S Elements - Colour “Colour is one of the most powerful tools that a designer can draw upon and understanding how colour affects us is key in communicating messages effectively.”
S Elements - Colour 2.03 Colour RELATIVE Colour is relative. What you see and I see may be different versions of the same colour. ABSENCE Good design should work in the absence of colour. ENHANCE Colour should be used to enhance design, shouldn’t be the design. Reflective Colour Physical objects, when struck by light (the visible kind), will reflect back certain wavelengths of light to your eyes. However, colour in this regard depends on one important idea: wavelengths of light are subtracted as they are reflected off of an object. Additive Colour (RGB) Monitors display colour in a much different way. Because they generate their own light, they must generate their own colour as well. Generally, the three “primaries” used to create colours are red, green, and blue. If a computer monitor displays purple, it actually lights up both blue and red pixels in a given area. Colour Theory CONTRASTING/COMPLIMENTARY COLORS Complementary colours are any two colours which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green, blue and orange. ANALOGOUS COLOURS Analogous colours are any colours that sit next to each other on the colour wheel, such as green, yellow, orange. Typically, designers will choose colours like this in groups of three; this practice is known as selecting triads. RECTANGULAR COLOUR Rectangular colour schemes are not only the most complex, but the hardest to work with. Picking the colours for these is fairly straightforward, you simply draw a rectangle over the colour wheel; each of the corners anchored to a particular colour. EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS ASSOCIATED WITH COLOURS Each colour has a lightness and emotion associated with it. Warm Colours Warm colours “pull forward” more than cool colours. In this way, a dark version of a warm colour will appear to be the same brightness as a mathematically lighter version of a cool colour. Red: Orange: Yellow: Cool Colours Energy, Power, Passion, Love Happiness, Enthusiasm, Attraction, Success Cheerfulness, Stimulation, Attention-seeking Cool colours “push backward” or recede more than warm colours. In this way, a light version of a cool colour will appear to be the same brightness as a mathematically darker version of a warm colour. Green: Blue: Purple: Refreshing, fresh, prestige, cooling, calming, Reliable, trustworthy, dependable, restful Spirituality, ceremony, mystery, transformation, royalty
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