Why study color? It is the most important element of a design It is one of the few visual design elements that people notice

Properties of Color Hue: property that gives a color a name (ex: red) Value: measurement of the amount of light reflected from an object Intensity: brightness or concentration of a color

Color Wheel A tool to use to understand the uses of color.

The Color Wheel Contains three categories of colors Primary Colors: red, yellow, and blue; all other colors can be mixed from the primary colors Secondary Colors: orange, green, violet; mixture of equal amounts of two primary colors Tertiary (Intermediate) colors: made by mixing a primary color with the adjacent secondary color (ex: red-orange). When naming, the primary color is always named first.

Color Wheel Primary Color – natural colors; red, yellow, & blue Secondary Colors – equal mixture of two primary colors; Red & Yellow = Orange Yellow & Blue = Green Red & Blue = Purple/Violet

Color Wheel Tertiary color – equal mixture of a primary and secondary color. Example: red & orange = red-orange Value – brightness or darkness of a color. Chroma – Measure of brightness or dullness.

Psychological Effects of Color Warm Colors: red, orange, yellow associated with sun, heat, and fire evoke warm and happy feelings warm colors will dominate when in an arrangement Cool Colors: blue, green, violet associated with grass, water, ice create restful, soothing feelings fade into background of a design

Color Wheel Tint – Add white to make a color brighter, pink is a tint of red

Color Wheel Shade – add black to make a color darker, burgundy is a shade of red.

Color Wheel Tone – add gray to make a color dull; dusty rose is a tone of pink. Color Harmonies – combinations of color that are pleasing to the eye.

Color Principles Monochromatic – one hue with its tints, shades and tones, ex. Red, pink, mauve, burgundy. Analogous – three or more hues that are next to each other on the color wheel. Ex. Yellow – green, yellow & yellow – orange.

Color Principles Complementary – two colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Ex. Red and green. Split-Complementary – any color with the two colors on each side of its complement. Ex. Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet.

Color Principles Triadic – three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel. Ex. Yellow, red and blue. Polychromatic – three or more unrelated colors, select tints, shades & tones.

What influences color selection? Seasons or holidays Special Occasions (ex: weddings) Symbolism Favorite Colors Existing Colors