Colour Theory

Colour Theory

Systematic Colour (Part 1) - An Introduction to colour theory.

Colour is infinite - infinite graduate of tones, shades… 

Physical - Physiological - Psychological 

How we perceive colour:

• Any colour we see is aligned with a certain wavelength of light - colour is linked to light.
• each single wavelength generated monochromatic light - each individual single colour has its own wavelength.
• every wavelength of light is perceived as a spectral colour in a continuous spectrum
• the colour sf similar or suffice neatly close wavelength are often undistinguished by the human eye.

All colours have different wavelengths:

Our perception of any colour is based on the eye receiving light that has been reflected from a surface or an object. 

The only way we can perceive any different colour is if there is something there for the white light to bounce off. 

The eye contains two kind of receptors:

RODS - convey shades of black, white and grey.

CONES - allow the brain to perceive colour. 

Three types of cones:

TYPE 1: sensitive to red-orange light

2: sensitive to green light

3: sensitive to blue

When a single cone is stimulated, the brain perceives the corresponding colour.

eg. if our green cones are stimulated, we see “green”.

but… if both our green and red-orange cones are stimulated, we see “yellow”.

Because of this physiological response, the eye can be fooled into seeing the full range of visible colours. 

Red, green and blue are always seen but in different proportions. 

Systematic Colour (Part 2) 

Joseph Albers

Johannes Itten (1888 - 1967)

Colour - Pigment - Media

Primary, secondary, tertiary.

Primary + primary = secondary 

Primary + secondary = tertiary 

When you mix opposite colours it will always turn to a browny - grey, neutral colour. The wavelengths cancel each other out. 

Spectral Colour

The eye cannot differentiate between spectral yellow and some combination of red and green, the same effect accounts for our perception of scan, magenta and the other in-between spectral colours. 

Colour modes:

Red, green and blue (RGB) - anything screen based uses RGB colour mode. 

Cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black) (CMYK) 

Systematic Colour (Part 3)

Chromatic Value - Hue, tone and saturation.

Hue - The colour itself. e.g. a range of colours sit within the violet spectrum.

Luminance - How bright it is, how much light it reflects, how vivid it is as a colour. 

Tint - Adding more white to something. Again affect its luminance. e.g. pink is a tint of red. Adding light and dark to a colour. 

Saturation - the amount of a colour we can see and how pure it is. 

All different aspects create a context for colour. 

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