Color
COLOR
COLOR
col·or
1. the property possessed by an object of
producing different sensations on the eye as
a result of the way the object reflects or emits
light.
THE COLOR WHEEL
The first color wheel is attributed to
Sir Isaac Newton who arranged
the colors he saw in a rainbow of light
into a circle in 1706.
The arrangement of colors on a color
wheel helps us to see and explain the
relationships between colors.
PRIMARY COLORS
pri·ma·ry col·or
1. any of a group of colors from which all other
colors can be obtained by mixing
There are 3 Primary colors:
Yellow
Red
Blue
SECONDARY COLORS
sec·ond·ar·y col·or
1. a color resulting from mixing two primary colors
in equal amounts
Violet
Green
Orange
WHEN YOU MIX…..
• Red and Blue you make Violet
• Yellow and Red you make Orange
• Blue and Yellow you make Green
TERTIARY COLORS
ter·ti·ar·y
1. a color produced by mixing a primary color and
a secondary colors that are next to each other on
the color wheel.
Red-Orange
Red-Violet
Blue-Violet
Yellow-Orange
Yellow-Green
Blue-Green
COLOR TEMPERATURE
• The color wheel can be divided in half according
to color temperature.
Passionate Energetic Positive
Warm colors advance into space and
make a space feel smaller and more
cozy.
Calming Relaxing Mellow
Cool colors appear to recede into
space and can make the space feel
larger and more peaceful.
PROPERTIES OF COLOR
Color has three properties:
• Hue
• Value
• Intensity
All three properties are needed to accurately
describe color.
HUE
hue
1. a color or shade.
The traditional color name of a specific wavelength of light
is a hue.. All of the colors of the spectrum are hues. There
are only limited hue names: red, orange, yellow, green,
blue and violet.
VALUE
val·ue
1. the lightness or darkness of a color
TINT
A variation of color made by adding white to pure
color.
When a significant amount of white is added to a
hue it is called a pastel.
SHADE
A variety of color made by adding black to a pure
color.
INTENSITY
• The brightness and dullness of color. Also
referred to as “saturation”.
• A saturated color is high in intensity -- it is bright.
A color that is dull is unsaturated or low in
intensity.
TONE
A variety of color made by adding grey to a pure
color
When grey is added to a color you reduce the
color’s intensity.
COLOR SCHEMES
• An arrangement or combination of colors
COMPLIMENTARY
• Complimentary colors are colors that are directly
opposite each other on the color wheel.
COMPLIMENTARY COLORS
• Create high
contrast, impact and
visual interest
• Placed next to each
other the colors look
more vivid.
• When mixed they
create a tone and
reduce the intensity
SPLIT COMPLIMENT
• the two colors touching on either side of the
complimentary color are used.
SPLIT COMPLIMENTS
• strong visual contrast but tend to be a bit less
jarring since they’re not direct complements.
ANALOGOUS
• A group of colors that are related to each other
and are found next to each other on the color
wheel. Same color family.
ANALOGOUS COLORS
• Analogous color schemes are lower visual
contrast and can be calming .
TRIADIC
• A combination of three colors that are equal
distance away from each other on the color
wheel.
TRIADIC COLORS
• Balanced
MONOCHROMATIC
• Monochromatic means one color
• Monochromatic color
schemes are made
up of shades and
tints of one hue
ACHROMATIC
• A color scheme that utilizes neutrals
including black, white, grey, brown
and beige.
• Neutrals are the most commonly
used color schemes.
• Texture and Pattern are very
important in achromatic designs.