The Role of Color in Design

Just FACS

Why Study Color?

• The human eye can see as many as 6-7 million colors! This means is has a BIG IMPACT in the fashion and design industry.

• In this lesson, we will understand how colors have an impact on our wardrobes by emphasizing our body’s special features (ex. Eyes), create illusions in height/shape, and how it affects our moods.

• You may have learned this in art or interior design.

Color Wheel

• Primary colors: red, yellow, and blue

• Secondary colors: orange, green, and violet

• Tertiary colors (intermediate colors): combination of primary and secondary

Components of Color• Pigments- substances that

absorb some light rays and reflect others.

• Hue is the color feature that makes one color different from others (primary, secondary, tertiary)

• Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color.– Intensity lessons when mixed with

complement color

– Complement color is the color opposite it on the color wheel.

• Value is the lightness or darkness of a color (amount of black or white in the color)

• Adding white to a hue creates a tint.

– Lightens a color

– Ex. Pink is a tint of red.

• Adding black to a hue creates a shade.

– Darkens a color

– Ex. Navy blue is a shade of blue

• Adding gray to a color creates a tone.

Colors as Symbols

• Traffic light – red, yellow, green

• Holiday colors

• Groups – countries (flags), sports teams, etc.

Warm Colors

• Warm colors: red, orange, and yellow

– People seek red, orange, gold, and brown in the fall to feel warm on chilly mornings

– Warm colors tend to advance/move towards you

– Excitement, cheerful, action

Cool Colors

• Cool colors: blues, greens, and purples

– Often worn in spring and summer because they create a cooling feeling

– Tend to recede or move away from you

– Calm and relaxing

Colors and Mood!

• Red- bold, excited, or nervous

• Orange- less aggressive, makes you feel friendly, hopeful, or energized

• Yellow- cheerfulness, happiness

– Gold is similar but more formal

• Blue- calm but formal

Color Scheme

• A combination of colors that is pleasing to the eyes because of the values and intensities.

• Provides guidelines for designing successfully with color.

• Color schemes look best when one color dominates.

Types of Color Schemes1. Neutral

2. Monochromatic

3. Analogous

4. Complementary

5. Split-Complementary

6. Triadic

Neutral• White, black, and gray

• Why are black and white not on the color wheel?

– Not true colors

– All light absorbed = black

– All light reflected = white

• Useful because they change value/intensity of color

• Beige and brown are sometimes considered neutral but are not true neutral because they have a yellow or green base

• Accent colors are often used with neutral color schemes

Monochromatic• Tints and shades of

one color on the color wheel

• Changing value and intensity of the hue

• Quiet, restful effect on room

Analogous•2 to 5 hues next to each other on the color wheel

•More visually pleasing to use a primary, secondary, and tertiary grouping

Complementary

•Two colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/10438/complementarywheel.jpg

Complementary?

Split Complementary

• Three colors, they combine one color with the two colors on each side of its complement

Triad•Three colors that are equal distance apart on the color wheel.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/10438/triadicwheel.jpg

Things to Consider

• What type of mood do you want to set with your outfit?

• What are you attending/doing today?

Review!

TriadSplit-Complementary

ComplementaryAnalogousMonochromaticNeural

Warm Colors Cool Colors

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/10438/triadicwheel.jpghttp://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/10438/complementarywheel.jpg

REVIEW!1. Neutral2. Monochromatic3. Analogous4. Complementary5. Split-Complementary6. Triad

A B C D E F