COLOUR THEORY

WHAT IS COLOUR?Colour is the perception of light reflecting off objects, the colour of the object determines what part of the light spectrum reaches

you, and what part is absorbed by the object colour.

HUEThe actual colour of a pigment

ValueThe amount of lightness or darkness of a colour. How light or dark a colour is. On one side we have the shades (darkest values) on the other the tints (lightest values)

Saturation (Intensity)Saturations refers to the brightness or dullness of a colour. It ranges from pure bright colour to gray.

Colour TemperatureColour temperature refers to the perceived warmth or coolness of a colour, it is not a physical characteristic.

Warm colours advance, cools recede. Warm and cool colours are perceived in context

with their surroundings.

Colour temperature

WARM COOL

ADDITIVE MIX Additive colour mix are the colours of light. Like your RGB screen or

projector.no light = no colour (black)all light (all colours) = white

SUBTRACTIVE COLOUR MIXSubtractive colour mix are the pigments, like printing, it uses Cyan, Magenta and yellow to get at most he rest of the colours, but still needs the use of Black at times.

PRIMARY COLOURSThree colours that can’t be created by the combination of

other colours. Theoretically all other colours can be created from combinations of the three primary colours.

SECONDARY COLOURSSecondary colours are formed by mixing two primaries. For example, mixing cyan and yellow creates green.

TERTIARY COLOURSAre created by mixing a primary colour with a secondary colour. For example, yellow plus orange makes yellow-orange.These colours are the visual midpoint between a primary and a secondary.

A colour harmony is created with colours that look like they belong together. Just like with a balanced design, a harmonious colour palette is pleasing to the viewer. It is important to be have an awaareness o insting for colour harmony when designing.

MONOCHROMATICA single colour with variations, the addition of black or white can add variation. This is the most harmonious colour scheme because there is no real colour contrast, only contrasts in value and intensity.

ANALOGOUS COLOURSColours next to each other on the colour wheel. Since they are so close in hue, they’re low in contrast to each other, also a calming colour scheme but provides more interest and flexibility than a monochromatic scheme.

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURSVibrant and highly contrasting, they are opposites on the colour wheel. These colours create a great contrast together.

TRIADIC Colour combinations can be achieved by mixing three colours evenly spaced around the colour wheel. It’s ideal if one colour is dominant.

SPLIT COMPLEMENTARYSimilar to triadic, three colours are used. This is created by selecting the two colours on either side of a colour’s complement. It also has less contrast than the complementary scheme but allows for more complex colour schemes because two colours complement a single colour.

Double complementary (tetradic)Four colours, two complementary pairs.

COLOUR CONTEXColours are rarely seen in isolation. Colours behave differently based on

their context.

COLOUR CONTEXWHICH ONE IS DARKER?

NATURAL COLOURSLook to nature for colour harmonies.