how to master colour theory _ graphic design _ creative bloq

8/13/2019 How to Master Colour Theory _ Graphic Design _ Creative Bloq

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GRAPHIC DESIGN FEATURE

We cut through the jargon to explain the basic concepts and

terminology of colour theory, in words that you can understand.

Colour is such a pervasive part of everything we visually encounter in

the world, that for many designers it becomes an intuitive choice. If you

think back to primary/elementary school though, you'll recall being told

that there are three "primary" colours - Red, Yellow, and Blue. We were

all taught that any colour can be created by mixing these three colours

in vary ing quantities.

WebGL mak es 3D st orytellin g

interactive

animation/webgl-makes-3d-storytelling-nteractive-11121289)

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It turns out this isn't quite right (although it's still workable enough in

practice to be taught the world over to five-year-olds).

Understanding how colour is formed and, more importantly, the

relationships between different colours, can help you to use colour more

effectively in your designs.

The Bauhaus (http://www.creativebloq.com/design/easy-guide-design-

movements-bauhaus-8134146) school understood this in the 1920s and

1930s, with staff and students going on to develop colour theories for

evoking particular moods and emotions through choice of palette in

design and architecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Itten).

How colour is formed>

Colour theory stretches b ack to at least the 15th century>

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http://www.futureplc.com/cookies-policy/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Ittenhttp://www.creativebloq.com/design/easy-guide-design-movements-bauhaus-8134146


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The theory of colour is a discipline that stretches back much further

than that - at least to the 15th century - and encompasses physics,

chemistry and mathematics to fully define and explain the concepts.

However, much of this is unnecessary to being able to use colour

effectively. This quick primer will give you a handy overview of all the

important aspects to help you start making informed decisions!

There are two primary colour systems - methods by which colour is

reproduced: additive and subtractive (also known as reflective). We use

both on a daily basis - the screen you're reading this article on uses

additive colour to generate all the colours you see, while the book you're

reading uses subtractive colour for its front cover.

In simple terms - anything that emits light (such as the sun, a screen, a

projector, etc) uses additive, while everything else (which instead

reflects light) uses subtractive colour.

01. Additive

Colour systems>

Additive colour is based on red, green, and blu e - RGB f or short>


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Subtractive colour, like additive, has three primary colours - Cyan,

Magenta, and Yellow (CMY). In subtractive colour white is the absence

of colour, while black is the combination of colour, but its an imperfect

system.

The pigments we have available to use don't fully absorb light

(preventing reflected colour wavelengths), so we have to add a fourthcompensating pigment to account for this limitation.

We call this "Key", hence CMYK, but essentially it's black. Without this

additional pigment, the closest to black we'd be able to render in print

would be a muddy brown.

The colour wheel>


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In order to make it easier to see the relationship between different

colours, the concept of the modern colour wheel was developed around

the 18th century. These early wheels plotted the different primary

colours around a circle, mixing different primary colours together in

strict ratios to achieve secondary and tertiary colours.

The colour wheel allows us to see at a glance which colours are

complementary (opposite each other on the wheel), analogous (adjacent

to each other on the wheel), triadic (three colours positioned at 120

degrees on the wheel from each other) and so on.

Each of these relationships can produce pleasing colour combinations.

There are many more pleasing relationships between colours based on

their position on the wheel. Software such as Adobe Kuler use to help

you generate effective colour themes. Read our article

(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/how-choose-great-colour-

scheme-712364) on choosing an effective colour scheme to learn more.

The modern colour wheel has been in use sin ce the 18th century>

The three components of a colour>
http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/how-choose-great-colour-scheme-712364


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Yellow is yellow is yellow, right? Well, actually, no; there are many

different colours we could refer to as yellow. Different shades or tints,

saturations and hues are all possible while still being within the yellow

part of the colour wheel. As a result, there are three primary component

parts that help us define a colour:

01. Hue

This is the position on the colour wheel, and represents the base colour

itself. This is typically referred to in degrees (around the colour wheel),

so a yellow colour will appear between 50 and 60 degrees, with the

The three componen t parts that help us define a colour are hue, saturationand brightness

>


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perfect yellow appearing at 56 degrees. Green, meanwhile, appears at

120 degrees on the wheel at so on.

02. Saturation

This is a representation of how saturated (or rich) a colour is. Low

saturation results in less overall colour, eventually becoming a shade ofgrey when fully desaturated. Saturation is normally referred to as a

percentage between 0 and 100%.

03. Brightness

This is how bright a colour is, typically expressed as a percentage

between 0 and 100%. A yellow at 0% brightness will be black, while the

same yellow hue and saturation at 100% brightness will be the full

yellow colour.

Colour gamut>


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Colour gamut is a way of describing the full range of potential colours a

system can reproduce. It may surprise you to learn that the range of

colours achievable in CMYK is different to that you can achieve with

RGB.

This is partially because of the nature of the two different systems, but

also (in the real world at least) as a consequence of limitations in our

technology - screens arent always capable of producing the same range

of colours as each other, and pigments reflect light at a non-uniform rate

as you reduce their saturation.

Colour gamut describes the range of potential colours a sys tem can

reproduce

>


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Finally, its worth looking at how different colours can affect the way we

perceive other colours. A typical illustration of this features a mid-grey

tone placed over a light grey background, and the same mid-grey tone

shown over a dark grey background.

The apparent brightness of the mid-grey is altered according to the

context in which you see it - a trick of the eye, working to make sense of

its surroundings. Hues works in the same way as tones when placed

adjacent to other colours, allowing you to create different effects using

the same palette of colours.

01. Digital colour mixing explained(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/digital-colour-mixing-1131629)

Colour perception>

Further reading>

Click the li nks below to learn more about the us e of colour in design>
http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/digital-colour-mixing-1131629


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Mixing colours digitally is not the same as mixing them physically - we

explain what the difference between the two is and how to go about it in

practice.

02. How to choose a colour theme(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/choose-

colour-theme-712364)Choosing a colour theme effectively is key to the success of a design. So

how do you go about choosing the best combination of colours for your

project? Sam Hampton-Smith reveals all...

03. How to colour -match your printprojects

(http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/how-match-colour-print-1131720)

Getting your colours in print to match what appears on screen, or

something youve previously printed, isnt always straightforward. We

explain how to achieve consistency.

04. Colour management terms designers

need to know(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/colour-management-terms-111131)

Getting your colours right means getting your head around some tricky

terms. Our jargon-busting guide covers all you need to know.

05. Top colour resources(http://www.creativebloq.com/top-colour-resources-1131659)

Take a look at these top online resources where you'll find tons of advice

and inspiration on the subject of colour.

06. The best tools for choosing a colourscheme(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/tools-
http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/tools-colour-schemes-12121430http://www.creativebloq.com/top-colour-resources-1131659http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/colour-management-terms-111131http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/how-match-colour-print-1131720http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/choose-colour-theme-712364


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colour-schemes-12121430)

Creating a colour scheme is essential to good design. Weve gathered

together some fantastic tools to help you perfect your colour choices.

07. 10 amazing uses of colour in branding

(http://www.creativebloq.com/colour/amazing-uses-branding-6133196)

Successfully 'owning' a colour is a big deal. Here's how a succession of top

brands have staked their claim...

Words: Sam Hampton-Smith (http://www.hampton-smith.com/)

Like this? Why not read:

Tags: Graphic design (/tag/graphic-design), Computer Arts (/tag/computer-arts),

Feature (/tag/feature)

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