1. The Elements of Color

2. • Color immediately attracts attention. When
presented with a collection of bottles filled
with liquid in various colors, very young
children will group the objects by color
rather than size or shape.

3. Color Theory
• The art and science of color interaction and
effects.

4. Color Interaction
• The way colors influence one another
• Colors are never seen in isolation. The blue sheet of paper
we examine in an art supply store reminds us of the blue
sky, the ocean or the fabrics in a clothing store.
• Lighting also affects out perceptions. Incandescent light
creates a warm orange glow, while standard fluorescent
lights produce a bluish ambiance.
• When the blue paper is added to a design, it is profoundly
affected by the surrounding colors.
• This effect is called simultaneous contrast.

5. Defining Color
• Hue: is the name of a color. Red, blue, green, yellow, and
so forth are all hues.
• There have been numerous systems to organize hues.
• Johannes Itten’s 12-step color wheel is a clear and simple
example
• Red, blue and yellow are the primary colors in the center.
• These colors can be mixed to produce many other colors.
• The secondary colors of green, orange, and violet follow.
• These colors are mixed from the primary colors.
• Next are the tertiary colors that complete the wheel.
• The mixture of a secondary color and the adjacent primary
color creates a tertiary color.

6. The Color Wheel

7. Value
• Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness
of a color.
• By removing the hue from the equation we can
create a simple value scale the shifts from white to
black through the shades of gray.
• Despite a wide variety of hues all colors have
essentially the same hue.
• By using a wide variety of values you can create a
convincing representation of reality.
• Limited value can be used to create mood in a
composition.

8. Value Scale

9. Basic Variations in Value

12. Color Schemes
• Guiding principles for pleasing color effects or
color harmonies.
• Color harmonies: Combinations of colors that are
pleasing.
• Colors each have their own mood or emotional
response, but that mood can change based on the
other surrounding colors.

13. Complementary and Split
Complementary Color Relationships
• Complementary Colors
– Colors that are opposite
on the color wheel.
– Create the greatest
contrast.

14. Continued
• Split Complementary
– A color and two colors
on both sides of the
complement.
– Has slightly less contrast

15. Triadic Color Relationships
• 3 equally spaced colors on the color wheel.
• Primary Triad
• Less contrast
between colors.

16. Triadic Cont.
• Secondary Triad
– Use of secondary colors on
the color wheel.
Has softer contrast and
less intense colors.

17. Triadic Cont.
• Intermediate Triad
– Created with the
tertiary colors.
Softest contrast and least
intense of all.

18. Tetrad
• 4 Equally spaced colors on the color wheel. A
color, its complements and complementary
tertiary hues.
• Short interval between
colors which becomes harmonious.
• Has a common hue.
• Variations in value and
intensity adds variety.

19. Analogous and Monochromatic
Color Relationships
• 4 Colors next to each other on the color wheel.
– Shortest interval between
colors and therefore
extremely harmonious.
– Always a common hue
in the group of colors.
– Can change in intensity
and value to add visual interest.

20. Cont.
• Monochromatic
– Uses only one hue.
Explores tints, tones and shades.
– Potentially the most monotonous.

21. Emphasis
• Gives prominence to part of a design. A
focal point is a compositional device used to
create emphasis. Both of these are used to
attract attention and increase visual and
conceptual impact.

22. Emphasis by Isolation
• Anomaly, or break from the norm, tends to
stand out. Because we seek to connect the
verbal and visual information we are given,
a mismatched word or an isolated shape
immediately attracts our attention

23. Emphasis by Placement
• Every square inch of a composition has a
distinctive power. As a result, placement alone
can increase the importance of a selected shape.
• The compositional center is especially potent.

25. Emphasis Through Contrast
• Contrast is created when two or more forces
operate in opposition.
• Static/dynamic; small/large; solid/textured;
curvilinear/rectilinear.

30. Applying the Knowledge
• Which will work better in your design, a limited number or wide range
of hues?
• What proportion of warm and cool colors best communicates your
idea?
• What happens when you combine low-intensity colors with high-
intensity colors?
• Is there a dominant shape in your composition? If so, is it the shape
you most want to emphasize?
• Is there a focal point in your composition? If not, should there be?