COLORS

Definition

Color
Derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors.
Mr. ROY G. BIV

COLOR IS DESCRIBED IN

T HREE

WAYS :

Shade and tint

are terms that refer to a variation of a hue.

Shade: A hue produced by the addition of black.

Tint: A hue produced by the addition of white.

Subtractive Color. When we mix colors using paint, or through the printing process, we are using the subtractive color method. Subtractive color mixing means that one begins with white and ends with black; as one adds color, the result gets darker and tends to black.

Additive Color. If we are working on a computer, the colors we see on the screen are created with light using the additive color method. Additive color mixing begins with black and ends with white; as more color is added, the result is lighter and tends to white.

There are 12 colors in a standard color wheel that are divided into three designations: primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors.

Primary Colors

The next aspect to the color wheel is creating the secondary colors. These colors are placed in triangles above the corresponding primary color combination. This system of color mixing is known as the subtractive process, because the resulting secondary color subtracts or absorbs even more waves from the white light than the first color did.

Secondary Colors

The secondary colors are: orange (mix red + yellow) green (mix yellow + blue) violet (mix blue + red)
These secondary colors are also known as The final step to creating the 12 step color wheel will be to create a ring around the newly formed primary and secondary color form. Divided into 12 equal segments, the primary and secondary colors shall be repeated to their corresponding segment within the surrounding ring. This will leave a blank segment between every two colors. In these blank segments the tertiary colors will be created.

Tertiary Colors
The are: yellow-orange, red-orange, redviolet, blue violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.

The sequence of colors on the color wheel should resemble that of the rainbow. We can now use our color wheel as the basis to understanding color and color combination techniques.

In color theory, a color scheme is the choice of colors used in design for a range of media.

T YPES
Analogous:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Colors that contain a common hue and are found next to each other on the color wheel, e.g., violet, red-violet, and red create a sense of harmony. Remember adjoining colors on the wheel are similar and tend to blend together. They are effective at showing depth.

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C OLOR S CHEME

Monochromatic:
One color. A monochromatic color scheme uses only one hue (color) and all values (shades or tints) of it for a unifying and harmonious effect.

T YPES
Neutral colors:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Contain equal parts of each of the three primary colors - black, white, gray, and sometimes brown are considered "neutral". When neutrals are added to a color only the value changes, however; if you try to make a color darker by adding a darker color to it the color (hue) changes.

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Warm colors:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Suggest warmth and seem to move toward the viewer and appear closer, e.g., red and orange are the colors of fire.

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Cool colors:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Suggest coolness and seem to recede from a viewer and fall back, e.g., blue and green are the colors of water and trees).

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Complementary:
Two colors opposite one another on the color wheel, e.g., blue and orange, yellow and purple, red and green. When a pair of high intensity complements are placed side by side, they seem to vibrate and draw attention to the element Not all color schemes, based on complementary colors are loud and demanding -- if the hues are of low-intensity the contrast is not too harsh. Intensity can only be altered by mixing a color with its complement, which has the effect of visually neutralizing the color. Changing the values of the hues, adding black or white, will soften the effect.

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Triad:

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C OLOR S CHEME

A color triad is composed of three colors spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. The contrast between triad colors is not as strong as that between complements.. Primary - red, yellow, and blue

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Triad:

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Secondary - by mixing two primary colors,

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Triad:

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Intermediate - colors are created by mixing a primary and a secondary: Red-orange, yelloworange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-purple, and red-purple.

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Triad:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Split complements - the combination of one hue plus the hues on each side of its complement. This is easier to work with than a straight complementary scheme. It offers more variety, e.g., red-orange, blue, and green.

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Triad:

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C OLOR S CHEME

Double complementary - two adjacent hues and their opposites. It uses four colors arranged into two complementary color pairs. This scheme is hard to harmonize; if all four colors are used in equal amounts, the scheme may look unbalanced, so you should choose a color to be dominant or subdue the colors.

COMPOSITIONAL EFFECTS OF COLORS

Spatial Effects Balance and Proportion

Saturation is the relative brilliance or vibrancy of a color. The more saturated a color, the less black it contains.

S PATIAL E FFECTS
Hues that are lighter at maximum saturation (yellows, oranges) appear larger

than those that are darker at maximum saturation (e.g., blues and purples).

B ALANCE

AND

P ROPORTION

Generally speaking, less saturated or busily detailed areas will draw attention

and therefore seem to carry more weight than highly saturated or visually
simpler areas.

E MPHASIS
An area in a work of art that attracts the viewers attention first. The element

noticed first is called dominant; the elements noticed later are called
subordinate.

U NITY
Allows the viewer to see a combination of elements, principles, and media as a

whole. Unity is created by harmony, simplicity, repetition, proximity, and

continuation. For example, you could use the repetition of a color scheme to unify a composition.

M OVEMENT
Color can create a sense of movement. When the values in a work jump quickly from very high-key to very low-key, a feeling of excitement and movement is created. When all of the values are close together the work seems much calmer. When you want to create movement with color remember to use values of pure hues as well as those of tints and shades. Movement creates the illusion of action or physical change in position.

RHYTHM

The use of repeated elements to create the illusion of movement. Visual

rhythm is perceived through the eyes, and is created by repeated positive

spaces separated by negative spaces. There are five types of rhythm: random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.

Color Effects (Architectural Implications)

USES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

Physiological Effects
Mystics have long held we emanate a colored glow, or aura, which is thought to effect the state of a person's health and spirituality. Today, chromotherapy is used to heal with colors. This form of treatment dates back thousands of years to the ancient "color halls" of Egypt, China, and India. A more prominent use of color therapy occurs in environmental design (the effect of color on health and behavior).

Color Symbolism
Our responses to color are not just biological. They are also influenced by color associations from our culture.

Personal Color Preferences

Not only have we inherited cultural associations, but we also respond to colors in individual ways. Research has revealed some variables that help explain individual differences in color responses. One thing remains the same in color and that is our own color preferences are important to us.

Emotional Effects
The actual emotional effect of a specific color in an artwork depends partly on its surroundings and partly on the ides expressed by the work as a whole. To be surrounded by blue lighting in an installation is quite different from seeing a small area of blue in a larger color context. For many of us the emotional effects of art may be difficult to articulate.

Local and Expressive Color

There are two opposite ways of using color in representational art. At one extreme is the local color - the color that something appears from nearby when viewed under average lighting conditions. We think of the local color of a banana as yellow, for example. At the other end of the extreme is the expressionistic use of color, whereby artists use color to express an emotional rather than a visual truth.

RED
the warmest and the most energetic color of the spectrum. Red is associated with love thus it is he color of Valentine s Day. It could also mean danger which is why most warning labels, emergency exit and stop signs come in red. Red represents anger, speed, violence and strength. Red is said to raise blood pressure or increase your heartbeat. Red would not be ideal for hospitals, prisons or psychiatric wards. The Chinese believe that red symbolizes luck and celebration. It is used from birthdays to weddings.

For the Indians, red is the color of purity.

Blue
Blue means calm and tranquility. It may mean peace, stability, and harmony. Blue is also the color of trust, truth, confidence, security, cleanliness, order, cold, water, sky and loneliness. Blue reduces ones appetite, slows the pulse rate and lowers your temperature. Blue is also commonly used for business because it communicates reliability and trustworthiness.

The Chinese associate blue with immortality. In Colombia blue is associated with soap. For the Hindus, it is the color of Krishna. The Jews believe blue is a holy color. In the \middle East, blue is the color of protection. These may be the reasons why blue is considered t be the safest global color.

green
The color of nature. It represents the environment, good health, luck, youth, vigor, spring, fertility, envy, inexperience or misfortune. The coolness of green soothes, calms and is said to have great healing powers. Surgeons wear green in most operating rooms. In India, green is the color of Islam. It also has religious significance for Catholics in Ireland. In some tropical countries, green may mean danger.

yellow
Yellow is happiness, idealism, joy, imagination, hope, summer. Sunshine, gold, dishonesty, cowardice, illness and inspiration. The yellow rose symbolizes friendship. Asian see yellow as sacred and imperial.

black
The color of power, sexuality, sophistication, elegance, wealth, fear, evil, depth, sadness, remorse and death. In fashion, black is a favorite color. It is associated with formality and class. Clothes also look more expensive when they come in black. Black is said to be the absence of light or color.

orange
Orange is an energetic color. It is probably the most attention-getting color. This is why most warning signs come in orange. It also means warmth, balance, enthusiasm, vibrance and flamboyancy.

purple
Purple is the color of royalty, spirituality and nobility. It also represents wisdom and mystery. Wizards in fairy tales often wear purple. Purple may also mean arrogance, cruelty and enlightenment. Purple is also associated with creativity.

white
When colors come together in perfect balance, we see white. It is the color if purity, simplicity, cleanliness, precision, innocence, birth, winter, snow and good. In visual representations of good and evil, white is usually associated with the good guys. In Japan, white carnations signify death. The Chinese likewise see white as a color for mourning.

Color as an integral part of perceptual system which help us to:

Identify and define objects in space; Acts as signaling device which is evidence of certain conditions and; Conveying information about the surroundings.

Size Outline/contour Attention Feeling

Uses of color and lighting in building:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To give direction To warn or call attention to an object or event To modify or change structure To establish a desired environment For sheer physical relief Simply for pleasure or enjoyment To arouse human instinct (psychological)

Color serves many aesthetic purposes in the design of the building, namely:
It creates an atmosphere It suggests either unity or diversity It expresses character of materials It defines form It affects proportions It brings out scale It gives a sense of weight It projects value in physical properties It brings out composition/organization of structures.