Colour Theory

Colour Theory

Colour & Contrast

Pantone: Industry way of designing colour.

Additive: Uses light (CMYK) - Makes white.

Subtractive: Mixing tones (Ink RGB) - Makes black/dark.

The only reason we can differentiate the difference in colour & object is because of contrast.

Itten's 7 Contrasts

Contrast of Tone: (Tonal Value)

Formed by the juxtaposition of light and dark values. This could be monochromatic

The element of your eye on your retine. All colours have a tone. primarys articulate the tone of the colour wheel by removing everything but tone.

 These are the tonal values of the colour wheel.

Closer together in tone therefore harder to read.

 Red & Blue: Therefore easier to read. Higher tonal contrast. A different contrast due to not only a contrast of tone also looking at contrast of hue.

Contrast of Hue (Cromatic Value)

Formed by the juxtaposing of different hues. The greater the distance between hues on a colour wheel, the greater the contrast.

 Take away tonal references (White Background) You have very high contrast colours sat next to each other.

Always see tone & hue working together, to help legibility & readability.

Contrast of Saturation

Formed by the juxtaposition of light and dark values and their relative saturations.

The further down the more blue the blue gets as you thing its blue before as its the bluest thing you can see. Changes our perception of what we see as blue. The middle blue box is the most saturated and the rest is desaturated against the grey background. 

This is all three working together, Hue, Tone & Saturation. 

Contrast of Extension: 

Formed by assigning proportional field sizes in relation to the visual weight of a colour. Also known as the contrast of proportion. 

Certain colours have certain weights.

The amount of colour we can see effects the weights of colours. how much yellow we need to put down to create a visual balance?

This effects how far it jumps out at you, and how readable & legible it is.

 

Exactly the same amount of violet as above but it has just been spread out. When mixed proportions of tones fight for attention.

The bottom one is more comfortable to look at as its spread out against the field of vision. Balancing colour is not about using an equal amount of colour you have to think about scale & proportion. 

Contrast of Temperature:

formed by juxtaposing hues that can be considered ‘warm’ or ‘cool’. Also known as the contrast of warm and cool

Coolest- Blue (Somewhere within)

Warmest- Red/Orange (Somewhere between)

Mid red & push towards violets/magenta is cooler than a crimson red.

The idea of temperature is one colour makes it warmer compared to the other.

 These are two different colours but you end up with a gradient and end up with more of a pinky red & an orangey red. The contrast is been forced by the optical temperature.

 These are separated and looking at them with tone & hue.

 The black line shave been removed: Can see the whole mid series of gradients, don't seem like flat colours. Because perceiving it as warmer it making the next colour cooler. But then the next ones warmer & the gradient goes lighter.

Complimentary Contrast:

formed by juxtaposing complementary colours from a colour wheel or perceptual opposites

Red & Green:
Complimentary colours. Most extreme contrasts. In terms of hue, contrast, saturating. High contrast, high vibration.

 

Blue & Orange:
Complimentary colours sitting next to each other & fighting for attention.


 

 To look at:
  Blue Hard
  Red Easiest
  Yellow Uneasy 

 To look at:
  Blue Uneasy
  Red Jumping forward
  Yellow Easiest 

Simultaneous Contrast 

Formed when boundaries between colours perceptually vibrate. 

Putting colours next to each other that will have the maximum impact. The longer you stare at the yellow turns slightly orange.

Yellow Primary

Green Blue & Yellow

Red Missing 

Starting to introduce the absent colours our eyes. because the yellow & green (Yellow & Blue) are mixing. As blue comes out, it starts to force out its own complimetary.

Grey & Blue Start to make an orangey/Brown.

Part 4 - Subjective Colour

 

 

     Amount of colour. Type & Readability, quite balanced, but not complimentary. If you focus it down it becomes more impact as its a small area of impact colour.

Bright Yellow- Desaturated yellow- turning yellow out heading more violet. See how you see 4 colours although only 3, its optical.

 Bold- Green more the grey is more violet can see a blue, red tinge.

 Bold- Violet more grey, more of a green tinge.

Complimentary Colours

The grey starts to take on the complimentary colour of the background because of the stronger, bolder colours and start to impose there colours & compliment colours on others. 

Red will demand green is there. The memory of the colour will burn in the colour from before. Complimentary flipping themselves. When the cross is taken away they both demand the red to be so impose onto the green when a blank green screen is shown.

 

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