The Psychology of Color

1. The Psychology of Color The How and Why of Color

2. Color Attributes • There are literally millions of colors, but they can be divided into just a few color families. • And every color can be described in terms of having three main attributes: hue, saturation and brightness.

3. Hue • Any pure color is referred to as a hue. • Hue is identified as the color family or color name (such as red, green, purple). • Hue is directly linked to the color's wavelength.

4. Saturation • Saturation, also called “chroma,” is a measure of the purity of a color or how sharp or dull the color appears. • Saturation is the relative brilliance or vibrancy of a color. The more saturated a color, the less black it contains.

5. Brightness • Brightness, also called “luminance” or “value,” is the shade (darkness) ortint(lightness) of a color. • Areas of an evenly colored object in direct light have higher brightness than areas in shadow.

6. Tint vs. Shade • A hue is a specific color; red, green, blue. • A tint of a color is made by adding white. • A shade is made by adding black.

7. Color Wheel • Invented by Sir Isaac Newton. • A tool for understanding color relationships and creating harmonious color schemes. • The color wheel is divided into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

8. Color Wheel • Primary colors are those that cannot be created by mixing other colors together. • Secondary colors are those that are created by mixing two primary colors. • Tertiary colors are those that are created by mixing a primary and secondary color together. For this reason they have two-word names.Example: blue-green, yellow-orange, etc.

9. Color Basics • Sir Isaac Newton discovered that white light breaks into a rainbow of colors in 1666 by passing a beam of light through a prism. • He found an infinite number of colors in this spectrum.

10. Newton wanted to show that there were just seven main colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). • Monochromatic colors in the spectrum (composed of a single, unique wavelength, which can't be further separated into other colors).

11. Color Combinations • Newton's experiments showed that light can be combined to form different colors. • For example: blue and yellow light produces green light that appears identical to the green found in a prism spectrum. (Modern techniques show these to be different colors.) • Such color pairs are called metamers (they appear to be identical, but they have different wavelengths.)

12. Color Combinations • Newton found some color combinations produce pure white instead of colored light. • They complete each other when mixed. These pairs of colors are called complements. • In this example you see that purple and yellow lights combine to form white.

13. Color of Light: Additive Color • Additive color is how light is mixed to create color. • This method is called the RGB (red-green-blue) process because those are the primary colors used to mix visible light. • This is the color system used by televisions, computers, color CRTs, LCDs, plasma screens, stadium mega-screens, and stage lighting.

14. Additive Color: Color Monitors • Projection systems used televisions, computers, and plasma screens (among others) use a dot pattern to produce the colors seen by the eye. • This is similar to POINTILLISM, a painting technique use in the 19th century. • Pointillism is a form of painting in which tiny dots of primary-colors are used to generate secondary colors.

15. Additive Color: Color Monitors • If you view a painting created with Pointillism up close, you will see that the image is made from pure “dots” of color that the eye mixes. • A computer monitor or TV screenuses RED, GREEN and BLUE dotsin a similar fashion to produce the secondary colors you see on the screen.

16. Warm vs. Cool Colors Warm colors appear larger than cool colors.

17. Cool colors • Cool colors range from blue to violet, the half of the color wheel with shorter wavelengths. • Have a calming effect. • Frequently used for backgrounds to set off smaller areas of warm colors. • Used together, cool colors can look clean and crisp, implying status and calm. • Bright cool colors generates more excitement than light, medium or dark cool colors.

18. Warm Colors • Warm colors range from red to yellow. • On the half of the color wheel corresponding to the longer wavelengths. • Warm colors are active, attention-grabbing and aggressive. • They stimulate emotions, motivate and seem to come forward off the screen or page.

19. Color Schemes • Selecting color combinations may be based on several traditional color schemes. These are: • Complimentary • Monochromatic • Neutral • Analogous • Low Intensity • Split Compliments • Double Compliments

20. Complementary Colors • Any two colors whose light together produces white are called complementary colors. • Complementary colors in an image are pleasing to the eye. The colors seem to belong together. • The most effective use of complements is to let one of them dominate by giving it a bigger area or a fuller saturation, while using the other as an accent.

21. Complementary Colors • Complementary colors lie opposite each other on the color wheel. They complete or enhance each other. • When a pair of high intensity complementsare placed side by side, they seem to vibrate and draw attention to the element. • If the hues are of low-intensity, the contrast is not too harsh.

22. Complementary Colors • Intensity can only be altered by mixing a color with its complement, which has the effect of visually neutralizing the color. • Changing the values of thehues, adding black or white,will soften the effect.

23. Monochromatic Schemes • A monochromatic color scheme uses only one hue (color) and all values (shades or tints) of it for a unifying and harmonious effect. • You can change the value of a color by adding black (shade), or white (tint), or gray (tone). • As white is added to a color it becomes “higher” in value (lighter). • As black is added it becomes “lower” in value (darker).

24. Monochromatic Schemes • Valueis therelationship of light to dark. • Values that are close together give the design a calm appearance. • Values of pure hues as well as those of tints and shades create movement. • Value contrasts show textureand provide an effective means of directing viewer attention in a composition.

25. Neutral colors • Contains equal parts of three primary colors - black, white, gray, and sometimes brown. • When neutrals are added to a color, only the value changes. • If you try to make acolor darker by adding a darker color to it, the color (hue) changes. • Black and white are thought of as neutrals because they do not change color.

26. Analogous Colors • Colors that contain a common hue and are found next to each other on the color wheel.  • Adjoining colors on the wheel are similar and tend to blend together. • They are effective at showing depth.

27. Analogous Colors • Analogous color can be used to create subtle differences in an image or design by creating a peaceful and more harmonious feeling.

28. Analogous Colors

29. Split-Analogous  • A color scheme that includes a main color and the two colors one space away from it on each side of the color wheel. • An example is red, blue, and violet or red, yellow and violet.

30. Intensity • Intensity is the Brightness or dullness of a color. • A pure hue is a high-intensity color. • A dulled hue, a color mixed with its complement, is called a low-intensity color.

31. Triads • A color triad is composed of three colors spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. • The contrast between triad colors is not as strong as that between complements.

32. Triad - Primary Colors • Primary Color are rarely seen as a trio except in children’s products. • Red and yellow, are popular in the USA for everything from fast foodto gas stations. • Blue and red are also common, but are attractive only when separated by space.

33. Triad - Secondary • Colorscreated by mixing two primary colors to create a secondary color. • Red + yellow =orange • Yellow + blue = green • Blue + red = purple (violet)

34. Intermediate Triads • Colors are created by mixing a primary and a secondary • Examples: red-orange yellow-orange yellow-green blue-green blue-purple red-purple

35. Split Complements • The combination ofone hue, plus the hues on each side of its complement. • Easier to work with than a straight complementary scheme because it offers more variety. Example: red-orange, blue, and green.

36. Double Complements • Two hues and their opposites. • Four colors arranged into two complementary color pairs. • Scheme is hard to harmonize. • If all four colors are used in equal amounts, the scheme may look unbalanced. • Choose a color to be dominant or subdue the colors.

38. Compositional Effects of Color:Spatial effects • Hues that are lighter at maximum saturation (yellows, oranges) appear larger than those that are darker at maximum saturation (e.g., blues and purples). • Warm colors appear closer and cool colors fall back.

39. Compositional Effects of Color • A large shape or form appears to be heavier than a small shape. Several small shapes or forms can balance one large one. • An object with a complicated contour is more interesting and appears to be heavier, than one with a simple contour. A small complex object can balance a large, simple object.

40. Compositional Effects of Color • Use highly saturated or high-intensity colors (a pure hue with no other colors mixed in) or busily detailed areastodraw attention. • Highly saturated colors give the appearance of carrying more weight than less saturated, low-intensity or visually simpler areas.

41. How Colors Effect Each Other • Placing colors next to each other effect how we see colors and is a complex part of color theory. • Red appears more brilliant against black. • Red is somewhat duller against the white. • Next orange, red appears lifeless. • In contrast with blue-green, red exhibits brilliance. • The red square appears largeron black than on other background colors.

42. How Colors Effect Each Other • The color of the surrounding color can affect how the color looks. • The block in the center of the examples below are the same, only the background color has changed. • Color is partially defined in our brain by the colors surrounding it.

43. Sources of Information • Write Design on-line http://www.writedesignonline.com/resources/design/rules/color.html