Greg Pidgeon
Friday, November 26, 2004
How Can Colour Theory Be Useful As A Graphic Designer?
Colour is everywhere and like it or not has a very real impact on each day of our lives. In order to understand how colour theory can be useful in the capacity of a graphic designer there are certain concepts or ideas that need to be taken into consideration.
Firstly the medium on which the design is to be shown is very important when looking at colour theory. There are two models of colours that dictate how a design will look depending on which medium you are designing for.
There are additive primaries and subtractive primaries. Firstly the term ‘additive’ refers to the mixing of light, red, green and blue light to be precise and is what we see in the natural world and on the colour screen of a T.V or computer monitor. When equal amounts of each the additive primaries are combined they produce white. Because you are adding the colours together to get white this is given the term ‘additive’. Using RGB colour is particularly important when designing for web for instance, as your audience will be viewing the design in these colours.
Subtractive primaries are again red, green and blue but when mixed in equal amounts will produce black. If two of these colours are mixed on a subtractive medium they will produce secondary and tertiary colours. One website* describes the mixing of paints as a “subtractive mixing colour paradigm”. Another subtractive mixing colour paradigm is CMYK or cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is the colour model used for the production of any print based media.
This information is very important to a graphic designer because the correct model needs to be used with the correct medium, the difference when using the wrong model may be subtle but can be catastrophic. Most graphic software packages such as Adobe Photoshop‚ or Illustrator‚ will give you control over which you use and should certainly be taken into consideration.
That said there are also a number of variables within colour theory that can affect the appearance and ultimately the reception by the viewer. Tint and shade affects the light and dark colours (respectively) of any image, they are generally combined into a value called brightness and this can be used to enhance or if not considered ruin an image. Another variable to consider is ‘saturation’, this is what is used to measure the “pureness and brilliance “ of a colour. In CMYK, being a subtractive colour process, the more colours mixed the less pure they will become therefore lower the saturation and the duller an image will appear eventually ending up black and white.
Once we have understood how colour itself works, we can move onto its psychology and schemes used within colour theory. Most of the schemes used within colour theory use a ‘colour wheel’. Shown below is a 12-part colour wheel.
image originally taken from www.saumag.edu
Sir Isaac Newton developed the first colour wheel in 1666. In reality, any colour circle or colour wheel that presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues has merit. Colour wheels can be an extremely useful tool for graphic designers, as schemes derived from colour wheels can aid something known as colour harmony. The Colourmatters website (full address in bibliography) states “Colour harmony is a visual experience that is pleasing to the eye creating an inner sense of order engaging the viewer”. Without being too chaotic leading to over stimulation or extreme unity leading to under stimulation. “Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium”. This is usually what a designer is looking to do so these schemes should be addressed. Colour harmony is not always the objective but these schemes can just as easily be reversed.
‘Complementary Colours’ are two colours opposite one another on a colour wheel. They can enhance, contrast and intensify each other but although differences in hue and tone can be eye-catching, used too much can ruin a design. Here is an example of complementary colours working together to give this image a strong and vibrant feel.
This process of using complementary colours can be found in many areas of media production from advertising to digital art.
Another example is what’s known as ‘Analogous Colours’, which are three colours next to each other on a colour wheel. They have less energy and impact than complementary colours but often have increased harmony. A design using analogous colours can be found below:
Triadic colours are any three colours found 120∞ apart on a 12-part colour wheel and are also a good tool for any graphic designer looking for colour harmony.
Warm and cool colours can also be derived from a colour wheel by cross sectioning it as below:
These can be used effectively in design, as cool colours will add to the impact of a warm colour rarely overpowering it. This has important applications in design that incorporates text as ease of reading is of utmost importance. See examples below;
An understanding of monochromatic colours is also useful for designers. These are basically all the different hues and tints of any one colour. This results in much more subtle and peaceful imagery shifting concentration more to design and the content itself.
Along with this type of colour theory that can be very useful in design, colour psychology needs to be considered alongside. The psychology of colour is ethnocentric and when designing for cultures not your own the connotations of certain colours need to be carefully researched. When designing for China for example, green packaging is probably best not used as a green hat means a man’s wife is adulterous. An understanding of concepts such as the meaning of colour is useful as a designer because it has impact on how a design is interpreted by the viewer, for instance in a corporate capacity black would suggest sophistication, power and wealth, whereas green may suggest inexperience and misfortune. An understanding of Synesthesia, the activation of one sense caused sub-consciously by another, will also be useful to a designer as triggering a good sense in a viewer may be important. For instance in catering an image of a meal should trigger the smell and taste of something delicious.
So in conclusion the usefulness of colour theory is not only useful to a graphic designer but often in practical terms, i.e. use of the correct colour model for production, and in terms of audience interpretation, i.e. corporate identity, colour theory is essential.
Bibliography
http://iit.bloomu.edu/vthc/Design/psychology.htm (25.11.04)
http://webdesign.templatemonster.com/category/web-design-basics/ color-theory/graphic_design_using_color.2378.html (25.11.04)
www.bu.edu/neuropsychology/synvc.html (25.11.04)
www.bathroomexpress.co.uk/chromatherapy.htm (25.11.04)
www.bainultra.com/documentations/Guide_Chromo_ANG.pdf (25.11.04)
Colour is everywhere and like it or not has a very real impact on each day of our lives. In order to understand how colour theory can be useful in the capacity of a graphic designer there are certain concepts or ideas that need to be taken into consideration.
Firstly the medium on which the design is to be shown is very important when looking at colour theory. There are two models of colours that dictate how a design will look depending on which medium you are designing for.
There are additive primaries and subtractive primaries. Firstly the term ‘additive’ refers to the mixing of light, red, green and blue light to be precise and is what we see in the natural world and on the colour screen of a T.V or computer monitor. When equal amounts of each the additive primaries are combined they produce white. Because you are adding the colours together to get white this is given the term ‘additive’. Using RGB colour is particularly important when designing for web for instance, as your audience will be viewing the design in these colours.
Subtractive primaries are again red, green and blue but when mixed in equal amounts will produce black. If two of these colours are mixed on a subtractive medium they will produce secondary and tertiary colours. One website* describes the mixing of paints as a “subtractive mixing colour paradigm”. Another subtractive mixing colour paradigm is CMYK or cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is the colour model used for the production of any print based media.
This information is very important to a graphic designer because the correct model needs to be used with the correct medium, the difference when using the wrong model may be subtle but can be catastrophic. Most graphic software packages such as Adobe Photoshop‚ or Illustrator‚ will give you control over which you use and should certainly be taken into consideration.
That said there are also a number of variables within colour theory that can affect the appearance and ultimately the reception by the viewer. Tint and shade affects the light and dark colours (respectively) of any image, they are generally combined into a value called brightness and this can be used to enhance or if not considered ruin an image. Another variable to consider is ‘saturation’, this is what is used to measure the “pureness and brilliance “ of a colour. In CMYK, being a subtractive colour process, the more colours mixed the less pure they will become therefore lower the saturation and the duller an image will appear eventually ending up black and white.
Once we have understood how colour itself works, we can move onto its psychology and schemes used within colour theory. Most of the schemes used within colour theory use a ‘colour wheel’. Shown below is a 12-part colour wheel.
image originally taken from www.saumag.edu
Sir Isaac Newton developed the first colour wheel in 1666. In reality, any colour circle or colour wheel that presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues has merit. Colour wheels can be an extremely useful tool for graphic designers, as schemes derived from colour wheels can aid something known as colour harmony. The Colourmatters website (full address in bibliography) states “Colour harmony is a visual experience that is pleasing to the eye creating an inner sense of order engaging the viewer”. Without being too chaotic leading to over stimulation or extreme unity leading to under stimulation. “Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium”. This is usually what a designer is looking to do so these schemes should be addressed. Colour harmony is not always the objective but these schemes can just as easily be reversed.
‘Complementary Colours’ are two colours opposite one another on a colour wheel. They can enhance, contrast and intensify each other but although differences in hue and tone can be eye-catching, used too much can ruin a design. Here is an example of complementary colours working together to give this image a strong and vibrant feel.
This process of using complementary colours can be found in many areas of media production from advertising to digital art.
Another example is what’s known as ‘Analogous Colours’, which are three colours next to each other on a colour wheel. They have less energy and impact than complementary colours but often have increased harmony. A design using analogous colours can be found below:
Triadic colours are any three colours found 120∞ apart on a 12-part colour wheel and are also a good tool for any graphic designer looking for colour harmony.
Warm and cool colours can also be derived from a colour wheel by cross sectioning it as below:
These can be used effectively in design, as cool colours will add to the impact of a warm colour rarely overpowering it. This has important applications in design that incorporates text as ease of reading is of utmost importance. See examples below;
An understanding of monochromatic colours is also useful for designers. These are basically all the different hues and tints of any one colour. This results in much more subtle and peaceful imagery shifting concentration more to design and the content itself.
Along with this type of colour theory that can be very useful in design, colour psychology needs to be considered alongside. The psychology of colour is ethnocentric and when designing for cultures not your own the connotations of certain colours need to be carefully researched. When designing for China for example, green packaging is probably best not used as a green hat means a man’s wife is adulterous. An understanding of concepts such as the meaning of colour is useful as a designer because it has impact on how a design is interpreted by the viewer, for instance in a corporate capacity black would suggest sophistication, power and wealth, whereas green may suggest inexperience and misfortune. An understanding of Synesthesia, the activation of one sense caused sub-consciously by another, will also be useful to a designer as triggering a good sense in a viewer may be important. For instance in catering an image of a meal should trigger the smell and taste of something delicious.
So in conclusion the usefulness of colour theory is not only useful to a graphic designer but often in practical terms, i.e. use of the correct colour model for production, and in terms of audience interpretation, i.e. corporate identity, colour theory is essential.
Bibliography
http://iit.bloomu.edu/vthc/Design/psychology.htm (25.11.04)
http://webdesign.templatemonster.com/category/web-design-basics/ color-theory/graphic_design_using_color.2378.html (25.11.04)
www.bu.edu/neuropsychology/synvc.html (25.11.04)
www.bathroomexpress.co.uk/chromatherapy.htm (25.11.04)
www.bainultra.com/documentations/Guide_Chromo_ANG.pdf (25.11.04)
:: posted by Greg Pidgeon, 10:18 am
