DesignPractice: OUGD404 - Design Principles - Systematic Colour part 1 & 2

Part 1 - Systematic Colour

When exploring the use of colour in design we must first explore how we see / perceive colour itself.

Understanding Colour Types

Colour types include:

Primary
Secondary
Tertiary

We were taught at a younger age that the primary colours were red, blue and yellow. This is because (when mixing paint) we cannot create these colours from other colours. Secondary were the colours that could be made by mixing together other colours.

Tertiary colours are those inbetween the secondary colours that create the continuous gradient/ spectrum. As shown in this colour wheel:

Colour in light & the Additive Colour System

There are millions of colours that we can recognize optically, but in reality our eyes can only perceive 3 different ranges:

red - orange
green
purple (violet)

... and from these , we cross over these colours and interpret them as other colours.

For example,

red + green = yellow

in terms of light. This is because visionary colour is seen by waves of light being reflected off of the object into our eyes. Some wavelengths are longer/ wider /stronger depending on the colour.

For example : the sky is perceived to be blue because the blue wavelengths of the sunlight are not strong enough to penetrate the atmosphere and so are trapped in the sky, whereas other wavelengths are strong enough and so are not visible. If you fly up there, you will never be surrounded by blue, it is merely an optical illusion.

This kind of principle is applied to computer graphics in the colour mode setting RGB. The screen only uses the three primary colours of light :

red
green
blue

but there are all kinds of colour onscreen created by crossing over these colours. This kind of colour system is called the additive colour system:

Because of this physiological response, the eye can be fooled into seeing the full range of proportional colours just through RGB modes.

Colour in Print & the Subtractive Colour System

In print, however, we work in CMYK as opposed to RGB modes, because it produces the most accurate chromatic outcome from a printer.

The same principles apply in that, CMYK overlays it's current colours to create other colours. This is called the subtractive colour system:

Notice how, in the additive colour system, the colours cyan, magenta and yellow are created and in the subtractive colour system the colours red, green and blue are created?

How do we determine colour? - The Pantone Referencing System

If all our eyes are unique as our individual selves, how can we agree on a colour? If someone simply says they want a title in 'blue' - what kind of blue do they mean? 'The blue-y-est blue' for example, is only determined by our eyes by the other colours around it and the light conditions. This is a problem for Graphic Designers, especially because lots of communication is done digitially and there is not an accurate way to describe a colour - other than the Pantone Matching System.

Part 2 - Dimensions of Colour

Chromatic Value = Hue + Tone + Saturation

Vocabulary:

Chromatic Value : dimension of the colour / Pantone Name.
Hue : How can we describe the colour ? " reddy - orange "
Saturation : How strong the colour is.
De- Saturation: to weaken the colour.
Tone : the range of dark and light elements in the colour.
Luminance : affected by shades and tints.
Tints : lighter
Shades : darker

Studio Session 8th Jan 2013

In preparation for this session, we each brought in 15 items of a chosen colour. Using the tertiary colour wheel as a guide, we set up a giant colour wheel around the studio, ordering the colours in a gradient.