by partially or

entirely masking colors on a lighter,

usually white, background. The ink reduces the light that would otherwise be

reflected. Such a model is called

subtractive because inks

“subtract” brightness from

white.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Dmitrievskii Church, 1911.

Additive Color

The Visible spectrum consists of billions of colors, a monitor can display millions, a high quality printer is only capable of producing thousands, and older computer systems may be limited to 216 cross-platform colors.

Color Gamuts

http://www.worqx.com/color/color_systems.htm

Reproducing color can be problematic with regard to printed, digital media, because what we see is not what is possible to get. Although a monitor may be able to display 'true color' (16,000,000 colors), millions of these colors are outside of the spectrum available to printers. Since digital designs are generated using the RGB color system, colors used in those designs must be part of the CMYK spectrum or they will not be reproduced with proper color rendering. Working within the CMYK color system, or choosing colors from Pantone© palettes insures proper color rendering.

Primary Colors

Primary colors are the most basic colors; they cannot be broken down into component colors. The primary colors are different depending on which color model you are using. The primary colors in the Newtonian color model are red, yellow, and blue.

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Secondary Colors

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

HueThe ‘color’ of the color. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

ValueLightness (tint) or darkness (shade) of a color.

Saturation (Chroma)Intensity of the hue in the color. Desaturated colors tend to look gray.

Describing Color

Color Relationships

Analogous Colors

located close together on a color wheel.

Complementary Colors

Located opposite each other on a color wheel

Primary Colors

Essential colors, cannot be broken down into component colors

Secondary Colors

Mixture of two primary colors

Monochromatic Colors

Shades and tints of the same color

Newtonian (Artist’s) Color Wheel

Shade and Tint

Add black or white

Intensity

Amount of saturation) Graphics taken from www.worqx.com/color

Color Temperature

COOL

WARM

Temperature can be measured absolutely, or relatively.

For example, yellow-green is warmer than cyan-green, but both are cool colors.

An approximate separation of absolute color temperature is denoted below:

Nearly any color could appear as either warm or cold depending on the surrounding colors, especially those near the dividing line.

A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666.

Newton’s Color Model

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

SHADESA Shade is simply any color with black added.

Shades are deep, powerful and mysterious. They work well in a masculine environment and are best used as dark accents.

Tints, Tones and Shades of Hues

Graphics taken from http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/index.html

TINTSA Tint is sometimes called a Pastel. It's simply any color with white added.

A color scheme using Tints is soft, youthful and soothing.

HUESThese are the purest and brightest colors. They form the full spectrum of colors which progress around the Primary Color Wheel in gradual increments.

These color schemes are bold, cheerful and exciting.

TONESA Tone is created by adding both white and black. Any color that is "greyed down" is considered a Tone.

Tones are somehow more pleasing to the eye. They can be complex, subtle and sophisticated.

From 1919 to 1922, Itten taught at the Bauhaus, developing the innovative "preliminary course” which was to teach students the basics of material

characteristics, composition, and color. He also published a book, The Art of Color. Itten's so called "color sphere" went on to include 12 colors.

Johannes Itten

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Itten

Red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger on black than on other background colors. Josef Albers, also from the Bauhaus, discusses the relative nature of color in his book, Interaction of Color.

Color Contextand Josef Albers

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

Color conveys meanings in two primary ways - natural associations and psychological symbolism. People are comfortable when colors remind them of similar things. For example, a soft shade of blue triggers associations with the sky and a psychological sense of calm.

Successful design requires an awareness of how and why colors communicate meaning. The source of these meanings can be quite conspicuous, such as those found in nature — red is the color of blazing fire and blood, blue the color of cooling waters and the sky. Other meanings may be more complex and not universal.

As a starting point, the communicative properties of a color can be defined by two categories: natural associations and psychological (or cultural) associations.

Occurrences of colors in nature are universal and timeless. For example, the fact that green is the color of vegetation can be considered a universal and timeless association.

Color Symbolism - 1

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

Natural Associations Psychological or Cultural Associations

Color may generate another level of meaning in the mind. This symbolism arises from cultural and contemporary contexts. As such, it is not universal and may be unrelated to its natural associations. For example, green’s associations with nature communicate growth, fruitfulness, freshness and ecology. On the other hand, green may also be symbolic of good luck, seasickness, money and greed — all of which have nothing to do with green plants. These associations arise from a complex assortment of sources.

Furthermore, color may have both positive and negative symbolism. For example, although blue is the beautiful color of the sky on a sunny day, it can be symbolic of sadness or stability. Idiomatic American English reflects these traits in phrases such as “singing the blues” and “blue chip stocks.” Red is another example of dual symbolism. On one hand, as the color of fire and blood, it is an energizing, aggressive and bold color. In direct contrast, red is used for “STOP” signs throughout the world today.

Color Symbolism - 2

Graphics taken from www.colormatters.com

Natural Associations Psychological or Cultural Associations