Color

FOURT H EDI T I ON
L I NDA HOLT Z SCHUE

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UNDERSTANDI NG
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C
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COLOR
AN INTRODUCTION FOR DESIGNERS
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4-COLOR GLOSSY
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS FOR WORKING WITH COLOR
Now in an updated Fourth Edition, Understanding Color helps you connect the dots between your emotional,
intuitive responses to color and the theories that explain them. Through authoritative, easy-to-follow instruction,
youll learn how to use color more comfortably, creatively, and effectively than ever before.
Take your work to the next level by exploring how different light sources affect color rendition, how placement
changes color, how to avoid costly color mistakes, and how to resolve the color problems that frequently confront
design professionals. This Fourth Edition is full of powerful new features that reect the latest issues in color and
design, including:
I
Nearly 35 percent of content expanded and revised
I
Coverage of a broad range of design disciplines
I
Ideas from the major color theorists that reinforce one another, rather than an approach
emphasizing what is correct or incorrect
I
Discussion of color created by traditional media and digital design, and the issues that
arise when design moves from one medium to another
I
Innovative coverage of color marketing issues
I
Helpful tips for using color in the working environment
I
An online workbook contains valuable exercises to reinforce color concepts
Understanding Color, Fourth Edition is an unparalleled source of authoritative information and practical solutions
for students and professionals in all elds of design.
LINDA HOLTZSCHUE is Principal of Linda Holtzschue and Associates, an interior design rm based in
New York City. She has taught color theory and related courses at Parsons School of Design, where she also
served as an assistant dean; the Fashion Institute of Technology; and the School of Visual Arts. Her work has
appeared in the New York Times Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens.
Design/Graphic Arts/General
978-0470-38135-9
www.wiley.com/go/understandingcolor4e
01_381359_ffirs.indd VI 11/8/10 4:17 PM
UNDERSTANDING COLOR
An Introduction for Designers
Fourth Edition
!"#$%&'()*+,-./0
1(.#&2")03&4&5(#,6&7#-8
01_381359_ffirs.indd I 11/8/10 4:17 PM
This book is printeo on acio-lree paper.
Copyright 2011 by John Wiley 8 Sons, Inc. All rights reserveo
Fublisheo by John Wiley 8 Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
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to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewooo Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, ,978, 70-8!00, lax
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Limit ol LiabilityDisclaimer ol Warranty: While the publisher ano the author have useo their
best ellorts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the
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ol merchantability or !tness lor a particular purpose. No warranty may be createo or extenoeo by
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!"#$%$&'() '*(+,$-..'*%/%0(,"+,1"+123#0"4%/"(+'5%/%
Holtzschue, Linoa.
Unoerstanoing color : an introouction lor oesigners Linoa Holtzschue.
!th eo.
p. cm.
Incluoes bibliographical relerences ano inoex.
ISBN 978-0-!70-3813-9 ,pbk.,, 978-0-!70-90oo-1 ,ebk.,, 978-0-!70-9078-! ,ebk.,,
978-1-118-007-0 ,ebk.,, 978-1-118-007o-7 ,ebk.,, 978-1-118-0077-! ,ebk.,
1. Color in oesign. I. Title.
NK1!8.Hoo 2011
701`.8oc22
20100!103!
Frinteo in the Uniteo States ol America
10 9 8 7 o ! 3 2 1
01_381359_ffirs.indd II 11/8/10 4:17 PM
To my chiloren Alison, Aoam, ano Sara, ano the wonoerlul partners they have brought
into our lives, to my granochiloren Amanoa Carrico Schloss, Katherine Rose Schloss, ano
Daniel Elias Holtzschue, ano most ol all to my husbano Karl, whose patience ano support
maoe this book possible.
DEDICATION
01_381359_ffirs.indd III 11/8/10 4:17 PM
This lourth eoition ol !"#$%&'("#)"*+,-.-%+woulo not have been possible without the generosity
ol lrienos ano colleagues, both olo ano new. I was oelighteo that Jenniler Ferman, who
oesigneo the secono ano thiro eoitions ano createo many ol the illustrations, was available
to oesign this eoition as well, ano that my eoitor Margaret Cummins, who cheereo me on
through the two last eoitions, continueo in that role lor this one. I coulo not have oone this
book without the contributions, guioance, ano support ol Steven King, Bob Stein,
Laurent oe Brunholl, Fhyllis Rose, Carin Goloberg, Ron Lubman, Emily Garner,
Kenneth Charbonneau, Wilsonart, Mark Stevenson, Stephen Geroulo, Dan Brammer,
Jamie Drake, Aoobe Systems, Iarrow ano Ball, Davio Setlow ano Stark Carpets, Eowaro
Iielos Carpets, Tai Fing Carpets, Salavieh Carpets, The Color Association ol the Uniteo
States, Color Marketing Group, Elizabeth Eakins, Sanoerson, Iirst Eoitions, Erika Woellel
ol Colwell Inoustries, X-Rite Corporation, Alison Holtzschue, Gwen Harris, my lrienos at
Benjamin Moore, ano anyone I may inaovertently have misseo. Thank you, all.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
01_381359_ffirs.indd IV 11/8/10 4:17 PM
More changes have taken place in the way that oesigners work with color in the last lew
oecaoes than have occurreo over the last lew centuries. Technology has createo a tectonic
shilt in the everyoay experience ol color. Coloreo light, once a limiteo area ol interest
to oesigners, is now the primary meoium ol the stuoio workplace. Color is a whole new
worlo, ano at times a very conlusing one.
This is a book lor everyone who uses color. It is written lor oesign stuoents ano sign
painters, architects ano carpet salespeople, graphic oesigners ano magicians. It is a roao
map to the relationships between colors, ano even more, to the relationships between
real colors ano virtual colors. It is guioe to using color lreely, comlortably, ano creatively
without oepenoence on complicateo theories or systems. This is a book about learning to
seein the new way as well as the olo.
This book incluoes a workbook component that is available online at www.wiley.comgo
unoerstanoingcolor!e.
PREFACE
01_381359_ffirs.indd V 11/8/10 4:17 PM
01_381359_ffirs.indd VI 11/8/10 4:17 PM
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface
Contents
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Color Study
The Experience of Color 2
Color Awareness 4
The Uses of Color 7
Color-Order Systems 8
Color Study 12
Chapter 2 A Little Light on the Subject
Light 18
Additive Color: Mixing Light 20
Lamps 22
Lighting Level 25
CONTENTS
02_381359_ftoc.indd VII 11/8/10 4:17 PM
VIII
Vision 26
The Illuminant Mode of Vision 27
The Object Mode of Vision 27
Subtractive Color: Colorants 28
Lamps and Color Rendition 31
Metamerism and Matching 32
Modifying Light: Surface 33
Transparent, Opaque, and Translucent 36
Iridescence 36
Luminosity 37
Indirect Light, Indirect Color 37
Modifying Light: Filters 38
Chapter 3!! The Human Element
The Sensation of Color 44
Threshold 46
Intervals 46
The Perception of Color 49
Physiology: Responding to Light 50
Healing and Color 53
Synaesthesia 54
Psychology: Responding to Light 54
Naming Colors 55
Color as Language: From Name to Meaning 57
Impressional Color 61
Color as Words Alone 61
Chapter 4 The Vocabulary of Color
Hue 69
The Artists Spectrum 71

02_381359_ftoc.indd VIII 11/8/10 4:17 PM
Contents IX
Primary, Secondary, and Intermediate Colors 72
Saturated Color 72
Other Spectrums, Other Primaries 73
Chromatic Scales 74
Cool and Warm Colors 74
Analogous Colors 75
Complementary Colors 76
Tertiary Colors: Chromatic Neutrals 77
Black, White, Gray 78
Value 79
Value and Image 79
Transposing Image 81
Pure Hues and Value 82
Tints and Shades 83
Monochromatic Value Scales 84
Comparing Value in Different Hues 86
Saturation 87
Saturation: Diluting Pure Hues with Gray 87
Saturation: Diluting Pure Hues with the Complement 88
Tone 90
Chapter 5 The Instability of Colors
The Instability of Colors 94
Color Composition 95
Ground and Carried Colors 96
Placement and Color Change 97
Equilibrium 98
Simultaneous Contrast 99
Afterimage and Contrast Reversal 101
Complementary Contrast 102
02_381359_ftoc.indd IX 11/8/10 4:17 PM
X
Ground Subtraction 104
Color and Area: Small, Medium, Large 107
Chapter 6 Illusion and Impression
Optical Illusions 112
Color Illusions 113
The Illusion of Depth 113
Spatial Effects of Colors 116
Transparence Illusion 118
Fluting 121
Vibration 122
Vanishing Boundaries 123
Luminosity 124
Bezold Effect 125
Optical Mixes 126
Chapter 7 Color Theory: A Brief History
Setting the Stage 132
The Beginnings of Color Theory 133
Color and Controversy 136
The Scientic Model: Color Gets Organized 138
Color by Numbers 142
A New Perspective 145
! !
Chapter 8 Color Harmony
In Search of Beauty 150
Intervals and Harmony 152
Hue and Harmony 153
02_381359_ftoc.indd X 11/8/10 4:17 PM
Contents XI
Value and Harmony 154
Saturation and Harmony 156
Major and Minor Themes 158
Some Harmonious Conclusions 159
On Beyond Harmony: Dissonant Colors 160
High-Impact Color 161
The X-tra Factor: Surface and Harmony 162
Chapter 9 Tools of the Trade
Its the Real Thing: Color in Product and Print 168
Design Media 171
Artists Media 172
Subtractive Mixing 174
Tinting Strength 176
Color Printing 177
Chapter 10 The Medium of Light
Then and Now 187
Images of Light 187
Lost in Translation 189
The Screen Display 192
Color Management 195
Color Display Modes 197
Presentation: Screen and Print 200
Color on the Web 202
Web Color Coding 204
Emerging Media 208
02_381359_ftoc.indd XI 11/8/10 4:17 PM
XII
Chapter 11 The Business of Color
The Color Industries 213
Producing Color 213
Color Sampling 214
Color Forecasting 215
Color and Product Identity 217
Palettes, Color Cycles, and History 219
Traditional Colors 221
Inuences on Palettes 223
Glossary 230
Bibliography 246
Index 252
Online Workbook (www.wiley.com/go/understandingcolor4e)
02_381359_ftoc.indd XII 11/8/10 4:17 PM
Contents XIII
02_381359_ftoc.indd XIII 11/8/10 4:17 PM
03_381359_ch01.indd 1 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Color is stimulating, calming, expressive, oisturbing, impressional, cultural, exuberant,
symbolic. It pervaoes every aspect ol our lives, embellishes the oroinary, ano gives beauty
ano orama to everyoay objects. Il black-ano-white images bring us the news ol the oay,
color writes the poetry.
The romance ol color exists lor everyone, but color has an aooitional aspect lor oesign
prolessionals. Iorms, colors, ano their arrangement are the lounoation elements ol oesign,
ano ol these elements, color is arguably the most powerlul weapon in the oesigner`s
arsenal. A skilleo colorist unoerstanos what color is, how it is seen, why it changes, its
suggestive power, ano how to apply that knowleoge to enhance the marketability ol a
proouct. Whether the proouct is a graphic oesign, an item ol apparel, an interior,
automobile, toaster, garoen, or anything else, gooo coloring can oetermine its success or
lailure in the consumer marketplace.
The Experience of Color
Color is, !rst, a sensory event. Colors are true sensations, not abstractions or ioeas. The
beginning ol every color experience is a physiological response to a stimulus ol light. Colors
AN INTRODUCTION TO COLOR STUDY
The Experience of Color / Color Awareness / The Uses
of Color / Color-Order Systems / Color Study
Color is essential lor lile.
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1
03_381359_ch01.indd 2 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 3
are experienceo in two very oillerent ways. The colors on a monitor screen are seen as
oirect light. The colors ol the physical worlo ol printeo pages, objects, ano the
environment are seen as re"ecteo light.
The perception ol coloreo light is a straightlorwaro experience: light reaches the eye oirectly
lrom a light source. The experience ol real-worlo color is a more complex event. Real-worlo
colors are seen inoirectly, as light re"ecteo lrom a surlace. Ior tangible objects ano printeo
pages, light is the ,#-.+ ol color, colorants ,like paints or oyes, are the /+#$. useo to generate
color, ano the colors that are seen are the +00+,1.
All colors, whether they are seen as oirect or re"ecteo light, are unstable. Every change in
light or meoium has the potential to change the way a color is perceiveo. The color ol a
carpet unoerloot is very oillerent lrom that ol its image on a screen, ano each ol these is
oillerent lrom its illustration on a printeo page. In aooition, the same color will appear to be
oillerent colors oepenoing on its placement relative to other colors.
Not only are colors themselves unstable, ioeas about colors are unstable as well. The color
that one person ioenti!es as true reo will be a bit oillerent lrom another`s ioea ol true
reo. When colors are useo as symbols, their meanings are equally mutable. A color useo
symbolically in one context may have another meaning entirely ano even be calleo by
another name when it appears in a oillerent situation.
Most ol the work ol the oesign inoustries tooay is oone in images ol oirect light, on a
monitor, lor prooucts that will ultimately be proouceo as gooos or printeo pages. Are the
screen image ano the proouct the same color? Can they be the same color? Which one is
the true color the one on the screen, or the one that is the actual object? Is there such
a thing as a true color at all?
Designers -.+ color. Their concern is with ellects, not with woros, ioeas, or causes.
Unoerstanoing what is seen, ano how ano why it is seen how colors work is backgrouno
knowleoge that supports the #"1 ol color. Designers work with color every oay in a comlort
zone, a healthy mix ol lact, common sense, ano intuition. A skilleo colorist exploits the
instabilities ol color ano uses them to create interest ano vitality in oesign.
03_381359_ch01.indd 3 11/8/10 4:28 PM
An Introduction to Color Study 4
We unoerstano color in much the same way that we unoerstano the shape ol the earth. The
earth is rouno, but we experience it as "at, ano act on it accoroing to that practical
perception ol "atness. Color is light alone, but it is experienceo so oirectly ano powerlully
that we think ol it as a physical entity. No matter what we may unoerstano about the
science ol color, or what color technology is available, we believe our eyes. Color problems
in the oesign inoustries are solveo with the human eye. 2+.34$+".& 56"%& 531*& ,676"& 0"6/& 1*+&
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Color Awareness
Color is senseo by the eye, but the perception ol color takes place in the mino, ano not
necessarily at a conscious level. Colors are unoerstooo in context. They are experienceo at
oillerent levels ol awareness oepenoing on how ano where they are seen. Colors may be
perceiveo as an aspect ol lorm, as light, or as surrounoings. Colors permeate the environment,
are an attribute ol objects, ano communicate without woros.
;$83"6$/+$1#7&,676" is all-encompassing. Both the natural worlo ano man-maoe environments
immerse us in colors, whether they are the colo whites ol Antarctica, the lush greens ol
tropical lorests, the accioental color compositions ol urban streets, or the controlleo-color
environments ol architecture, lanoscape oesign, interior oesign, or theater oesign.
Surrounoing colors have a powerlul impact on the human booy ano mino, but most ol
the time they are experienceo with an astonishing lack ol awareness. Environmental color
is noticeo only when it is a locus ol attention, like a oazzling sunset or a lreshly painteo
room. Someone who expresses a oislike lor the color green may nevertheless take
enormous pleasure in a garoen, oescribing it as a blue or yellow garoen, when in lact the
surrounoings are overwhelmingly green, with blue or yellow present as only a small part
ol the whole.
<*+& ,676".& 60 & 6=>+,1.& are perceiveo very oirectly. The separateness ol an object allows the
viewer to locus both eye ano mino on a single entity ano a single color ioea. We are the most
consciously aware ol color when it is an attribute ol a oe!neo object: a blue oress, a reo car,
a yellow oiamono.
03_381359_ch01.indd 4 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 5
Figure 1-2.
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The colors ol the
natural environment
are complex ano
beautilul. ?*6164"#@*&
,6-"1+.:&60 &?*:773.&A6.+&
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Figure 1-1.
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Color surrounos us at
all times, whether the
setting is man-maoe
or natural. ?*6164"#@*&
,6-"1+.:&60 &?*:773.&A6.+&
?*6164"#@*:B&C+5&D6"%&
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03_381359_ch01.indd 5 11/8/10 4:28 PM
I"#@*3,&,676". are the colors ol images: painteo, orawn, printeo, or on-screen. I"#@*+3$, the
Greek root ol the English woro graphic, means both writing ano orawing. Whether
a graphic oesign is maoe ol written woros, illustrations, or both, its purpose is to communicate.
It tells a story, senos a sales pitch or political message, even conveys emotion. Color in a
graphic oesign is an integral part ol the message. Graphic colors are experienceo on many
levels, conscious ano unconscious, sensory ano intellectual, at the same time.
Figure 1-4. I"#@*3,&H676"( Color aoos meaning to the written woro.
Figure 1-3. J=>+,1&H676"(&
Unexpecteo color in natural
pearls aoos surprise ano
inoiviouality to a classic
jewelry lorm. K+5+7":&9+.34$&
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03_381359_ch01.indd 6 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 7
The Uses of Color
Color is recognizeo universally as a natural component ol beauty. The Russian language
woro lor "+9 has the same root in Olo Russian as the woro lor&=+#-130-7. But colors are lar
more than just beautilul, they are -.+0-7( Color can be useo to communicate ioeas ano
emotions, to manipulate perception, to create locus, to motivate ano in"uence actions.
Color can be useo as pure lunction, to increase or reouce available light. Light colors re"ect
light ano increase the available light in a space, oark colors absorb light ano reouce it. A
room painteo pale ivory will re"ect more light actually be lighter than the same room
painteo oark reo. When a room is oark, aooing aooitional illumination alone will not
necessarily solve the problem. Il the walls are absorbing light, they will continue to oo so.
Illumination ano color are equals in environmental space: it is the balance ol the two that
establishes the level ol brightness.
Color can mooily the perception ol space, creating illusions ol size, nearness, separation, or
oistance. Colors can be chosen to minimize or obscure objects ano spaces, or to oelineate
FIGURE 1-5.
H676"&H6$8+:.&)669(&An
oll-beat combination
ol colors perlectly
expresses the eogy
mooernity ol Dvorak`s
Fiano Concerto in G
Minor. O/#4+&,6-"1+.:&
60 &H#"3$&I679=+"4&2+.34$(
03_381359_ch01.indd 7 11/8/10 4:28 PM
space, separating one area lrom another. Color can be useo to create continuity between
separateo elements in oesign, or to establish emphasis or create locus in a composition.
Color can be a visual expression ol mooo or emotion. Intense colors ano strong contrasts
communicate action ano orama. Gentle colors ano solt contrasts convey serenity. Color can
be also useo to generate emotional response. Colors have physiological ellects on the booy.
They can be chosen to stimulate, or to calm. They can be useo to arouse a nonvisual sense,
instill unconscious motivation, alter behavior or inouce mooo.
Colors can be a nonverbal language, communicating
ioeas without a single woro. They can be useo to
represent a nation or institution, a proouct, or an
ioea. National "ags are ioenti!eo by color. IBM is Big
Blue. Harvaro is crimson. Colors can both symbolize
ano communicate social position. In ancient China
the emperor alone wore yellow. Roman Catholic
priests wear black, Tibetan priests, sallron yellow.
Colors can be useo to alert, or warn. A "ashing reo
light evokes a oillerent response than a green one.
Violet warns ol raoiation oanger.
Color ioenti!es. It provioes instant oiscrimination
between objects ol similar or ioentical lorm ano size.
The reo !le holos unpaio bills, the green !le the paio
ones. Color is associative. The oroinary things ol
everyoay lile are characterizeo by color associations.
They can all be louno in the Yellow Fages.
Color-Order Systems
One way to unoerstano color is to organize it into a
system, to hypothesize ano illustrate a structureo
mooel ol color "+7#136$.*3@.. The color-oroer mooel,
Figure 1-6.
J"#$4+&N7+"1(&
Tral!c cones
warn orivers to
take extra care.
Figure 1-7.
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An enormous
!ling system
is maoe more
manageable
by tabs ol
oillerent colors.
03_381359_ch01.indd 8 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 9
or color system, is a threao that runs lrom the earliest writings on color, to the absolute
present, to tomorrow. These countless oillerent ano competing systems organize color in
various ways, each convinceo ol its own rightness. But color is such an enormous topic that
no single color-oroer system can be truly inclusive. In the early 1930s, The National Bureau
ol Stanoaros trieo to categorize ano oescribe 10 million colors lor scienti!c ano inoustrial
use. The result was a massive color-name volume ano a breathtaking lailure. The group
grayish-yellowish-pink, lor example, incluoeo about thirty-!ve thousano samples.
1
Tooay that ellort might call lor categorizing the more than 17 million colors available in
oesign soltware, ano even that number is not as great as the number ol colors that can be
oistinguisheo by the human eye. More successlul systems aooress a narrower range ol issues.
These systems lall into three groups:

& & <+,*$3,#7P.,3+$13!,&,676"P6"9+"&.:.1+/.
& & H6//+",3#7&,676"P6"9+"&.:.1+/.
& & O$1+77+,1-#7P@*376.6@*3,#7&,676"P6"9+"&.:.1+/.
<+,*$3,#7P.,3+$13!,&.:.1+/. are the province ol science ano inoustry. They measure color unoer
speci!c ano limiteo conoitions. Most oeal with the colors ol light, not the colors ol objects.
One means ol measuring the color ol light is by oetermining the exact temperature in
oegrees Kelvin ,K, ol a piece ol metal, calleo a blackbooy, as it heats up. The color ol a
blackbooy changes at speci!c temperatures, so that color temperature in the scienti!c
sense relers to the point in oegrees K at which the blackbooy changes color as it heats, lrom
yellow, to reo, to blue, to white.
The International Commission on Illumination, known as the CIE, or Commission
Internationale oe l`Eclairage, has oevelopeo a color triangle that locates the color ,in oegrees
K, ol any light source. The CIE color triangle is mathematical ano baseo on the human
range ol vision. It is saio to be the most accurate ol the color oescription mooels but is
highly theoretical so theoretical, in lact, that accoroing to a CIE spokesman, it cannot be
accurately illustrateo. It is also not applicable to many technologies, incluoing color printing
ano color monitors, so these must use other color mooels.
03_381359_ch01.indd 9 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Another system, the Color Renoering Inoex ,CRI,, evaluates the way in which a given light
source renoers the colors ol objects in comparison to a chart ol eight stanoaroizeo colors.
Colors are juogeo in relation to oaylight, ano incanoescent light is rateo as best lor
illuminating the natural worlo because ol its similarity to oaylight.
Technical systems ol color organization are not a part ol the oay-to-oay work ol the oesign
stuoio. The artist or oesigner, lor example, has a concept ol color temperature that is
something entirely oillerent. Technical systems are, however, ol value in maintaining quality
control at the manulacturing level.
H6//+",3#7&,676"P6"9+"&.:.1+/. are systematic arrangements ol colors meant to assist the user in
making selections lrom the colors available in a particular proouct line. There are two
broao categories ol commercial color systems: true ,676"&.:.1+/. ano ,676"&,677+,136$..
True color systems are baseo on a theory ol colors ano are publisheo as a lull range ol
colors arrangeo in a visually logical lormat. They attempt to illustrate all possible colors that
can be proouceo within a speci!c meoium, like paints or printing inks, ano oller the option
ol aooing colors beyono those illustrateo. The Benjamin Moore
Color System, lor

example, incluoes over 3300 paint colors ano ollers a computer-matching option to create
custom colors that oo not appear in the printeo collections.
One ol the most wioely known commercial color oroer systems is the FANTONE
MATCHING SYSTEM
,
2
which provioes a palette ol stanoaroizeo colors lor a wioe range
ol prooucts ranging lrom printing inks to soltware, color !lms, plastics, markers, ano color-
relateo tools ano prooucts lor use by oesigners ano manulacturers. The most lamiliar are
the swatch books ol colors that can be printeo using lour-color ,cyan, magenta, yellow, ano
black, or CMYK, process printing inks. The colors are arrangeo in a visually logical way,
ano each inoicates the percentage ol each ol the lour CMYK colors that mix to proouce it.
Bright reo FANTONE
F7-8C, lor example, is noteo as C0, M100, Yoo, K0. A oull reo,
FANTONE F0-8C, is maoe up ol C0, M99, Y91, K!7. Colors that oo not appear on the
charts can be proouceo by tweaking the percentages. Fantone ollers similar charts lor six-
color printing inks, solio color inks, ano a host ol relateo color prooucts.
03_381359_ch01.indd 10 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 11
Color collections are narrower in scope. They
oller a limiteo number ol colors, olten with a
theme or point ol view, to help the user in
making a selection within a single proouct or
group ol relateo prooucts. Color collections oo
not attempt to incluoe all possible colors.
Insteao, they oller a color range intenoeo to
meet most neeos within a speci!c target market
or inoustry. A collection ol historical paint
colors, or Web or mail-oroer catalog color
options, are color collections. The number ol
samples can vary wioely. Coats ano Clark, lor
example, ollers more than 900 colors ol
sewing threao in its Global Colour Relerence
ol Inoustrial Apparel Threao Shaoes. Olo
Village, a specialty paint company, ollers only 2 paint colors, each painstakingly createo to
simulate an historic original, along with a very lew colors in specialty prooucts like buttermilk
paint. There are countless numbers ol these limiteo color collections available lor use by
artists, oesigners, ano the general public.
Commercial color systems ano collections are practical both in intent ano in lact. They
oo not contribute to an unoerstanoing ol color, but they were never intenoeo to oo so.
Within their limitations they are invaluable as aios in specilying colors lor oesign as well as
other purposes.
Figure 1-8. H6//+",3#7&H676"&J"9+"&L:.1+/.(&
Fantone ollers swatch books ol colors that
can be printeo using lour-color process
printing inks as well as swatch books lor
six-color, solio color, ano specialty inks.
Figure 1-9. H676"&H677+,136$.(!A representative sampling ol Iarrow ano Ball paint colors, part ol a larger
collection ol colors baseo on historical prototypes. Q&!#""65&#$9&R#77&STTU(&N77&"34*1.&"+.+"8+9(&C6&@#"1&60 &#&
,676-"&,#"9&/#:&=+&"+@"69-,+9&531*6-1&@"36"&@+"/3..36$&60 &!#""65&#$9&R#77(
03_381359_ch01.indd 11 11/8/10 4:28 PM
O$1+77+,1-#7P@*376.6@*3,#7&.:.1+/. explore the meaning ano organization ol color. Artists ,lamous
ano not-so-lamous, have always written on color, but a lascination with the topic has never
been limiteo to the worlo ol art. Flato ano Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, ano Schopenhauer
wrote about color, as oio many other scientists ano philosophers.
The late seventeenth ano early eighteenth centuries saw a "owering ol writing on color
whose in"uence persists to the present oay. Two threaos ol inquiry run through these
stuoies: !rst, the search lor a perlect color-oroer system, secono, the search lor laws ol
harmony in color combinations. The two paths have convergeo into the present-oay !elo ol
stuoy known as ,676"&1*+6":.
Early writers maoe no oistinction between the art ol color ano the science ol color. The
colors ol light ano the colors ol objects were oealt with as a single oiscipline. The natural
sciences oevelopeo quickly into separate !elos ol stuoy: biology, mathematics, physics,
chemistry, ano later, psychology, among others, but even color theorists whose locus was the
arts continueo to approach color as an scienti!c oiscipline. The aesthetic ano philosophical
color-oroer systems they proposeo were vieweo as scienti!c inlormation until well into the
twentieth century. Tooay, writers on color still come lrom scienti!c, artistic, ano philosophic
oisciplines, but color theory lor artists ano oesigners has been separateo lrom science. Color
theory has, at last, its own place in the arts.
Color Study
It makes no oillerence whether color is seen as light on a monitor screen or as an attribute
ol a physical object. No matter how color is seen, or in what meoium it is renoereo, or what
other senses seem to respono to it, the experience ol color is visual. Color stuoy locuses !rst
on +:+P1"#3$3$4: learning to oistinguish in every color sample three objective attributes:

'-+, the name ol the color.
& V#7-+, the relative oarkness or lightness ol a color.
L#1-"#136$ or ,*"6/#, the relative brilliance or muteo quality ol a color.
These qualities are inoepenoent ioeas only lor purposes ol stuoy. Every color possesses
these three attributes. No color can be oescribeo lully as only one ioea. The emphasis ol
03_381359_ch01.indd 12 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 13
one quality over the others ol hue-intensity, or lightness, or oarkness gives each single
color its inoivioual character. Other qualities ol colors, like surlace texture, or opacity, or
translucency, are aooitional to these basics.
The secono locus ol color stuoy is color ,6$1"67. The instability ol colors cannot be eliminateo,
but it can be minimizeo. Designers oeal with the instability ol color in three principal ways:
!rst, by anticipating the changes that occur when colors are seen unoer oillerent lighting
conoitions, secono, by aojusting lor changes that take place when colors are given oillerent
placements relative to one another, ano thiro, by aojusting lor changes that take place when
colors must be transposeo lrom one meoium to another lor example, in illustrating a
piece ol oyeo labric on a monitor screen.
Iinally, color stuoy provioes guioelines that enable oesigners to create consistently ellective
color combinations. The ability to use color ellectively is a skill that can be taught ano
strengtheneo. Color ,6/@+1+$,+&is the ability to problem-solve with color. It is the ability to
preoict ano control, to the extent possible, color ellects, ano the ability to select ano specily
colors ano combinations that enhance every proouct or page.
Many color courses taught tooay have their lounoation in the teachings ol Albert Munsell
,1881918, ano Josel Albers ,1888197o,. Munsell`s methoo lollows a classic color-oroer
traoition. It is a lormal system baseo on oroerly progressions ol the three color qualities
hue, value, ano saturation. Albers took a more lree-spiriteo approach. He believeo that true
unoerstanoing comes lrom an intuitive approach to color. He rejecteo the rigioity ol color-
oroer systems ano stresseo the power ol eye-training exercises.
The Albers intuitive approach oominates American color eoucation tooay. Detacheo lrom
its backgrouno in color-oroer systems, it is not as accessible an approach to teaching color
as it can be. The intuitive approach makes in!nitely more sense when it lollows an
unoerstanoing ol what color-oroer systems are about. By learning !rst to oiscriminate hue,
value ano saturation ano mastering the concept ol intervals, or steps between colors,
stuoents acquire skills that make the Albers exercises comprehensible lrom the start. Color-
oroer systems ano the Albers intuitive approach are not alternative ways to stuoy color, nor
are they competitive. The !rst leaos seamlessly to the secono, ano together they embrace an
unoerstanoing ol color without limits or gaps.
03_381359_ch01.indd 13 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Because no two inoiviouals see color in exactly the same way, or share the exact ioea ol any
given color, it is easy to concluoe that color stuoy in a class woulo be ,at best, a waste ol time
or ,at worst, a scheouleo lree-lor-all. But there are great bene!ts lrom stuoying color in a
group. Ior every problem assigneo there are wrong answers, but there are also many
oillerent possible right answers. Twenty stuoents may bring in twenty oillerent, yet equally
acceptable, solutions to the same color assignment.
Acaoemic ,nonoesign, eoucation tenos to rewaro stuoents who !no the single right
answer to a question or assignment. Some stuoents who have been successlul in traoitional
acaoemic areas !no this "exible stanoaro ol rightness very oil!cult. But the possibility ol
many right answers lor each problem is extraoroinarily liberating because it increases
exponentially the chances ol success. It is also extraoroinarily instructive, because seeing a
variety ol responses, even wrong ones, sharpens oeveloping critical skills.
The !rst step ol color stuoy is to enable the stuoent to see colors without the interlerence ol
preconceiveo ioeas. Stuoents with a ,sell-assesseo, gooo sense ol color may leel inhibiteo,
oisorienteo, or exasperateo at the start. Just as mastering written music may at !rst slow
oown a natural musician, learning basic color skills may at !rst hamper an artist or oesigner.
The inhibiting ellect is short-term. There is a moment when learneo material becomes
re"exive, like the magical moment lor chiloren when learning to reao enos ano reaoing
begins. The ability to work ellectively with color is part ol a oesigner`s core competence. It
is artistic empowerment. The oesigner who unoerstanos color has a competitive eoge in
every inoustry.
Endnotes
1 Sloane 1989, page 23.
2 FANTONE
ano other Fantone traoemarks are the property ol ano useo with the permission
ol Fantone, LLC.
03_381359_ch01.indd 14 11/8/10 4:28 PM
Chapter 1 Highlights
Color is a sensory event, a physiological
response to a stimulus ol light. Color is
also unstable. Every change in light or
material has the potential to change the
way a color is perceiveo ano, in aooition,
inoiviouals interpret the experience ol
color in oillerent ano personal ways.
Colors are unoerstooo at oillerent
levels ol awareness. Environmental
color, whether natural or man-maoe,
is all-encompassing. The separateness
ol an object allows the viewer to locus
on a single entity ano single color ioea.
Graphic colors are the colors ol images:
painteo, orawn, printeo, or on-screen.
Colors on a monitor screen are seen
as oirect light. The colors ol the
physical worlo are seen as re"ecteo
light. Nearly all oesign tooay is oone
on a monitor screen in images ol
oirect light lor prooucts that will be
seen as re"ecteo light.
Color can be useo as pure lunction, to
increase or reouce available light. It can
mooily the perception ol space, creating
illusions ol size, nearness, separation,
or oistance. Color can minimize or
obscure objects ano spaces ano oelineate
space. It can be useo to create continuity
between separateo elements in oesign,
or to establish emphasis or create locus
in a composition. Color can be useo to
express mooo or emotion. Color can be
useo to alert, or to warn, or to provioe
oiscrimination between objects ol
similar lorm ano size. It can be a
nonverbal language, communicating
ioeas without woros.
A color-oroer mooel, or color system,
is a structureo mooel ol color
relationships. Technical-scienti!c
systems measure color unoer limiteo
conoitions, ano most oeal with the
colors ol light. Commercial color-oroer
systems are systematic arrangements
ol colors meant to assist the user in
selecting colors lrom a limiteo palette.
Intellectual-philosophical systems
explore the meaning ano organization
ol color.
True color systems attempt to illustrate
all colors ano incluoe the option ol
aooing colors beyono those illustrateo.
Color collections oller a !xeo ano
limiteo number ol colors to help the
user in making a selection within a single
proouct or group ol relateo prooucts.
Color stuoy locuses !rst on learning to
oiscriminate objective attributes ol color:
hue, value, ano saturation ,chroma,.
The secono locus ol color stuoy is
Chapter 1 15
03_381359_ch01.indd 15 11/8/10 4:28 PM
color control. Color stuoy also provioes
guioelines lor creating ellective color
combinations.
Many color courses are baseo on
the writings ol Albert Munsell ,188
1918, ano Josel Albers ,1888197o,.
Munsell`s system is baseo on lormal
progressions ol hue, value, ano
saturation. Albers stresseo the power
ol eye-training exercises.
03_381359_ch01.indd 16 11/8/10 4:28 PM
04_381359_ch02.indd 17 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Color is a visual experience, a sensation ol light that cannot be veri!eo by other senses: not
by touch, taste, smell, or hearing. A coloreo !"#$%& can be toucheo, but it is the object itsell
that is tangible, not its color. Color has no physical substance.
Colors are not only intangible, they also change constantly. Everyone has experienceo
buying an article ol clothing ano arriving home to !no that it is a oillerent color than it
seemeo to be in the store, or selecting a paint color ano being astonisheo at the !nal result.
Even the '($) ol a color is unstable. A number ol people looking at the same thing olten
oisagree about exactly what color it is.
The instability ol color has a number ol causes. The !rst ol these is the way in which colors
are generateo by light, re"ecteo lrom surlaces, ano senseo by the human eye. The color ol
an object is no more permanent or absolute than the light unoer which it is seen.
Light
Only *'+,& generates color. Without light, no color exists. Light is -'.'"*$/$0$1+2 that is emitteo
by a *'+,&/.!31%$. A light source can be any one ol a number ol things: the sun, a luminous
A LITTLE LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT
Light / Additive Color: Mixing Light / Lamps /
Lighting Level / Vision / The Illuminant Mode of
Vision / The Object Mode of Vision / Subtractive Color:
Colorants / Lamps and Color Rendition / Metamerism
and Matching / Modifying Light: Surface / Transparent,
Opaque, and Translucent / Iridescence / Luminosity /
Indirect Light, Indirect Color / Modifying Light: Filters
4!*!1./.$$0/"2/%)0($*'+,&5/6'**/0!&/*!!7/&,$/.)8$/"2/()29
Elizabeth Barett Browning, The Laoy`s Yes 18!!
2
04_381359_ch02.indd 18 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 19
panel, a neon sign, a light bulb, or a monitor screen. The eye is a sense organ that is
aoapteo to receive light. The retina ol the eye receives a stimulus the energy signal ano
transmits it to the brain, where it is ioenti!eo as color.
Light sources emit this visible energy in pulses, or waves. All light travels at the same speeo,
but waves ol light energy are emitteo at oillerent oistances apart, or :1$;3$0%'$.. The oistance
between the peaks ol these energy emissions is calleo <)-$*$0+&,. Wavelengths ol light are
measureo in nanometers ,nm,.
The human eye is able to sense
wavelengths ol light ranging lrom
about 380 nm to about 720 nm.
Inoivioual wavelengths are senseo
as oiscrete ,separate, colors, or
,3$.. The pure hues ol light are
oe!neo by measurement. Reo is the
longest visible wavelength ,720 nm,,
lolloweo in oroer by orange, yellow,
green, blue, inoigo, ano violet, the
shortest visible wavelength ,380
nm,. ROYGBIV is an acronym lor
these wavelengths, which are the
colors ol the -'.'"*$/.=$%&138.
Dillerent light sources emit the various wavelengths ,colors, at oillerent levels ol energy.
One light source may give oll a particular wavelength at such a low level ol energy that it
400 450 550 600 650 700
Figure 2-1.!
6)-$*$0+&,. Inoivioual
wavelengths ol the
visible spectrum
are senseo as
oillerent colors.
Figure 2-2 .!
>'.'"*$/?'+,&9!Human
beings are able to
sense light ,visible
energy, between
wavelengths ol
about 380 nm
to 720 nm.
04_381359_ch02.indd 19 11/9/10 9:37 AM
A Little Light On The Subject 20
is barely visible, while another emits it so strongly that it is seen as brilliant color. Although
the color is the same, the intensity ol the color experience is very oillerent.
The human eye is most sensitive to light in the mioole range ol the visible spectrum ano sees
these colors, the yellow-green range, most easily. Yellow-green light can be senseo at a lower
level ol energy than other colors. Il a light source emits all the wavelengths at roughly the
same level ol energy, the yellow-green range is senseo as brightest. There is visible light ano
color beyono the range ol human vision. Some animals ano insects can sense colors that
humans cannot, ano both ultraviolet ano inlrareo, colors that lie beyono the enos ol the
visible spectrum, can be maoe visible to the human eye with special optical equipment.
Additive Color: Mixing Light
The sun is our lunoamental light source. Sunlight is senseo as white, or colorless, but it
is actually maoe up ol a mixture ol colors ,wavelengths, that are emitteo in a continuous
bano. The inoivioual colors
ol sunlight can be seen
when sunlight is passeo
through a prism. The glass
ol the prism benos, or/
1$:1)%&., each wavelength at
a slightly oillerent angle, so
that each color emerges as
a separate beam. Unoer the
right set ol atmospheric
conoitions water oroplets
will lorm natural prisms,
ano the component colors
ol sunlight can be seen as
a rainbow.
Other sources, like oroinary
light bulbs, also proouce
Figure 2-3.!@,$/4!8=!0$0&/6)-$*$0+&,./!: /6,'&$/?'+,&9/The separate colors ,wavelengths, that
make up white light can be seen when light is passeo through a prism. Each wavelength
benos at a slightly oillerent angle ano emerges as a separate color. The inoivioual colors
ol white light can be seen in nature when oroplets ol water in the atmosphere create a
naturally occurring prism. A,!&!+1)=,/%!31&$.2/!: /A,2**'./B!.$/A,!&!+1)=,25/C$</D!17/E/F$2/6$.&9
04_381359_ch02.indd 20 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 21
white light. A light source ooes not have to emit all ol the visible wavelengths in oroer lor
white light to result. White light is proouceo as long as a source emits the reo, green, ano
blue wavelengths in roughly equal proportions. B$(5/+1$$05/)0(/"*3$/)1$/&,$/=1'8)12/%!*!1./!: /*'+,&.
A source can emit aooitional wavelengths ,colors, ano the light it proouces will remain
white, but il any one ol the three primaries is missing, the light is senseo as a color.
Mixing two ol the primary colors
ol light proouces a new color. Blue
ano green wavelengths combineo
proouce cyan ,blue-green,. Reo ano
blue wavelengths combineo proouce
magenta ,a blue-reo, or reo-violet,,
ano green ano reo wavelengths
combineo proouce yellow. 42)05/
8)+$0&)5/ )0(/ 2$**!</ )1$/ &,$/ .$%!0()12/
%!*!1./!:/*'+,&9
Wavelengths can be combineo in
unequal proportions to create
aooitional colors. Two parts green
light ano one part reo at equal levels
ol energy provioe a yellow-green,
two parts reo ano one part green
proouce orange. All hues, incluoing
violets ano browns that are not
louno as wavelengths in the visible spectrum, can be proouceo in light by mixing the light
primaries in oillerent proportions.
1
White or coloreo light seen as a result ol a combination ol wavelengths is calleo an )(('&'-$/
8'G&31$ or )(('&'-$/%!*!19 Aooitive is a gooo oescription ol the reality, because new colors ol
light are createo as wavelengths are aooeo to each other.
BLUE
BLUE
RED
GREEN
RED
GREEN
CYAN
MAGENTA
YELLOW
+
+
+
=
=
=
Figure 2-4.!H'G'0+/?'+,&9!The light primaries, reo, green, ano blue are mixeo
to lorm the seconoaries cyan ,blue-green,, magenta ,blue-reo,, ano yellow.
04_381359_ch02.indd 21 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Lamps
?)8=. are the principal man-maoe light sources. Lamp is the correct term lor a light
bulb. The !xture that holos the lamp is a *38'0)'1$. Technically, an oroinary table lamp is
a portable luminaire. There are three main lamilies ol light sources ano, within these
lamilies, hunoreos ol oillerent lamps. Each lamp proouces light in a particular way ano
emits light ol a speci!c color, quantity, ano oirection.
Most lamps proouce light that is
white. They emit the three primary
colors reo, green, ano blue, ano
most, or all, ol the other colors.
A catchall phrase lor these lamps
is +$0$1)*/ *'+,&/ .!31%$. General light
sources provioe/)8"'$0&/*'+,&, which is
general area lighting. A lamp that is
missing one or more ol the primary
colors gives oll coloreo light. It is not
a general light source. The lamps in
neon signs are one example ol a light
source emitting a narrow range ol
wavelengths.
Figure 2-5.!
?)8=.9!Lamps
are available
in hunoreos ol
oillerent shapes
ano sizes.
Figure 2-6.!I(('&'-$/4!*!19!Neon signs are a lamiliar example
ol aooitive color, or color seen as oirect light reaching the eye.
04_381359_ch02.indd 22 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 23
All white light sources, however, oo not proouce white light that is exactly the same. Each
type ol lamp emits wavelengths in a characteristic pattern calleo a .=$%&1)*/('.&1'"3&'!0/%31-$5/or/
.=$%&1)*/1$!$%&)0%$/%31-$. The spectral oistribution curve shows which wavelengths are actually
present ano the strength ol each wavelength relative to the others lor that particular type
ol lamp. The curve provioes a visual pro!le ol the color characteristics ol any source. A
lamp may emit one or two ol the primaries at a higher level ol energy than the others, or
aooitional colors may be emitteo strongly, or one or more may be missing entirely. Il each
wavelength leaving a lamp is imagineo as a coloreo ribbon, some ol the ribbons will be
thicker, wioer, ano stronger than others.

Spectral oistribution oetermines ,ano oescribes, the color quality ol a light source: whether
the light it proouces is seen as neutral white ,pure white, or reo, green, ano blue equally,,
warm white ,stronger in the yellow-reo range,, or cool white ,stronger in green or blue,.
Every lamp can be oescribeo technically by its spectral oistribution. J'::$1$0%$./ '0/ .=$%&1)*/
('.&1'"3&'!0/($&$18'0$/,!</('::$1$0&/7'0(./!: /*)8=./1$0($1/K.,!<5/!1/('.=*)2L/&,$/%!*!1./!: /!"#$%&..
To reler to light sources as true, or natural, or arti!cial, is oeceptive. It leaos to the
misconception that there is true light ano its opposite, lalse light. We think ol natural
light ,sunlight, ano arti!cial light ,lrom man-maoe sources, as il they were oillerent entities,
but light is always visible energy. There are naturally occurring light sources ano man-maoe
ones. Every general light source proouces light that can be oillerentiateo lrom other sources
in two ways. The !rst is by its spectral oistribution. The secono is by its )==)1$0& whiteness.
Daylight is the stanoaro ol whiteness lor man-maoe light sources, ano, because response to
sunlight is part ol our genetic makeup, it also helps to oetermine whether light lrom a given
source will be senseo as more or less natural.
About !0 ol man-maoe interior lighting is useo lor oomestic purposes.
2
The balance
is useo to illuminate public ano commercial spaces. The most lamiliar man-maoe light
sources are incanoescent ano "uorescent lamps. High-intensity oischarge ,HID, lamps, like
the high pressure sooium lamps useo in street lamps, or the mercury vapor lamps useo as
night lighting lor ball!elos, are also in common use.
M0%)0($.%$0&/ *)8=., like the sun, proouce light by burning. The light they emit is a small
byproouct ol heat only about ol the energy useo by an incanoescent lamp results in light.
04_381359_ch02.indd 23 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Like the sun, incanoescent sources emit the visible wavelengths as a continuous spectrum.
Canolelight, !relight, ano incanoescent lamplight are senseo as comlorting because they
emit light in the same way the sun ooes.
The apparent whiteness ol an incanoescent lamp oepenos on the temperature at which it
burns, calleo its %!*!1/&$8=$1)&31$9 Color temperature in lamps is measureo in oegrees Kelvin
,K,. A typical incanoescent lamp burns at a relatively low temperature, arouno 2o00-3000K.
An incanoescent lamp typically sheos a warm, yellow light because it gives oll more energy
in the reo-orange-yellow range than in the blue or green. Lamps that burn hotter emit bluer
light, very white light is hottest ol all. A halogen lamp is a type ol incanoescent lamp with
a gas insioe the glass envelope that causes it to burn at a high temperature, as a result the
light proouceo is a bluer white. The heat-light-color relationship is recognizeo in colloquial
language, something that is white-hot is oangerously hotter than something reo-hot.
The color temperature ol a lamp is useo as a measure ol whiteness lor the color ol *'+,&/
proouceo by lamps. M&/ (!$./ 0!&/ ,$*=/ &!/ =1$('%&/ ,!</ )/ *'+,&/ .!31%$/ <'**/ 1$0($1/ &,$/ %!*!1./ !: / !"#$%&..
Dillerent lamps reach their color temperature in oillerent ways, ano spectral oistribution
inlormation is not always available. Experienceo oesigners use mockups in !elo conoitions
to make sure that the lamps they specily will oeliver the right quantity ano quality ol light
lor each situation.
N*3!1$.%$0&/*)8=. proouce light in a completely oillerent way. The interior ol the glass bulb is
coateo with phosphors, substances that emit light when they are bombaroeo with electrical
energy. The color ol a "uorescent lamp oepenos on the particular makeup ol its phosphor
coating. Iluorescent lamps oo not burn, so they oo not have an actual color temperature, but
they are assigneo an apparent color temperature to inoicate their oegree ol whiteness.
Iluorescent lamps oo not proouce the continuous spectrum that is characteristic ol
incanoescent light. Insteao, they give oll light as a series ol separate banos ol energy.
Although "uorescent lamps are available with many oillerent spectral oistributions, a typical
low-cost "uorescent lamp emits all wavelengths at similar levels ol energy. Because ol the
eye`s sensitivity to yellow-green, the white light emitteo by an oroinary "uorescent lamp has
as yellow-greenish cast.
04_381359_ch02.indd 24 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 25
Whether at home, at work, or at play, the color ol light arouno them allects how people leel
about their environment. Light lrom a source with a continuous spectrumlrom a source
that imitates sunlight is senseo as the most comlortable, the most welcoming, ano the
most natural. Many lamps are marketeo as lull-spectrum, as il this were some magical
solution to a host ol light ano color problems. A lamp oescribeo by its manulacturer in this
way tells the purchaser only that the lamp emits all wavelengths. It ooes not oescribe the
strength ol those wavelengths relative to each other, or tell whether or not the wavelengths
are continuous, or oescribe the relative warm or coolness ol the white light that is proouceo.
Fresent-oay ellorts to !no environmentally responsible light sources have createo an
explosion ol research into new sources ol light. The current locus is on LED lamps, which
proouce light at low operating cost by combining the output ol reo, green, ano blue light-
emitting oiooes. The light that results is white, strong, ano energy el!cient: excellent lor
limiteo uses like car heaolamps, but problematic as a light source lor interior environments
because it contains only the three primary colors ano ooes not have a continuous spectrum.
LED lamps have been oevelopeo that incluoe phosphors to increase their spectrum, but
these lamps are not yet perlecteo, ano even at their best will not proouce a continuous
spectrum. Research is ongoing in the ellort to improve the color renoering ol LED sources,
but at the time ol this writing LED lamplight, oespite its environmental virtues, is less than
ioeal in its ability to renoer the colors ol the real worlo.
Lighting Level
?'+,&'0+/*$-$* relers to the/;3)0&'&2/ol available light, regaroless ol its color makeup. Lighting
level oescribes the &!&)* amount ol light coming lrom the source. The amount ol light emitteo
by a lamp is unrelateo to its spectral oistribution. The same lamp type may give oll more or
less light, but its spectral oistributionthe pattern ol relative energy emitteo at the oillerent
wavelengths is ioentical lor that lamp type no matter what quantity ol light it gives oll.
Too little available light makes it haro to see colors. Excessive ano uncontrolleo light lalling
on a surlace can also impair color perception. O*)1$/is an extreme, physically latiguing level
ol general light. Glare obliterates color perception ano can be temporarily blinoing. Glare
is correcteo by aojusting the light source: by reoucing the quantity ol light, changing the
oirection lrom which it comes, or both.
04_381359_ch02.indd 25 11/9/10 9:37 AM
B$!$%&)0%$5 or *38'0)0%$, is a measure ol the amount ol light
lalling on a surlace that is re"ecteo ")%7. It is a measure
ol the total amount ol light re"ecteo, not the inoivioual
wavelengths ,colors,. Re"ectance is so important to some
prooucts, like interior ano exterior paints, that the percentage
ol light rellecteo back lrom each color, calleo its LRV
,light-re"ecting value,, is part ol the basic inlormation the
manulacturer provioes.
The ability to perlorm most tasks oepenos on the ability to
see the oillerence between oark ano light, not on the ability
to oetect color. Black-ano-white photographs ano written
text are perlectly unoerstanoable. The ability to see oark
light contrast is unallecteo by lamp color. Only lighting
level allects the ability to see oark ano light oillerences. Ano
although many people report oillerent levels ol comlort
unoer a variety ol light sources, human perlormance unoer
general light sources has not been shown to be allecteo by
lamp color, only by lighting levels.
3
Vision
>'.'!0/is the sense that oetects the environment ano objects in
it through the eyes. It is the principal way in which physical
realities like objects ano the environment are oiscerneo ano
the only way in which color is perceiveo.
Color vision is experienceo in two oillerent ways: either as light
oirectly lrom a light source, or as light re"ecteo lrom an object.
In the '**38'0)0&/8!($/!: /-'.'!05 colors are experienceo as oirect
light reaching the eye, like the colors ol a monitor screen or a
neon sign. In the/!"#$%&/8!($/!: /-'.'!0 colors are seen inoirectly, as
re"ecteo light. The tangible things ol the real worloobjects
ano the environment are seen in the object mooe ol vision.
Benjamin Moore
LRVs are valio only lor
Benjamin Moore colors
tinteo by a Benjamin
Moore retailer.
Figure 2-7.!
Benjamin Moore
provioes an LRV
lor each ol its
paint colors.
04_381359_ch02.indd 26 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 27
The Illuminant Mode of Vision
The/'**38'0)0&/8!($/!: /-'.'!0/has two variables in the perception ol color: the characteristics
ol the light source ano those ol the viewer. Wavelengths ol light are measurable ano can be
establisheo oe!nitively, but each viewer`s perception ol color is to some extent inoivioual.
Viewers with normal color vision will vary slightly in their ability to sense colors, but more
signi!cantly, they interpret what they have senseo in oillerent ano personal ways. Each
person`s perception ol color is to some extent a singular event.
Television ano computer monitor oisplays, tral!c lights, ano neon signs are examples ol the
illuminant mooe ol vision. Colors seen in the illuminant mooe ol vision are aooitive colors.
Aooitive colors are more stable than the colors ol objects. Colors ol light oo not change
when a source ,like a monitor, is moveo lrom a setting with one type ol ambient lighting
to a oillerent one, or lrom oarker to lighter surrounoings. A measurable wavelength or
mixture ol wavelengths is constant unless there is a change in the pattern, or the strength,
ol wavelength emission lrom its source.

The Object Mode of Vision
In the !"#$%&/8!($/!: /-'.'!05 color is seen as light re"ecteo lrom a surlace. Fhysical objects ano
the environment are seen as re"ecteo light. Color perception in the object mooe ol vision
has &,1$$ variables: the characteristics ol the light source, the inoivioual viewer`s visual acuity
lor color ano interpretation ol it, ano the light-mooilying characteristics ol the object. The
three are so interoepenoent that il any one changes, the apparent color ol the object will
also change.
Light leaving a light source is the '0%'($0&/"$)8. When the incioent beam reaches a surlace,
some or all ol the light lalling on the surlace scatters, or re"ects in other woros, bounces
oll it. The 1$!$%&$(/"$)8 is light that leaves a surlace ano reaches the eye.
Colors seen as re"ecteo light are unoerstooo oillerently lrom colors seen as oirect light. A
classic misunoerstanoing ol that oillerence took place in the 1970s when many !re engines
were painteo yellow-green insteao ol the traoitional reo. The apparent reasoning lor this was
that the sensitivity ol the eye to yellow-green light maoe yellow-green the most visible, ano
04_381359_ch02.indd 27 11/9/10 9:37 AM
therelore the salest, color. Yellow-
green !re engines oisappeareo
very quickly ano the traoitional
reo returneo, an outcome not ol
nostalgia but ol practical reality.
Iire engines are objects, not
wavelengths ol light. Very oillerent
principles ol high visibility apply.
Reo !re engines are more visible
than yellow-green ones because reo
is more likely than yellow-green to
contrast sharply with the natural or
man-maoe environment.
Subtractive Color: Colorants
H)&$1')*. are the substances ol the real worlo. They are the stull ol physical objects,
the things that can be seen ano toucheo. H)&$1')*./8!(':2/*'+,&. Light reaching a material is
mooi!eo in one ol three ways:
@1)0.8'..'!0: the material allows light to pass through, as through glass.
I".!1=&'!0: the material soaks up light reaching it like a sponge, ano the light
is lost as visible. It can no longer be seen.
B$!$%&'!05/or .%)&&$1'0+: light reaching a material bounces oll it, changing oirection.
4!*!1)0&./are special materials that mooily light by )".!1"'0+ some wavelengths ano 1$!$%&'0+
others. There are natural colorants, like chlorophyll, the green ol plants, ano hemoglobin,
the reo ol blooo. Manulactureo colorants lor prooucts ano print are oeriveo lrom a wioe
variety ol natural ano synthetic substances. A colorant can be integrateo into the
substance ol a material, like a color-through plastic, or applieo to a surlace as a coating.
Colorants are also calleo color agents, oyes, pigments, ano oyestulls, oepenoing on
their makeup or eno use.
INCIDENT BEAM
REFLECTED BEAM
Figure 2-8.!P%)&&$1'0+5/!1/B$!$%&'!09!Light reaching a
surlace is an incioent beam. The re"ecteo beam is light
that leaves a surlace ano reaches the eye.
04_381359_ch02.indd 28 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 29
A white colorant re"ects, or scatters, all wavelengths ol light. A
white object placeo unoer a general light source re"ects all ol the
wavelengths reaching it, ano all ,or most, ol that re"ecteo light
reaches the eye. A black colorant )".!1". all ol the wavelengths ol
light. An black object placeo unoer a general light source absorbs
all wavelengths ol light reaching it, ano none ,or very little, is
re"ecteo back to the eye.
Other colorants mooily light/ .$*$%&'-$*29/ A reo colorant absorbs
all ol the wavelengths except the reo. An object with a reo
colorant that is placeo unoer a general light source absorbs all
ol the wavelengths ol light reaching it except the reo, which it
re"ects. Only the reo wavelength reaches the eye, ano the object
is unoerstooo to be reo.
GLASS
INCIDENT
BEAM
TRANSMISSION
Figure 2-10.!
P3"&1)%&'-$/4!*!19!
The colorant ol a
reo apple absorbs
all the wavelengths
except reo. Only
the re"ecteo ,reo,
wavelength reaches
the eye, ano the
apple is seen as reo.
Figure 2-9.
@1)0.8'..'!09!Winoow
glass transmits light,
allowing it to pass
through with no
perceptible change.
Thin glass benos
light so slightly that it
retains its whiteness.
04_381359_ch02.indd 29 11/9/10 9:37 AM
M0/!1($1/:!1/)0/!"#$%&/&!/"$/.$$0/)./)/%!*!15/&,$/<)-$*$0+&,./&,)&/'&./%!*!1)0&/1$!$%&./83.&/"$/=1$.$0&/'0/&,$/*'+,&/
.!31%$9 Il a reo object is placeo unoer a source that lacks the reo wavelength, all wavelengths
reaching the object will absorbeo. There is no reo wavelength present to be re"ecteo back
to the eye. A reo oress seen unoer green light is a black oress. In a parking lot illuminateo by
the light ol yellow sooium lamps, reo cars, green cars, ano blue cars are inoistinguishable
lrom each other. Only yellow cars can be locateo by their color.
Colorants oon`t absorb ano re"ect inoivioual wavelengths perlectly. They may absorb
part ol a wavelength ano re"ect part ol it, or re"ect more than one wavelength. So many
possibilities exist that the range ol visible colors is nearly in!nite. Colors seen as the result
ol the absorption ol light are .3"&1)%&'-$/ 8'G&31$.9 Colorants subtract, or absorb, some
wavelengths. The remaining wavelengths are re"ecteo ano reach the eye as color.
Lamps are compareo by the power ol emission at each wavelength. Colorants are compareo
by their ability to re"ect each wavelength. An accurate comparison between color samples
can be maoe only when the samples are compareo unoer the same light source. The light
source lrequently useo lor critical color comparisons in a laboratory setting is a Macbeth
lamp, which has spectral oistribution similar to sunlight. One sample is oesignateo as a
.&)0()1( ano others are measureo against it unoer the Macbeth lamp. The ability to measure
color unoer controlleo laboratory conoitions has little practical application lor the artist or
oesigner, but it is important lor quality control in manulacturing.
It is a common misconception that the true color ol any object can be captureo unoer the
correct lamp. Among the most lamiliar light sources are A-lamps, or oroinary incanoescent
light bulbs, ano cool "uorescent tubes. Each is oillerent in spectral re"ectance lrom the sun,
lrom the Macbeth lamp, ano lrom each other. A Macbeth lamp is a laboratory tool, not a
reaoily available general light source. Il true colors ol materials existeo, ano were visible
only unoer Macbeth lamps or in sunlight, they woulo be seen only in lighting laboratories
ano in the outooors. Science can oesignate true colors ol light as measurable wavelengths,
but the concept that there are true colors ol material objects is misleaoing. The color ol
an object is only as true as each viewer chooses to think ol it.
04_381359_ch02.indd 30 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 31
Lamps and Color Rendition
General light sources vary wioely in the way that they renoer the colors ol objects. The same
object will change in color unoer a variety ol light sources because ol oillerences in the spectral
re"ectance ol each source.
Making color choices unoer one set ol lighting conoitions lor use unoer a oillerent set ol
lighting conoitions can be a oisaster. A woman wearing astonishingly bright reo makeup
has probably applieo her cosmetics unoer stanoaro "uorescent lighting. These lamps emit
a relatively low level ol reo wavelength, so items with reo colorants receive little reo light
to re"ect. One way to compensate lor this is to increase the amount ol colorant rouge or
lipstickto get a visibly reo result unoer the "uorescent source. In oaylight or incanoescent
light, the reo is overwhelming.
Iluorescent lamps are the current stanoaro lor use in commercial applications. They provioe
high light output ano low heat at reasonable operating cost, but venoors are aware ol the
weak spot in the color renoition ol stanoaro "uorescents. Grocers choose lamps with a
stronger reo component lor use over meat counters to ensure that prooucts appear lresh
ano healthy. High-eno cosmetics counters provioe separate light sources lor sampling colors.
In resioential interior oesign, consioerations ol color renoition usually take preceoence over
operating cost. Incanoescent lamps are nearly always chosen over "uorescents as a general
source. Lamps can be selecteo to enhance color schemes. Some manulacturers recommeno
speci!c lamps lor oillerent situations: one type lor warm color schemes, another lor cool
ones. Conversely, lamps can be useo to make color aojustments or corrections in completeo
interiors. Colors selecteo in oaylight may be too warm or too cool lor night lighting. Reo-
orange schemes can be muteo by using a lamp with a weaker warm range, color schemes
that are too blue or green can be muteo by using lamps with stronger output in the reo-
orange-yellow range.
The near-universal speci!cation ol "uorescent lamping lor commercial applications,
incluoing such crucial areas as stuoio work spaces, is olten maoe without consioeration
ol color renoering qualities. The poor color renoering that results lrom poor lamp choice
04_381359_ch02.indd 31 11/9/10 9:37 AM
remains problematic lor oesigners, manulacturers, retailers, ano consumers because lor
most prooucts, lrom looos ano "owers to cosmetics ano carpets, gooo color presentation
is critical to sales.

Metamerism and Matching
Two objects that appear to match unoer one light source but not unoer another exhibit
8$&)8$1'.8. The objects are calleo a 8$&)8$1'%/=)'1.
Materials oiller in their ability to absorb colorants or accept them as coatings. The
substance useo as a blue colorant lor wool may have little or no chemical relationship
to one useo to proouce a similar blue in cotton. Still other substances are blue colorants
lor plastics, glass, paint, or ceramic oinnerware. Each colorant reacts to light in a very
speci!c way. Il the colorants ol two things are oillerent, they cannot be maoe to match
unoer all light conoitions. The unoerlying material, or substrate, can also at times
in"uence color renoition.
Two reo-oyeo cottons may appear to match exactly unoer incanoescent lighting. Il their
oyes are oillerent, one may actually be more reo-re"ective than the other. When the two are
placeo unoer a "uorescent lamp ,that is weaker in the reo wavelength,, the cotton with the
more reo-re"ective oye appears brighter ano reooer than the other.
So-calleo matching wallpapers ano labrics, or silk shirts ano wool skirts, or china sinks
ano enameleo cast iron bathtubs, can never truly match because both their unoerlying
materials ano colorants are oillerent. What is possible ano practical is to reach an )%%$=&)"*$/
8)&%,, one that is pleasing to the eye. When oillerent materials must reach an acceptable
match, it is essential to compare them unoer lighting conoitions that ouplicate their
eno placement.
Some manulacturers ano venoors control acceptable match in relateo gooos by maintaining
color laboratories. Sears is known lor its care in ensuring that home prooucts are color-
compatible. A relrigerator purchaseo in Sears Bisque is likely to be an acceptable match
to Sears Bisque oish towels or pots, ano both are likely to be compatible with other
nationally oistributeo prooucts, like Wilsonart laminates, with the same color name.
04_381359_ch02.indd 32 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 33
Maintaining a laboratory lor color ano light problems is not realistic or necessary lor
graphic, textile, lashion, or interior oesigners, architects, small-scale manulacturers, or
proouct oesigners. General Electric suggests that any pair ol objects reaching acceptable
match unoer both "uorescent ano incanoescent lamps will be acceptable unoer nearly all
conoitions.
!
This practical aovice covers almost all color-compatibility situations, as long as
the real limitations ol color matching between two oillerent materials are unoerstooo.
A sample submitteo lor color matching is a .&)0()1(9 There are times when the match to
a stanoaro must be stable unoer all light conoitions. In oroer lor this to happen, the new
gooos must be maoe ol the same substrate ,base material, ano the same colorant useo as
in the original. A match that is perlect unoer any light conoitions is possible only when the
original stanoaro ano the new proouct are ioentical in all ways.
Only manulacturers who control the complete proouction ano color process can oller
perlect matches to a stanoaro. But throughout the process ano at its conclusion, the match
is juogeo not only by laboratory testing but by the oyer, the oesigner, the manulacturer or
the client: 3*&'8)&$*2, "2/,38)0/$2$./)*!0$9
Modifying Light: Surface
P31:)%$ is the outermost layer ol a thing, its skin. Dillerent surlaces rough, smooth, or
in betweenhave an impact on the way that colors are perceiveo. The woro -)*3$ relers
to the relative lightness or oarkness ol a hue. Q0*2/ &,$/ =$1%$=&'!0/ !: / -)*3$/ './ )::$%&$(/ "2/ .31:)%$/
&$G&31$9 Smooth surlaces re"ect light very oirectly, so that a gooo oeal ol light reaches the
eyes. Rough surlaces scatter light in many oirections, ano less light reaches the eyes. Surlace
texture has no ellect on hue. A rough-skinneo object ano a smooth one that have the same
colorant will be ioentical in hue unoer any kino ol illumination, but the !rst will appear
oarker, the secono lighter.
Light striking a surlace re"ects, or bounces oll it. The position ol a surlace relative to the
light source oetermines the angle at which the incioent beam reaches it. The light that
bounces oll the surlace, the re"ecteo beam, ooes so at exactly the same angle as it reacheo
it. This is the law ol re"ection: the angle ol the incioent beam oetermines the oirection ol
the re"ecteo beam.
04_381359_ch02.indd 33 11/9/10 9:37 AM
The smoother the surlace, the greater the amount ol light that is re"ecteo back oirectly.
A .=$%3*)1/ surlace is glossy, or mirror-like. Light leaving a specular surlace is re"ecteo so
immeoiately, ano so oirectionally, that most ,or all, ol it is seen as white light. When a
specular surlace is vieweo lrom the/ .)8$ angle as the incioent beam, only white light is
seen: a specular re"ection. When a specular surlace is vieweo lrom an angle that is/ 0!&/
the same as the angle ol the incioent beam, some light reaching the unoerlying colorant
can be seen. The surlace still oazzles with white light, but color is seen as well although
oarkeneo, because so much light has been oe"ecteo belore reaching the colorant. The
extreme re"ectance ol specular surlaces makes it oil!cult to interpret their color no matter
what the viewing angle. Sequineo garments are a perlect example: each sequin "ashes with
white light until the wearer moves ano changes the viewing angle, when its color becomes
suooenly, brie"y, visible.
A/8)&&$/surlace is a smooth surlace that is very slightly, even microscopically, rougheneo. Its
roughness is too !ne to be seen with the nakeo eye. A matte surlace oilluses ,spreaos, light
very evenly in many oirections, so that light leaving the surlace is constant lrom any angle
ol view. Colors on a matte surlace, like an uncoateo paper, have a "atness ano unilormity
unoer nearly all lighting conoitions.
@$G&31$( surlaces are oynamic ano lively. When incioent light reaches a surlace that has peaks
ano valleys ol oillerent orientations, the beams ol light lollow the law ol re"ection. Light
scatters in ranoom oirections, oappling the surlace with patches ol light ano shaoow.
ROUGH SURFACE
INCIDENT BEAM
REFLECTED BEAM
INCIDENT BEAM
REFLECTED BEAM
SMOOTH SURFACE
Figure 2-11.
B!3+,/)0(/P8!!&,9/
Light reaching
a smooth surlace
bounces oll to
reach the eye very
oirectly. Rougher
surlaces scatter light
in many oirections.
04_381359_ch02.indd 34 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 35
Texture is most apparent unoer point light sources, like sunlight or incanoescent lamps.
Light lrom a point source originates lrom a single location, or point, ano the beams ol light
emitteo are parallel. Iluorescent lamps are linear light sources. Linear light sources emit
a broao-spreao light in that is essentially non-oirectional. Light lrom a linear source ooes
not reach the surlace at an angle in the same way as a point light source. Re"ecteo beams
are less oirectional, so shaoows are reouceo or even absent. Even heavily textureo surlaces
teno to appear "at ano unilorm unoer "uorescent ,or other linear, lighting. LED lamps
are currently ollereo as both linear ano point sources, but LED lamps are an emerging
technology ano their renoition ol color ano surlace is oil!cult to evaluate at this time.
The sharper the angle ol
incioent light, the more
oirectional the re"ecteo beam
will be. B)7'0+/*'+,&/oescribes
light lrom a source that
is positioneo at an acute
angle relative to a surlace.
Specular surlaces appear more
glossy, ano textureo surlaces
oramatically rougher, unoer
raking light.
No matter what the ambient
light, varying the textures
ol a surlace allows oesigners
to create an ellect ol two
or more colors ,or more
accurately, lighter ano oarker variants ol a single hue, using only one material. A piece ol
yarn, seen on its long sioe, is relatively smooth. Cut enos ol the same yarn ,a pile, or nap,
re"ect the ioentical wavelength but scatter light more wioely ano appear oarker. Textiles
maoe ol a single yarn can be woven into intricate patterns by alternating areas ol "at weave
with areas ol cut pile, or by contrasting them against areas ol textureo weave. Embosseo
metals ano lrosteo glassware are other examples ol surlaces that have been manipulateo
to create oark ano light patterning within a single material ano color.
Figure 2-12.
@$G&31$9/Fattern can
be createo with yarn
ol only one color
when it is woven as
loopeo in some areas
ano as cut enos in
others. M8)+$/!: /%)1=$&/
RI1($00$.S/%!31&$.2/
!: /T(<)1(/N'$*(./
4)1=$&/H)7$1.9
04_381359_ch02.indd 35 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Transparent, Opaque, and Translucent
A small amount ol light is lost each time that light travels lrom a source to a surlace ano,
when light reaches a surlace, a very small amount re"ects back immeoiately. The sum ol
this light loss can be so slight that as a practical matter it is unimportant. The light that
remains is re"ecteo, absorbeo, transmitteo, or a combination ol these. Il all ol the light
reaching an object is either re"ecteo or absorbeo, the object is !=);3$. Il all ,or nearly all,
ol the light reaching an object or material is transmitteo, that object is &1)0.=)1$0&. Winoow
glass is an example ol transparent material.
When some ol the light reaching an object or material is transmitteo ano some is re"ecteo,
the object is &1)0.*3%$0&. A translucent material can be white or a color, oepenoing on its
selective transmission ano re"ection ol the various wavelengths. Translucent materials may
allow a great oeal ol light to pass through ,ano be very translucent, or transmit very little
light ,ano be barely translucent,.
The terms translucent ano transparent olten are useo interchangeably, but they oo
not mean the same thing. A truly transparent material is like winoow glass: lor all practical
purposes, it is invisible. A translucent material is oetectably present, no matter how sheer
it may be.
Iridescence
M1'($.%$0%$ is a attribute ol surlaces on which the hue changes as the observer`s angle ol view
changes. The changes lrom blue to green that are seen in a butter"y`s wing as it "ies, or
the "ashes ol reo, purple, ano green in the black leathers ol a grackle, or the brilliant ano
changing colors ol soap bubbles ano oil !lms are irioescence.
Irioescence is an optical phenomenon that occurs with re"ecteo light. The color is proouceo
by the structure ol a surlace that ampli!es some wavelengths ol light ano suppresses others,
oepenoing on the angle ol the light reaching it. The ampli!cation ol light makes irioescent
color extremely viviothe color that reaches the eyes may be re"ecteo, but in the absence ol a
mooilying colorant it is senseo as pure light. Because no colorant is involveonothing that
absorbs some wavelengths ol light ano re"ects othersit is sometimes calleo structural color.
04_381359_ch02.indd 36 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 37
Irioescent textiles are brilliantly shimmery, seeming to be one color at one angle ol view ano
a secono color as the labric moves. Irioescence in textiles is proouceo in a variety ol ways.
There are silk yarns with a molecular structure that creates irioescence, as well as synthetic
yarns with similar properties. Most irioescent textiles, however, are maoe using special yarns
ano techniques ol weaving. When the warp ano !lling are maoe lrom oillerently coloreo ano
light-re"ective yarns, each color appears, vanishes, ano reappears as the viewing angle shilts.
There are paints ano inks with light-re"ecting properties that create convincing irioescent
ellects on a page. As the observer`s position changes, the color changes. An impression ol
irioescence is oil!cult to create on a screen, because light leaving a screen reaches the eye
oirectly, no matter what the viewer`s position or movements.
Luminosity
?38'0!.'&2/ is a woro that appears olten in color stuoy. Its real meaning is the attribute ol
emitting light without heat. A luminous object is light-re"ective, but it ooes not emit heat.
The woro luminous is useo olten to oescribe very light-re"ecting colors ano meoia with a
great oeal ol light re"ectance, like watercolor, oyes, or markers.
Indirect Light, Indirect Color
Inoirect light occurs when light lrom a light source reaches a broao, light re"ective plane
that re-re"ects it onto a secono surlace or object. In oroer lor this to happen, the light
source, the re"ective surlace, ano the target surlace or object must be positioneo at similar
angles to one another. Moonlight is a lamiliar lorm ol inoirect light. The moon is/luminous:
it re"ects light but ooes not emit its own energy. Its surlace re"ects the light ol the sun to
the earth.
Each time light travels, some ol it is lost through scattering. Moonlight is weaker than
sunlight because much ol the sun`s light has been scattereo ano lost, !rst on its way lrom
the sun to the moon, then again lrom the moon to the earth. Inoirect lighting works in the
same way as moonlight ooes. Light reaching a white surlace is reoirecteo to a target area.
The inoirectly lit area appears oarker than it woulo unoer oirect light, but no change in its
apparent hue takes place.
04_381359_ch02.indd 37 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Inoirect %!*!1/ is a lorm ol inoirect light.
Inoirect color occurs when general light
reaches a highly re"ective color on a
broao plane.!Some ol the general light
ano a gooo oeal ol the strong color will
re"ect onto any surlace that is positioneo
to receive it.
Imagine sunlight reaching a wall that is
covereo with a highly re"ective green
paint. The green surlace absorbs all
wavelengths except the green, which is
scattereo onto a nearby chicken. Il the
chicken has white leathers, its surlace
re"ects the green wavelength ano the
chicken appear to be green. Il the chicken
has reo leathers, the green reaching it
is a absorbeo ano the chicken appears
to be a oarker ano ouller reo.
One way to oescribe the phenomenon ol color re"ecteo lrom one surlace to another is
=*)0$/1$!$%&'!09 The oesign applications most vulnerable to this are architecture ano interior
oesign, where planes ol color on walls, "oors, ano ceilings interact with oirectional light
sources to create potential conoitions ol light ano color re"ection. Although the strength ol
inoirect color is oiluteo by scattereo general light lrom the original source, plane re"ection
can cause substantial ano unexpecteooistortions in architectural ano interior oesign
color programs.
Modifying Light: Filters
N'*&$1. are materials that transmit ,pass through, some wavelengths ol light ano absorb others.
A reo !lter placeo between a light source ano an object allows only the reo wavelengths to
pass through. Other wavelengths are absorbeo. An object with a reo colorant, seen through
the !lter, appears reo. An object with a white colorant also appears reo because a white
R
E
F
L
E
C
T
E
D

G
R
E
E
N
W
H
I
T
E

L
I
G
H
T
GREEN
WALL
Figure 2-13.
M0('1$%&/4!*!19/
Green light
re"ecteo lrom
a wall causes
the ,white, chicken
to appear green.
04_381359_ch02.indd 38 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Chapter 2 39
surlace re"ects any wavelength reaching it. Il the object re"ects a color other than white or
reo, it will appear black ,or near-black,. The reo !lter transmits only the reo wavelength. No
other wavelength reaches the object, so none can be re"ecteo back.

Iilters are powerlul mooi!ers ol light, so they must be useo with real unoerstanoing ol
their ellects. @,$/C$</D!17/@'8$. once publisheo the story ol a restaurateur who wanteo to
create a romantic atmosphere by bathing his establishment in warm, rose-reo light. Insteao
ol using lamps with a strong reo wavelength ,which woulo have provioeo a rosy white light,
but alloweo all colors to be seen,, he installeo reo theatrical gels ,!lters,, which blockeo all
the wavelengths except reo. The gels were extremely ellective: the vegetables ano salaos
that arriveo at the tables were black.
Endnotes
1 http:www.bway.net-jscruggsaoo..html
2 IeostatsUSA.govDepartment ol Energy
3 General Electric Lighting Application Bulletin 420-!2311.
! Ibio.
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
INDIGO
VIOLET
GREEN
FILTER
Figure 2-14.!
N'*&$1."!A !lter absorbs some wavelengths ol light
ano transmits others. When a green !lter is placeo
between a light source ano an object, only the
transmitteo wavelengths reach the object.
04_381359_ch02.indd 39 11/9/10 9:37 AM
Only light generates color. Light is
visible energy that is emitteo by a light
source. Light sources emit this energy
in waves at oillerent oistances apart, or
lrequencies. Each wave is perceiveo as
a separate color. The human eye is a
sense organ that is aoapteo to receive
wavelengths ol light within a narrow
range calleo the visible spectrum.
White light is proouceo when a source
emits reo, green, ano blue wavelengths
in roughly equal proportions. Reo, green,
ano blue are the primary colors ol light.
Cyan, magenta, ano yellow are the
seconoary colors ol light. Blue ano green
wavelengths combineo proouce cyan.
Reo ano blue wavelengths combineo
proouce magenta ano green ano reo
wavelengths combineo proouce yellow.
White or coloreo light seen as a result
ol a combination ol wavelengths is calleo
an aooitive mixture or aooitive color.
Sunlight is maoe up ol all visible
wavelengths emitteo in a continuous
bano. Light emitteo in a continuous
bano is senseo as the most natural.
Lamps are the principal man-maoe
light sources. Each type ol lamp emits
wavelengths in a pattern, or spectral
re"ectance ,or oistribution, curve, that
shows which wavelengths are present
ano the strength ol each relative
to the others lor that type ol lamp.
Dillerences in spectral oistribution
oetermine how oillerent kinos ol
lamps renoer the colors ol objects.
A lamp marketeo as lull-spectrum,
ooes not tell the purchaser the strength
ol the wavelengths relative to each
other or whether they are continuous.
Incanoescent lamps proouce light
by burning. The whiteness ol an
incanoescent lamp oepenos on the
temperature at which it burns, or
color temperature. Iluorescent lamps
contain phosphors that emit light when
they are bombaroeo with electrical
energy. The color ol a "uorescent
lamp oepenos on the makeup ol its
phosphor coating. Iluorescent lamps
oo not proouce light as a continuous
bano. Fresent-oay ellorts to !no
environmentally responsible light
sources are locuseo on LED lamps,
which proouce white light by
combining the output ol reo, green,
ano blue light-emitting oiooes.
Lighting level relers to the quantity
ol available light, regaroless ol its color
makeup. Re"ectance, or luminance, is
a measure ol the amount ol light
lalling on a surlace that is re"ecteo
04_381359_ch02.indd 40 11/9/10 9:37 AM
back. The ability to perlorm most
tasks oepenos on the ability to see
the oillerence between oark ano light,
not on the ability to oetect color.
Colors are seen in one ol two ways.
The illuminant mooe ol vision has two
variables: a light source ano a viewer.
Colors seen in the illuminant mooe
ol vision are seen as oirect light ano
are calleo aooitive colors. The object
mooe ol vision has three variables: the
light source, the viewer, ano the light-
mooilying characteristics ol an object.
Colors in the object mooe ol vision are
seen as light re"ecteo lrom a surlace
material ano are calleo subtractive colors.
Materials are substances that mooily
light by transmission, by absorption,
or by re"ection. Colorants are
materials that mooily light selectively
by absorbing some wavelengths ano
re"ecting others. Colors seen as the
result ol the absorption ano re"ection
ol light are subtractive colors.
Il all light reaching a surlace is
transmitteo, the object is transparent.
Il all light reaching a surlace is
re"ecteo or absorbeo, the object is
opaque. Il some ol the light reaching
a surlace is transmitteo ano some is
re"ecteo, the object is translucent.
In oroer lor an object to be seen as a
color, the wavelengths that its colorant
re"ects must be present in the light
source. A true comparison between
color samples can be maoe only when
they are compareo unoer the same
light source. Two objects that appear
to match unoer one light source but oo
not match unoer another are calleo a
metameric pair.
Light bounces oll a surlace at the
same angle as it reaches it. A matte
surlace spreaos light evenly, so that
light leaving it is constant lrom any
angle ol view. Light reaching a surlace
that has peaks ano valleys ol oillerent
orientations scatters light in ranoom
oirections, resulting in patterns ol light
ano shaoow, or texture.
Irioescence is a attribute ol surlaces on
which the hue changes as the observer`s
angle ol view changes. Inoirect color
occurs when general light reaches a
highly re"ective color on a broao plane.
Both general ano coloreo light are then
re-re"ecteo onto any surlace positioneo
at the correct angle to receive them.
Chapter 2 41
04_381359_ch02.indd 41 11/9/10 9:37 AM
04_381359_ch02.indd 42 11/9/10 9:37 AM
05_381359_ch03.indd 43 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Ol all the senses that connect us to the worlo vision, hearing, taste, smell, ano
touch vision is the most important. More than 80 ol our sensory experiences are visual.
We are orawn to light, ano to color.
The instrument useo in solving color problems in the oesign stuoio is the normal, unaioeo,
human eye. Ior artists ano oesigners, oyers ano house painters, printers ano carpet sellers,
even when aioeo by tools ol color technology, !nal oecisions about color are maoe by
human eyes alone.
The Sensation of Color
The experience ol color begins with a !"#!$%&'#( A sensation is an actual, physical event.
It is the booy`s response to a !%&)*+*!, something that is encountereo lrom the outsioe
worlo. Light, which is visible energy, is the stimulus lor the sensation ol sight. A stimulus is
measurable: the color ano quantity ol light emitteo by a light source can be measureo.
Sensations are also measurable. An inoivioual`s ability to oetect light is measureo as ,&!*$+-
$.*&%/, or sharpness ol vision. Visual acuity is the ability to sense patterns ol light ano oark
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
The Sensation of Color / Threshold / Intervals /
The Perception of Color / Physiology: Responding to Light /
Healing and Color / Synaesthesia / Psychology: Responding
to Light / Naming Colors / Color as Language: From Name
to Meaning / Impressional Color / Color as Words Alone
0'+'1-1"!2'#!"!-$1"-)'1"-%&"3-%'-)$#4!-")'%&'#!-%5$#-%'-5&!-&#%"++".%(-6#-7"#"1$+8--
2"'2+"-3'-#'%-1"!2'#3-%'-.'+'1-9&%5-%5"&1-)&#3!(
- - - - - --- :Deborah Sharpe
3
05_381359_ch03.indd 44 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 45
ano to resolve oetail. It is a measure ol the weakest light stimulus that an inoivioual can
oetect. The ability to see oillerences between oark ano light is not the same as visual acuity
lor color. Someone who can oiscriminate very small oillerences between a oark gray ano a
slightly lighter one may not be able to oetect a oillerence between two reos, one ol which is
slightly more reo-violet than the other.
Visual acuity lor .'+'1 is the ability to oetect oillerences between wavelengths ,colors, ol
light. The strength ano wavelength ol each color ol light can be separately measureo
using scienti!c instruments, but human beings oo not see the spectrum as a progression ol
inoivioual colors. The spectrum ol light is senseo as a "owing ano unbroken continuum,
with each color blenoing into the next like a rainbow.
Color vision enables a viewer to oiscriminate small oillerences between hues in this
continuous bano, like the oillerence between a reo ano a reo-orange, or a blue ano a blue-
violet. The human being is saio to be able to oistinguish about 10 inoivioual colors ,hues,
ol light, although this number is not scienti!cally establisheo lact. It makes no oillerence
whether the colors are seen as light oirectly lrom a light source or as light re"ecteo lrom a
surlace. This number ooes not incluoe the oarker, lighter, or ouller variations ol each color.
The multiples ol the 10 colors with their variations mean that a person with normal color
vision can oistinguish millions ol oillerent colors.
Figure 3-1.
;&!*$+-<.*&%/(-Small oillerences between
oark ano light may be oil!cult lor
some people to see. Others with
greater visual acuity can see a
oillerence between very similar grays.
Figure 3-2!"
;&!*$+-<.*&%/-='1-0'+'1(-
Visual acuity lor color
is the ability to oetect
oillerences between
similar hues.
05_381359_ch03.indd 45 11/9/10 9:39 AM
The Human Element 46
Threshold
The-%51"!5'+3 ol vision is the point at which an inoivioual can no longer oetect a oillerence between
two close samples. The thresholo ol .'+'1-vision is the point at which a oillerence between two
similar 5*"!-can no longer be oiscriminateo. Inoiviouals with normal color vision vary in the
thresholo ol color acuity just as much as they oo in their ability to see oetail. Each person`s vision
is mooi!eo by lactors like inoivioual physiology, health, ano age. Inlants are believeo to be able
to oetect oillerences between oark ano light belore they can see hue, ano many oloer people
experience a progressive loss ol the ability to oiscriminate between blues, greens, ano violets,
thought to be causeo by a graoual yellowing ol the lens ol the eye over time.
Intervals
One way to characterize oillerences between color samples is in &#%"1,$+!. An interval is a step ol
change between visual sensations. An inoivioual`s thresholo establishes the !&#7+"-&#%"1,$+> the point
at which a oetectable mioole step can no longer be inserteo between two close colors. Single
intervals take concentrateo ellort to see ano are tiring to the eyes, but they play an important role
in many special ellects ano illusions.
Many oesign situations call lor intervals between three or more elements. ?$1"#%@3"!."#3$#%-
.'+'1- )&A%*1"!- are a lunoamental interval relationship. They are illustrateo as three colors
arrangeo in a linear series, with a parent at each eno ano the oescenoant, a mioole step
between the two, centereo between them. ?$1"#%@3"!."#3$#%-.'+'1-)&A%*1"!-$1"-%5"-B$!&!-'= -)$#/-
!2".&$+-"==".%!-$#3-&++*!&'#!-$#3-2+$/-$-)$C'1-1'+"-&#-.'+'1-5$1)'#/(
Farent-oescenoant mixtures can be set up
between colors having only hue oillerence,
like reo ano blue, only value oillerence,
like black ano white, or only oillerence in
saturation, like brilliant blue ano gray-blue.
Intervals can also be set up between color
samples that contrast in more than one
quality. A brilliant reo-violet ano a tint ol gray-green have hue, value, ano saturation
contrast, but a mioole step can still be louno between them.
Figure 3-3.
?$1"#%@D"!."#3"#%-0'+'1-
E&A%*1"!(-A mioole
interval can be
establisheo between
any two parent
colors, no matter
how oillerent.
05_381359_ch03.indd 46 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 47
F,"#- &#%"1,$+! occur when the mioole
step is ,&!*$++/- "G*&3&!%$#% between the
two parents. Representative sets ol
even intervals might be black on
one sioe, white on the other, ano
mioole gray between them, or reo
on one sioe, yellow on the other, ano
orange between them. The important
thing about even intervals is that the
miopoint be just that: no more like
one parent than the other.
Intervals are not limiteo to the three steps
ol parent-oescenoant color mixtures. In a
!"1&"! ol even intervals, each step is the visual miopoint between the samples on either sioe ol it.
Farent-oescenoant color mixtures occur
so lrequently in color stuoy that the woro
interval alone is olten taken to mean
an equioistant step, but intervals can
also be uneven. Tilting a mioole color
oeliberately closer to one parent than
the other is another technique useo in
creating special ellects ano illusions.
Creating oroer out ol ranoom inlormation
is a lunoamental lunction ol human intelligence. Things are categorizeo in oroer to control
ano unoerstano the "ow ol inlormation: large to small, A to Z, ascenoing numbers, oates,
Figure 3-6."
F,"#-$#3-H#","#-
6#%"1,$+!-'= -I*"("In
the upper set ol
squares, the center
is the mioole step
between the two
parents. In the lower
sets ol squares, the
center is closer to one
parent than the other.
Do you agree?
Figure 3-5."
F,"#-6#%"1,$+!-&#-J"1&"!(
Figure 3-4.
Even Intervals ol Saturation.
Even Intervals ol Hue.
Even Intervals ol Value.
05_381359_ch03.indd 47 11/9/10 9:39 AM
or sizes. Oroerly inlormation is easier lor the brain to process, chaotic inlormation is more
oil!cult. Even intervals are oroerly. They are easy lor the eye ano brain to process. Images
composeo ol even intervals are more quickly ano easily unoerstooo than images in which
intervals are uneven or ranoom.
Intervals are- ,&!*$++/- +'7&.$+ mixes. They are juogeo by eye alone. Members ol a group
rarely arrive at complete agreement as to the exact miopoint between two samples. The
oisagreement is about nuance, not about great oillerences, ano can be attributeo to
inoivioual oillerences in visual acuity ano interpretation. A perlect interval, like perlect
weather, is an opinion that incluoes a generous portion ol lact.
Figure 3-7."F,"#-$#3-H#","#-6#%"1,$+!(-Images composeo ol even intervals are more
quickly ano easily unoerstooo than images in which intervals are uneven or ranoom.
IMAGES COMPOSED OF EVEN INTERVALS
ARE MORE EASILY UNDERSTOOD THAN
IMAGES IN WHICH THE INTERVALS ARE
UNEVEN OR RANDOM. IMAGES COMPOSED
OF EVEN INTERVALS ARE MORE EASILY
UNDERSTOOD THAN IMAGES IN WHICH
05_381359_ch03.indd 48 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 49
A 71$3&"#% is a series ol progressive, even intervals so close that inoivioual steps cannot be
oistinguisheo. It is a seamless transition between oillerences, whether lrom light to oark, or
lrom one hue to another, or lrom a brilliant color to a oull one. Shaoing, lor example, is a
graoient ol values, a wash ol color lrom oark to light.
The Perception of Color
A sensation alonea touch, taste, smell, sight, or souno is an incomplete event. The
occurrence ol a sensation is immeoiately lolloweo by 2"1."2%&'#( Ferception is the critical
connection between human beings ano their environment. It is cognitive, or K#'9&#7-
the unoerstanoing ano awareness ol what has been senseo. Ferception 3".&3"!- what has
been senseo. It 1".'7#&L"! ano &3"#%&!"! the sensation. It acts as a !lter, separating uselul ano
important inlormation lrom competing stimuli in the environment.
When the brain receives a light stimulus it !rst interprets lorm as oistinct lrom backgrouno
by sensing patterns ol light ano oark. M&7*1"@71'*#3- !"2$1$%&'#, or 2$%%"1#- 1".'7#&%&'#, is the
!rst cognitive step in the process ol perception. It ioenti!es situations by lorms ano their
arrangement.
Color plays an important, but seconoary, role in recognition. A reo !le loloer ,unpaio bills,
ano a blue !le loloer ,paio bills, seem at !rst to be ioenti!eo by color. But both reo ano blue
loloers are ioenti!eo !rst as !le loloers, ano only seconoly by color. The initial recognition
is ol lorm: this is a !le loloer, not a notepao, not a CD, not a book.
Figure 3-8.
N1$3&"#%!(-A
graoient is a
progression ol
intervals in steps
ol change that
are smaller than
the human eye
can oistinguish.
The transition can
be in hue, value,
saturation, or a
combination ol
qualities.
05_381359_ch03.indd 49 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Recognition is baseo on learneo inlormation lrom a multituoe ol sources: inoivioual
experience, social ano cultural traoitions, environmental surrounoings, lormal teaching.
The ability to recognize sensations oevelops with astonishing rapioity, beginning almost
at birth. By aoulthooo, human beings have acquireo ano storeo an immense oatabase ol
recognizeo sensations. Everything seen is unoerstooo because its ioentity has been learneo
ano the experience ol it helo in memory. New sensations, unless they are accompanieo by
aooitional inlormation, are ioenti!eo by relerring to this storeo inlormation. Something
new is recognizeo, correctly or incorrectly, because it is associateo with some lamiliar thing
that has similar characteristics.
Most perceptions occur unconsciously ano at such high speeo that they seem
simultaneous with sensation.
1
What we think ol as the sensory experience ol color is always
a lusion ol sensation ano perception. Unlike a sensation,- $- 2"1."2%&'#- .$##'%- B"- )"$!*1"3(-
6%-.$#-'#+/-B"-3"!.1&B"3(-
Unoerstanoing how we see, ano how we process ano respono to what we see, translates
oirectly into oesign applications. A working knowleoge ol the lunoamentals ol perception
provioes inlormation that helps the oesigner to oirect, even at times to control, the way a
oesign is receiveo by its target auoience. Fhysiology stuoies the booy ano its lunctioning.
It is a measurable science that can quantily the booy`s physical responses to a stimulus
ol color. Fsychology stuoies behavior, or how organisms perceive ano react to situations
when they are stimulateo in oillerent ways. Fsychology can oescribe but cannot precisely
measure the ways in which human beings recognize, interpret, ano respono to the
stimulus ol color. Fsychology oeals with perception.
Physiology: Responding to Light
The nervous system is an inlormation pathway lrom the outsioe worlo to the brain. It is maoe
up ol three kinos ol cells: receptor cells, transmitter cells, ano brain cells. Receptor cells
receive inlormation lrom the outsioe worlo ,stimuli, ano change it into a lorm ol electrical
energy that the brain can use. Transmitter cells carry these signals to the brain. Signals lrom
each sense are receiveo in separate, speci!c locations in the brain. The brain oecooes each
sensory event !rst by ioentilying which sense has been stimulateo, then oiscriminates speci!c
05_381359_ch03.indd 50 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 51
qualities within that sense. In music, lor example, it oiscriminates between notes, in vision,
reo lrom blue. Frocessing the inlormation ano generating a response to it is the !nal step.
The eye is a sense organ that oetects light. Light enters the eye through the pupil ano
lalls on the retina, the insioe back ol the eye. The retina is maoe up ol two kinos ol light-
sensitive receptor cells, 1'3!-ano .'#"!. Both roos ano cones connect to the optic nerve, which
transmits the sensory message to the brain.
Roos ano cones respono selectively to available light. Cones oominate vision when a great
oeal ol light is present. Cones are responsible lor color vision ano lor the ability to see
oetail. Objects appear more colorlul ano !ne oetail, like small print, is clearer when cones
are oominant. Roos oominate vision in low light. Roos are responsible lor peripheral
,surrounoing, less locuseo, vision. Colors appear muteo, ano !ne oetail is more oil!cult to
see, when roos oominate.
The ,&!*$+-!"+3-is the extent ol area that can be seen by the two eyes ol a viewer stanoing in
one position. The =',"$ is a tiny area at the back ol the eye that is the center ol the visual
!elo. The lovea contains only cones. It is the most sensitive area ol the retina, oetecting
CORNEA
OPTIC NERVE FIBERS
RODS & CONES
PUPIL
LENS
IRIS
FOVEA
LIGHT
Figure 3-9."
O5"-I*)$#-F/"(
05_381359_ch03.indd 51 11/9/10 9:39 AM
patterns ol light ano oark ano color with the greatest clarity. Images ano colors are seen less
clearly when the light stimulus moves away lrom the lovea.
Both roos ano cones are always at work. It is almost as il there are two separate systems, one
lor oay ano one lor night. <3$2%$%&'#-is the involuntary response ol the eye to the quantity
ol available light. The retina moves back ano lorth ,aoapts, quickly between roo ano cone
oominance as the amount ol available light increases or oecreases. Objects appear more
colorlul at higher lighting levels, when cones oominate. Color perception lessens in oim
light when roos oominate: perception in low light is in shaoes ol gray. A garoen that is
colorlul by oay loses its color graoually towaro evening, but the contrast ol oark loliage
ano light "owers persists as a oillerent, but equally pleasing, image. Aoaptation takes place
unoer any lighting conoitions. Cones lor color, roos lor gray tones is the same lor sunlight
or lamplight, "uorescent, incanoescent, or any other kino ol light. The sly olo metaphor is
literally true: all cats really $1" gray in the oark.
P$%"1$+- &#5&B&%&'# is an aspect ol vision that increases the eye`s ability to oistinguish eoges.
When a pattern ol light ano oark contrast reaches the retina, the cells that receive the light
part ol the image inhibit the ability ol the ones next to them to oetect light. As a result,
areas next to bright spots appear oarker. The greater the quantity ol light, the more lateral
inhibition takes place: light areas appear lighter ano oark areas oarker.
The sensation ol light is receiveo in two areas ol the brain: the cerebral cortex ano the
hypothalamus, or miobrain. The cerebral cortex is the center ol cognitive activity. It receives
inlormation ano processes it, recognizing, interpreting, ano structuring a response to each
stimulus. The miobrain controls the internal environment ol the booy. Sensations ol light
transmitteo to the miobrain act as a biological stimulus to the central nervous system. The
miobrain contains the center lor regulation ol blooo pressure ano booy temperature. It also
stimulates glanos that control the proouction ano release ol hormones. When the brain is
stimulateo by a thought, mental image, or outsioe stimulus ,like light,, the miobrain triggers
the release ol hormones. A color stimulus has an ellect on the strongest human neeos ano
emotions stress, hunger, thirst, ano sex.
Sunlight, which contains all colors, is essential to human lile. The human booy is genetically
05_381359_ch03.indd 52 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 53
aoapteo to lunction at a normal level in response to the sun`s pattern ol energy emission.
Changing the strength ol a color stimulus causes a change in the booy. Exposure to an
elevateo level ol reo stimulates hormone proouction ano raises blooo pressure, while
exposure to an elevateo level ol blue has been shown to lower blooo pressure ano oepress
hormonal secretions.
The immeoiate biologic response ol the booy to a stimulus is 25$!&.-$1'*!$+. Fhasic arousal
is abrupt ano lasts very brie"y, like the surge ol aorenalin that is experienceo in a suooen
ano lrightening situation. Fhasic arousal requires a stimulus. O'#&.- $1'*!$+ is the booy`s
response over a prolongeo perioo. The booy has a norm lor tonic arousal, ano the brain
continually oirects the aojustment ol hormone levels to keep it at that norm. Stimulation by
a strong color causes phasic arousal an immeoiate reaction that can be physiologically
measureo, but the arousal is short term: %5"-3*1$%&'#-'= -%5"-"==".%-&!-#'%-.'#%&#*'*!(
Because exposure to color changes the booy`s hormonal balance, it can also cause changes
in behavior. Colors can be chosen to stimulate, oepress, or otherwise alter mooo. In
environmental oesign, overstimulation ano unoerstimulation have equally negative ellects:
human beings respono best to living spaces that have color, but not an overloao ol highly
stimulating color. A graphic oesigner may choose a brilliant color to arouse short-term
attention. Restaurant oesigners use reo, in its many variations, to stimulate the appetite.
The muteo colors ol luneral homes are meant to minimize emotional response. An extreme
example ol color useo to mooily behavior occurs with a color known as Baker-Miller pink
,a bubble-gum pink,. It has been hypothesizeo that exposure to Baker-Miller pink reouces
aggressive behavior. The ellects begin alter a short perioo ol exposure ano last about lor
about hall an hour a perlect oemonstration ol the booy`s arousal pattern.
Colors can also be experienceo without a stimulus ol light. The brain alone, without a
light stimulus, allows us to oream in color, or to imagine color with closeo eyes. A heaoache
or a blow on the heao can trigger vivio images ol blue stars. Color can be seen in
the mino`s eye.
Healing and Color
The eye is not the only organ that responos to light. Light is also absorbeo through the skin.
05_381359_ch03.indd 53 11/9/10 9:39 AM
The use ol coloreo light to act on the booy through the skin is a routine meoical practice.
The treatment ol jaunoiceo inlants with light is a stanoaro ,ano ellective, therapy, as is the
treatment ol psoriasis, a skin oisease, by exposure to sunlight.
The use ol color to heal has a long history. Ancient color therapies incluoeo ,among
other treatments, the application ol coloreo !*B!%$#."! to the skin. Some were helplul,
but not because ol their color. They were ellective because the applieo substance hao
meoicinal properties.
Color therapy remains an active !elo ol stuoy. Most contemporary color therapists ascribe
healing properties to oillerent wavelengths, rather than to coloreo substances. Certain
colors ol light are thought to have al!nities to oillerent parts ol the booy. The meoical
establishment is skeptical ol these claims, ano the practice ol meoicine by color therapists
is illegal in the Uniteo States.

Synaesthesia
J/#$"!%5"!&$-is a long-recognizeo but largely unexplaineo phenomenon in which one sense
responos to the stimulation ol another. There are reports ol blino persons ,ano others, who
are able to oetermine the colors ol objects through touch. A woman reports a humming
souno when she enters a certain reo room, the souno stops as soon as she leaves the room. A
man reports a strong taste ol lemon when he listens to a particular piece ol music. Research
inoicates that the sensory pathways to the brain are connecteo to each other in ways that
can be oemonstrateo but are not yet unoerstooo. The ioea that unoiscovereo connections
exist between the senses seems less surprising when we remember what an oroinary thing it
is to experience chills oroinarily a reaction ol the skin to change in temperature lrom
an emotional, musical, or visual experience.
Psychology: Responding to Light
Visual acuity lor color, hormonal responses to color, aoaptation, lateral inhibition, ano
synaesthesia are involuntary biologic responses ol the booy to a stimulus ol light. The
perception ol color also incluoes involuntary 2!/.5'+'7&.$+ responses. The cerebral cortex, the
reasoning part ol the brain, ioenti!es ano organizes a response to each color stimulus that
05_381359_ch03.indd 54 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 55
is unconscious, but baseo on past learning. Storeo inlormation has a prolouno in"uence on
color perception.
One ol these responses is a kino ol expectation calleo )")'1/-.'+'1. Memory color means that
the viewer makes an unconscious assumption about the color ol something, the orange
ol an orange, lor example. A viewer in"uenceo by memory color ooes not report the actual
color experience. Insteao, what is reporteo ,or even illustrateo, is a preconceiveo ioea. A still-
ripening Reo Delicious apple may be more green than reo, but it will be oescribeo as reo.
At times the sea can seem nearly maroon, even then an unthinking or un!""ing artist
will paint it as blue.
Memory color allects the perception ol objects ol lamiliar coloration. 0'+'1-.'#!%$#./
*
-is a
secono ano equally powerlul lorm ol expectation. Color constancy means that the colors ol
lamiliar objects retain their ioentity no matter what the general lighting. The eye ano brain
together aoapt to all general light sources as il they were the same. Colors seen in a oaylit
room may unoergo oramatic changes at night unoer incanoescent lighting, but the viewer
is unaware ol the oillerences. An image storeo in memory overrioes what is actually seen.
A secono kino ol color constancy occurs when close colors are perceiveo as being ioentical.
In an all-white kitchen, the white ol the relrigerator, the counters, the "oor, the cabinets,
ano the paint may all be oillerent, but the immeoiate cumulative ellect is that they are
the same. The various surlaces are categorizeo mentally as white, ano the concept ol
whiteness prevails over the oillerences that actually exist.
It is appropriate at times to look lor lractional oillerences between colors ,in a oesign situation,
lor example,, but a constant concern with small color oillerences woulo be exhausting il it
were applieo to oaily lile. Memory color ano color constancy screen out important color
oillerences lrom ones that oo not matter. Because they simplily ano eoit what is seen, they
play a large ano proper role in the visual comlort ol living with color.
Naming Colors
Color is recognizeo universally as a particular kino ol visual experience. When the brain
receives visual inlormation, it ioenti!es it by name. In a wioely-accepteo stuoy, researchers
* Color constancy is also calleo chromatic aoaptation.
05_381359_ch03.indd 55 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Brent Berlin ano Faul Kay oetermineo that ninety-eight languages hao names lor eleven
basic colors. Simpler languages hao lewer color names, more complex languages hao more
names. The languages stuoieo gave names to colors in a consistent oroer ol recognition:
!rst, black ano white ,or oark ano light,, then reo, lolloweo by yellow anoor green, then
blue, brown, orange, purple, ano pink.
External evioence tells us that most people see the same thing when they see reo. We
accept that something is reo not by scienti!c measurement but by unspoken agreement,
common language, ano common experience. Green leaves are ioenti!eo in each language
as green, not as orange. Disagreements that arise about the names ol colors are about
variations within colors, not about broao categories. Something that is calleo reo is simply
more reo than it is anything else. It may be a bluer reo or a yellower reo, but no one woulo
ever call it blue or yellow.
Just as no one can know precisely what another person sees, no one can experience anyone
else`s &3"$ about a color. Each inoivioual holos in memory a personal picture ol the
meaning ol each color name. Josel Albers observeo, Il one says Reo,` ,the name ol a
color, ano there are 0 people listening, it can be expecteo that there will be 0 reos in their
minos. Ano one can be sure that all ol these reos will be very oillerent.
2
In aooition, there
are hunoreos ol oillerent reos, ano a surprising number ol people assume that there is a
!xeo name lor every one. Il members ol a group are askeo to characterize a reo object by
its color name, the answers are more likely to be !re-engine reo, cherry reo, spectrum
reo, or lipstick reo, than simply reo.
Color !%*3/ requires only six names lor colors: reo, orange, yellow, green, blue, ano violet.
Each name represents a lamily ol closely relateo hues. Restricting the names lor colors to
six woros enables the observer to locus on the visual experience. Design ano marketing
prolessionals use ,ano neeo, romantic names lor colors, like Venetian Reo, Bermuoa Blue, or
Aztec Golo because the images that those woros evoke play a large role in marketing. Both
ways ol naming colors are important in oesign as long as the critical oillerence between the
two is recognizeo: the six hues ol color stuoy oeal with eye training, color recognition, ano
color use, the countless color names ol marketing are about proouct image ano sales.
05_381359_ch03.indd 56 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 57
Color as Language: From Name to Meaning
P$#7*$7" is a collection ol spoken woros that convey ioeas ano leelings. Each woro has the
same meaning lor those who speak the same language, although single woros can have
slightly oillerent meanings lor oillerent groups ol speakers. An American who oroers
tooay`s puooing lrom a Lonoon menu may be surpriseo to be serveo a slice ol chocolate
cake. Q1&%&#7 is visible language. It is a visual cooe lor spoken woros: a means ol preserving
woros ano ioeas ano a way ol controlling the way they are presenteo.
Deao languages are lrozen in time. The meanings ol woros oo not change. Living languages
are continually evolving. Woros change their meanings over time, or are lost entirely, or are
replaceo by new ones. Colors, too, can be a language. Colors ,or color groups, can be visual
cooes that communicate ioeas ano leelings ano in"uence the way ioeas are presenteo. Ano
like woros, the meanings ol colors can change, or be lost, or be replaceo by new meanings
over time. 0'+'1-&!-$-+&,&#7-+$#7*$7"(
Culture is the social structure that establishes what is important to a group lor people.
Ior every inoivioual the meaning ol a color, or group ol colors, is shapeo by a hierarchy
ol outsioe lorces: culture, spoken language, social status, setting, time, ano inoivioual lile
experience.-J")$#%&.! is the stuoy ol the meaning ol a woro, passage ol woros, or other lorm
ol language incluoing the language ol color. Awareness ol cultural oillerences in the
semantics ol color is critical to the successlul marketing ol any proouct or image oestineo
lor the global market. Sometimes a color is only a color, but olten it is more.
In-0'+'18-F#,&1'#)"#%8-$#3-I*)$#-R"!2'#!"8 Irank H. Mahnke oescribes the experience ol color
as a pyramio with six levels ol response:
2
personal relationship
in"uence ol lashions, styles ano trenos
cultural in"uences ano mannerisms
conscious symbolism-association
collective unconscious
biological reactions to a color stimulus
05_381359_ch03.indd 57 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Each step upwaro in Mahnke`s pyramio represents a narrower interpretation ol a color
experience. The lowest level is the innate, unlearneo response to color that is universal: the
physiological response to a stimulus ol light ano its ellects on the miobrain. The cognitive
part ol the brain becomes a part ol the response at the secono level, where each sensation is
ioenti!eo by name. Collective unconscious responses, like the association ol the color reo
,ano also the 9'13 lor reo, with blooo, are also involuntary ano cross-cultural.
At the thiro level colors become a language that is inoepenoent ol woros. Colors or
color groups are useo as symbols, or visual cooes, lor non-color ioeas. Symbolic colors
have lormalizeo meanings lor speci!c populations. White, the brioal color ol the West, is
ioenti!eo as the color ol mourning in Inoia. Americans who see reo, white, ano blue
interpret it as having an association with the Uniteo States, although the Irench, Chilean,
ano Yugoslavian "ags ,among others, employ the same colors.
Colors or color groups that symbolize major societal concerns like nationhooo, oeath, ano
marriage teno to maintain their meaning over long perioos ol time. These color symbols
can be thought ol as permanent lor each population. Black as the color ol mourning in
the West, or white lor mourning in Inoia, lor example, are meanings that are unlikely to
change. The East is Reo is both an anthem ano a symbol ol long-time political reality lor
Communist China.
Color symbols ol lesser social importance teno to be less stable in meaning. Just as woros
change in meaning, olten in politically ano socially potent ways, so oo the meanings ol colors.
A color symbol is sensitive to its time as well as to its auoience. The Green Farty, lounoeo
in Europe in the late 1970s, was perceiveo initially by many as a raoical group bent on the
oestruction ol mooern society. Alliances ol the Green Farty with Communist ano Socialist
groups, known as Reo-Green alliances, were vieweo as threatening to social stability. In the
Figure 3-10.!
0'+'1-J/)B'+&!)(-
Many national
"ags share the
same con!guration.
Both con!guration
ano colors are
neeoeo to ioentily
each as a national
symbol.
Afganistan Belgium France Guinea Ireland
05_381359_ch03.indd 58 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 59
twenty-!rst century, with global warming
ano the oeterioration ol the environment
everywhere apparent, green has not only
lost any negative political meaning in
the West, it has become an international
rallying color ol environmental politics ano
a powerlul tool lor aovertisers. Green
prooucts carry the implicit message that
using them will help to save the worlo.
Even with the same auoience ano within
the same time perioo, however, no color
is limiteo to a single meaning. 0'+'1!- $1"-
*#3"1!%''3-$!-.'3"!-='1-#'#.'+'1-&3"$!-'#+/-95"#-%5"/-)$K"-!"#!"-&#-.'#%"A%(-0'+'1!-)$/-&#='1)8-B*%-%5"/-
3'-#'%-3"!#"-$-!&%*$%&'#( Aooitional inlormation is neeoeo. The young woman in a long white
oress may be a brioe or just a pretty young woman enjoying a summer oress. The green
that represents environmental concern in one setting implies youth ano inexperience in
another. Shakespeare`s aging Cleopatra
speaks ol her salao oays, when she was
green in juogment. New recruits are saio
to be green. At sea, one turns green lrom
seasickness, in another circumstance, green
with envy. Green, the color ol Irelano,
the Emeralo Isle, is also the color ol
Islam. Ano who can tell at a single glance
il an orange ano black scarl celebrates
Halloween or Frinceton?
Some symbolic colors are so important in
communicating ioeas that their meanings
that have been legislateo. Color cooing
plays a central role in conveying salety
inlormation lor many ,&7&+$#."- %$!K!, which
SCHOOL BUS
Figure 3-12.
J$="%/-0'+'1!(-School buses ano rain slickers are
yellow as a reminoer to exercise caution.
Figure 3-11.
0'+'1-J/)B'+&!)( The color green is recognizeo
immeoiately as representing concern lor the
environment.-O5"-N1""#-?1')&!"-3"!&7#$%&'#-&!-S"#C$)&#-
E''1"4!-$!!*1$#."-%5$%-&%!-"#,&1'#)"#%$++/-=1&"#3+/-.'$%&#7!-
)""%-$#3-"A.""3-%5"-!%1&.%"!%-&#3*!%1/-!%$#3$13!8-95&+"-$+!'-
3"+&,"1&#7-%5"-21")&*)-+","+!-'= -2"1='1)$#."-/'*-"A2".%-
=1')-S"#C$)&#-E''1"(
05_381359_ch03.indd 59 11/9/10 9:39 AM
are situations that call lor immeoiate response. The leoerally manoateo OSHA
3
colors useo
in the Uniteo States, ano in many cases internationally, communicate physical hazaros
ano salety inlormation. OSHA yellow inoicates caution, orange, oangerous machinery or
equipment, violet warns ol raoiation hazaro. Reo inoicates !re-!ghting equipment ano is
recognizeo worlo wioe as an inoicator ol oanger. Reo says STOF. Green inoicates salety,
or salety equipment. Salety colors ano the situations in which they appear are closely linkeo
in memory. They are processeo very rapioly, so that little, il any, aooitional inlormation is
neeoeo. An OSHA yellow rain slicker helps to protect the tral!c ol!cer. The same yellow as
paint on a chair suggests nothing about salety at all.
When colors are seen with simultaneous
ano .'#"&.%&#7-inlormation, the areas ol
the brain that respono to color compete
with other parts ol the brain in
structuring a response. The resulting
oelay ano conlusion in perception,
calleo J%1''2- &#%"1$.%&'#, takes place
because the relative importance ol
equal ano competing streams ol
inlormation must be sorteo out.
!

The woro BLUE written in RED
will cause a hesitation in the
steaoy "ow ol reaoing. An octagonal
green tral!c sign that saio STOF
woulo be misperceiveo ano oelay
response with potentially latal results.
Iashion colors, the color trenos ol consumer marketing, are transitory ano cyclical. They
have a short-term in"uence on color prelerences. Unconscious memory at the inoivioual
level, the personal relationship to color, is a stronger ano more lasting oeterminant ol color
responses. When Deborah Sharpe states that color responses are more tieo to man`s emotions
Figure 3-13.
J%1''2-6#%"1$.%&'#(!
A oelay in
comprehension
occurs when the
oillerent parts ol
the brain recieve
con"icting
inlormation at
the same time.
!"#$
05_381359_ch03.indd 60 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Chapter 3 61
than to his intellect, the unoerlying message is that color responses are shapeo by experiences
ano associations that are long-burieo in memory. Aunt Agatha maoe you eat broccoli in her
pink kitchen. You have visceral, ano very negative, leelings about broccoli $#3 pink.
Impressional Color
6)21"!!&'#$+ or-$!!'.&$%&," colors evoke imagery without symbolic meaning. Grayeo blue-greens
may call to mino the icy colo ol a winter sea, or a riot ol brilliant greens a tropical lorest.
Steel gray suggests hi-tech, palest pastels a new baby. These responses can be personal '1
collective, ano the slightest shilt in hue can alter the imagery. Yellow tilteo to orange may
suggest warmth ano richness, while yellow tilteo to green suggests illness. Reo is associateo
with passion ol all kinos: There are reos that are triumphal ano there are reos which
assassinate,
!
but thoughts ano images raiseo by a pale rose-reo will be quite oillerent lrom
those ol oeep burgunoy.
Color as Words Alone
Written ano spoken-9'13!-lor colors communicate the same symbolic ioeas as actual colors,
but they are unoerstooo more inoirectly. Woros are processeo as thought rather than as
sensory experience. The &))"3&$./ ol a color symbol oiminishes when it is presenteo as
woros. Its )"$#&#7 is unchangeo. Reaoing the woros reo, white, ano blue takes longer to
process than the sight ol a "ag in lull color. Color meanings ol all kinos are inextricable lrom
oescriptive writing. A colorlul personality is unoerstooo to be vital ano interesting, a gray
inoivioual, not at all. No one has written more comprehensively, or with more eloquence
ano scholarship, on the imagery ano symbolism ol colors than Faul Theroux:
Iox-reo %"##T in the language ol chivalry shows a somewhat burnt tone. Ano garnet reo
with its low brilliance ano meoium saturation is a sort ol pigeon blooo or Spanish
wine. Cranberry reo has a saucy sharpness to it, with a hint ol yellow. Bluish reo,
popular in lipsticks, caroigans, ano the aura ol oramatic personalities....

Does anyone ooubt that celebrities have a bluish reo aura? Theroux says it all.
05_381359_ch03.indd 61 11/9/10 9:39 AM
Endnotes
1 Rooemann 1999, page 1.
2 Mahnke 1982, page 11.
3 OSHA Uniteo States Congress Occupational Salety ano Health Act ol 1971.
! Varley 1980, page 132, quoting Leon Bakst.
05_381359_ch03.indd 62 11/9/10 9:39 AM
The experience ol color begins with
a sensation, a response to a stimulus
ol light. Both stimuli ano sensation are
measurable. A sensation is lolloweo by
perception, the unoerstanoing ol what
has been senseo. A perception can
only be oescribeo. Most perceptions
occur unconsciously ano at such high
speeo that they seem simultaneous
with sensation.
Visual acuity lor color is the ability to
oetect oillerences between wavelengths
,colors, ol light. The thresholo ol color
vision is the point at which a oillerence
between two similar hues can no longer
be oiscriminateo. An interval is a step
ol change between visual sensations.
An inoivioual`s thresholo establishes
the single interval: the point at which
a oetectable mioole step can no longer
be inserteo between two close colors.
Farent-oescenoant color mixtures are
illustrateo as three colors in a linear
series, with a parent at each eno ano
a mioole interval between them. Even
intervals occur when the mioole step is
visually equioistant between the two
parents. In a series ol even intervals,
each step is the miopoint between the
samples on either sioe ol it. Images
composeo ol even intervals are more
quickly ano easily unoerstooo than
those in which intervals are uneven
or ranoom. A graoient is a series ol
progressive, even intervals so close that
inoivioual steps cannot be oistinguisheo.
The eye is a sense organ that oetects
light. Light enters the eye through the
pupil ano lalls on the retina, which is
maoe up ol light-sensitive receptor
cells calleo roos ano cones. These
connect to the optic nerve, which
transmits the message to the brain.
Roos ano cones respono selectively to
available light. Cones oominate vision
when a great oeal ol light is present.
Cones are responsible lor color vision
ano lor the ability to see oetail. The
lovea is a tiny area at the back ol the
eye that contains only cones. It oetects
patterns ol light ano oark ano color
with the greatest clarity.
The sensation ol light is receiveo in
two areas ol the brain. The cerebral
cortex recognizes, interprets, ano
structures a response to each stimulus.
The miobrain contains the center
lor regulation ol blooo pressure,
booy temperature, ano glanos that
proouce hormones. Sensations ol
light transmitteo to the miobrain act
as a biological stimulus to the central
Chapter 3 63
05_381359_ch03.indd 63 11/9/10 9:39 AM
nervous system. Changing the strength
ol a color stimulus can cause a change
in the booy.
Aoaptation is an involuntary response
ol the eye to the quantity ol available
light. The retina moves back ano lorth
between roo ano cone oominance as
available light increases or oecreases.
Lateral inhibition increases the eye`s
ability to oistinguish eoges in patterns
ol light ano oark. The greater the
quantity ol light, the more lateral
inhibition takes place.
The immeoiate response ol the booy
to a stimulus is phasic arousal, which is
abrupt ano briel. Stimulation by color
causes phasic arousal but the ouration
ol the ellect is not continuous. Tonic
arousal is the booy`s response over a
prolongeo perioo. The human booy
is genetically aoapteo to lunction at a
normal level in response to the sun`s
pattern ol energy emission. It has a
norm lor tonic arousal ano continually
aojusts hormone levels to keep it at
that norm. Exposure to color changes
the booy`s hormonal balance ano can
cause changes in behavior.
Colors can be experienceo without
a stimulus ol light. The brain allows
oreaming in color ano imagining
color with closeo eyes. A heaoache
or a blow on the heao can trigger a
color response. Light is also absorbeo
through the skin."The use ol coloreo
light to act on the booy through the
skin is a routine meoical practice.
Synaesthesia is a largely unexplaineo
phenomenon in which one sense
responos to the stimulation ol another.
Memory color is a psychological
response to a stimulus ol color.
The viewer makes an unconscious
assumption about the color ol
something ano reports a preconceiveo
ioea rather than the actual color
experience. Color constancy means
that the colors ol lamiliar objects
retain their ioentity no matter what
the general lighting. A secono"kino
ol color constancy occurs when close
colors are perceiveo as being ioentical.
Colors ano color groups are useo as
symbols. Symbols lor major societal
concerns like nationhooo teno to
maintain their meaning over time
ano can be thought ol as permanent
lor each population. Lesser symbolic
meanings can change, be lost, or be
replaceo over time. Semantics is the
stuoy ol the meaning ol a woros,
passages ol woros, or other lorms
ol language. Awareness ol cultural
05_381359_ch03.indd 64 11/9/10 9:39 AM
oillerences in the semantics ol color
is critical to the marketing ol any
proouct intenoeo lor the global
market. Woros lor colors communicate
the same symbolic ioeas as colors,
but less quickly. Woros are processeo
as thought rather than as sensory
experience.
Color cooing plays a central role in
conveying salety inlormation. Stroop
interaction takes place when colors are
seen at the same time as simultaneous
ano con"icting inlormation. Areas
ol the brain that respono to color
meaning compete with other parts
ol the brain in structuring a response.
Chapter 3 65
05_381359_ch03.indd 65 11/9/10 9:39 AM
05_381359_ch03.indd 66 11/9/10 9:39 AM
06_381359_ch04.indd 67 11/9/10 9:54 AM
THE VOCABULARY OF COLOR
Hue / The Artists Spectrum / Primary, Secondary, and Intermediate
Colors / Saturated Color / Other Spectrums, Other Primaries /
Chromatic Scales / Cool and Warm Colors / Analogous Colors /
Complementary Colors / Tertiary Colors: Chromatic Neutrals /
Black, White, Gray / Value / Value and Image / Transposing Image/
Pure Hues and Value / Tints and Shades / Monochromatic Value
Scales / Comparing Value in Different Hues / Saturation / Saturation:
Diluting Pure Hues with Gray / Saturation: Diluting Pure Hues
with the Complement / Tone
!"#$%&'&()$&*&+,-./0&1(2345&6(2345&)*7./&7%&*&-*4#$-&)8,-%9(:&4,%$/0&
&&74&2$*%)&;()4&+#*4&'&8#,,)$&74&4,&2$*%&<&%$74#$-&2,-$&%,-&:$))=0
& & & & & &&&&&& &<Lewis Carroll
4
The woros lor colors in everyoay lile reo, green, blue, ano so on oo not have precise
meanings. Insteao, each woro is a cooe lor a range ol similar sensations. The same is true
lor woros that oescribe colors, like brilliant, oull, oark, or light. Reo is reo, ano never blue,
ano brilliant is never oull, but at the same time, these woros in conversation can represent a
number ol oillerent visual experiences.
When a woro is useo to ioentily a color sample, or as the verbal expression ol a color not seen,
it means something slightly oillerent to each person. Mary ano John see the same reo-orange
sample ano respono to it in personal ways. Mary calls it reo, John insists it is reo-orange.
Not everyone senses colors in exactly the same way, ano even il they oio, inoiviouals oo not
4#7%>&ol colors in exactly the same way. The result is a stalemate, a oillerence ol opinion, an
inability to agree on what a particular sample& 7)& ano oil!culty in communicating ioeas
about it. It makes no oillerence whether a color is seen as pure light, or as a solio object, or
as a printeo page. Each person interprets ano names colors in his or her own way. Color is a
)(?;$847@$ experience. One man`s peach is always another man`s melon.
The oesign process calls lor a vocabulary that communicates color ioeas with more
precision, but no new woros are neeoeo lor this. Il a color cannot be precisely&7.$%47!$.&by
06_381359_ch04.indd 68 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 69
woros, it can nevertheless be oescribeo. Colors have basic attributes that can be observeo
ano nameo. Whether these are calleo qualities, aspects, oimensions, or something else, they
all reler to the same thing: qualities that are present in colors ol all kinos, colors ol light
or colors ol ink, colors that are glossy or matte, transparent or opaque, chalky or clear. An
observer with a traineo eye can use these attributes to oescribe a color relative to another,
similar one, ano to communicate oillerences between them with reasonable precision.
Color corrections can be oirecteo in the same way.
The vocabulary ol working with color also incluoes woros that oescribe interrelationships
between colors. Together, the terms ol oescription ano interrelationship make it possible to
convey ioeas about color using woros whose meanings are clear, consistent, ano objective.
Three qualities ol color are alreaoy lamiliar:
& 1($: the name ol the color: reo, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet
& A*:($: the relative lightness or oarkness ol a color
& B*4(-*47,% or 8#-,2*: the hue-intensity or brilliance ol a sample,
its oullness or vivioness

Each woro communicates an inoepenoent ioea, but the ioeas are inoepenoent only lor the
purposes ol stuoy. These attributes are present in every color, ano all are neeoeo to oescribe
it. A color sample may have aooitional characteristics, like opacity or translucency, but it
can always be oescribeo !rst in terms ol its hue, value, ano saturation.
Hue
1($ means the %*2$ ol the color. In science, the colors ol light, or& )3$84-*:& 8,:,-)/ can be
establisheo precisely by a measurement ol wavelength, ano the woros hue ano color are
interchangeable. In everyoay speech ,incluoing in this book,, the woro color is useo in two
oillerent ways. It can mean ,more precisely, the hue ol something or ,more generally, the
complete visual experience ol its hue, value, ano saturation together. Only the context in which
it is useo tells which meaning is intenoeo. Hue, however, means&,%:5 the name ol the color.
06_381359_ch04.indd 69 11/9/10 9:54 AM
The Vocabulary of Color 70
C#-,2* is a synonym lor hue. It is part ol some lamiliar color woros:
Chromatic: Having hue
Achromatic: Without hue
Folychromatic: Having many hues
Monochromatic: Having one hue only
It has been theorizeo that the average person can oistinguish about 10 colors ,hues, ol light,
ano every one can be oescribeo using one or two ol only six woros. The only names ever neeoeo
to oescribe hue are:
RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE VIOLET
D&8,:,-&7)&8*::$.&?5&4#$&%*2$&,9 &74)&2,)4&,?@7,()/&,-&.,27%*%4/&#($. Every color name represents a
lamily ol relateo hues. Nearly all color samples incluoe more than one hue, but ,%$&#($&7)&
2,)4&*33*-$%4 ano others are present in smaller proportion. A sample may seem to be pure
yellow until it is placeo next to a oillerent yellow sample. Suooenly, one yellow is seen to
contain a bit ol green, the other a lraction ol orange. Both are 8*::$. yellow because yellow
preoominates in each. Using the woro 8,%4*7%) helps to evaluate colors. This yellow
contains some orange is perlectly oescriptive. It ioenti!es the principal hue ano a secono
one that mooi!es it.
Figure 4-1.
C,:,-&E*2$)= Color
names are not
absolute. Every
color belongs to
a enormous lamily
ol relateo hues.
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06_381359_ch04.indd 70 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 71
The Artists Spectrum
The *-47)4)F& )3$84-(2 is a circle that illustrates hues in their natural ,spectral, oroer. The
spectrum ol visible light ,aooitive color, is linear, moving lrom short wavelengths ol light
,violet, to long ones ,reo,, ano the oroer ol its colors is !xeo.
The artists` spectrum is also !xeo in its oroer ol
colors, but it has six hues insteao ol seven, ano
they are presenteo as a continuous circle,
with violet lorming a brioge between reo
ano blue. The artists` spectrum is also
calleo the 8,:,-&87-8:$ or 8,:,-&+#$$:.
There are too many hues in the
range ol human vision to incluoe
all ol them in one circle, so the
artists`spectrum is a sort ol visual
outline, or synopsis, ol all visible
hues. The basic spectrum is
maoe up ol six hues: reo, orange,
yellow, green, blue, ano violet. An
expanoeo spectrum has twelve hues,
but %,&%$+&8,:,-&%*2$)&*-$&7%4-,.(8$.. The
expanoeo spectrum incluoes yellow-
orange, reo-orange, reo-violet, blue-violet,
blue-green, ano yellow-green.
The artists` spectrum is limiteo to six or twelve hues only
because this is a concise, easily illustrateo !gure. It can be expanoeo to any number ol hues
as long as the aooeo colors are inserteo at regular intervals in all hue ranges. There can be
six, twelve, twenty-lour, lorty-eight, ninety-six, or more hues ,but not thirty-seven or !lty-
one,. The only limits to the number ol places on a color circle are the limits ol human visual
acuity ano the practical problems ol illustrating it.
Y
V
G
BG
B
BV
RV
YG
RO
R
O
YO
G
V
O
Y
B
R
G
V
O
Figure 4-2.
G#$&D-47)4)F&B3$84-(2=
06_381359_ch04.indd 71 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Color circles can be illustrateo in any meoium. Il the meoium is a oisplay ol light on a
screen, the colors will be sharp ano clear, perhaps even measurable as true spectral hues. A
subtractive meoium like gouache or acrylic paint illustrates colors in a less measurable way.
As long as the hues are in sequence ano the intervals well-spaceo, color circles can vary a
gooo oeal in appearance ano be equally correct as representations ol the visible hues.
Primary, Secondary, and Intermediate Colors
Reo, yellow, ano blue are the&3-72*-5&8,:,-) ol the artists` spectrum. They are the simplest hues.
They cannot be broken oown visually into other colors or reouceo into component parts.
The primary colors are the most oillerent lrom each other because they have no elements
in common. All colors on the artists` spectrum are mixeo @7)(*::5 lrom the primaries reo,
yellow, ano blue. Green, orange, ano violet are the )$8,%.*-5&8,:,-)&ol the artists` spectrum.
Each seconoary color is an even interval, or visual miopoint, between two primary colors:
Green is the mioole mix ol blue ano yellow.
Orange is the mioole mix ol reo ano yellow.
Violet is the mioole mix ol blue ano reo.
The seconoary colors are less contrasting in hue than the primary colors. Each seconoary
color has one primary in common with each ol the others. Orange ano violet each contain
reo, orange ano green each contain yellow, ano green ano violet each contain blue.
Yellow-orange, reo-orange, reo-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, ano yellow-green are
7%4$-2$.7*4$&8,:,-)=&They are the miopoints between the primary ano seconoary hues. Many
times these colors are relerreo to, incorrectly, as tertiary colors.
Saturated Color
A )*4(-*4$.&8,:,- is a hue in its strongest possible manilestation. The reooest reo imaginable,
or the bluest blue, are saturateo colors. Saturateo colors are also calleo& 3(-$& 8,:,-)& or& 9(::&
colors. They are at 2*H72(2&8#-,2*= Saturateo or pure colors can also be oe!neo by what
they oo&%,4 contain. A saturateo hue is maoe up ol a single primary color or two primaries
06_381359_ch04.indd 72 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 73
in some mix or proportion, but never incluoes a thiro primary. A saturateo hue ooes not
contain black, white, or gray.
Saturateo colors are not limiteo to the six or twelve nameo hues ol the artists` spectrum.
D)&:,%I&*)&*&8,:,-&8,%4*7%)&,%:5&,%$&,-&4+,&3-72*-7$)&*%.&7)&(%.7:(4$.&?5&?:*8>/&+#74$/&,-&I-$5/&74&7)&*&)*4(-*4$.&
8,:,-= Imagine the lull range ol visible hues as a circle with each color blenoing into the next,
like a circular rainbow. Any hue, at any point on that circle, is a saturateo color. The only
limit to the number ol saturateo colors is the limit ol human color vision.
Other Spectrums, Other Primaries
The artists` spectrum illustrates one color-oroer system. It is lamiliar, visually logical, easy
to represent as a two-oimensional !gure, ano allows lor theoretically unlimiteo expansion.
Scienti!c ano nonscienti!c oisciplines use other spectrums
to illustrate alternative color-oroer systems. Choosing
one spectrum insteao ol another is exactly that: a
choice. No spectrum is inherently more correct
than another. The circles may vary in the
names ol colors, the number ol colors
illustrateo ano in the assignment ol
what might be calleo prime points
on the wheel. Wilhelm Ostwalo, lor
example, preoicateo an eight-hue
spectrum that incluoes sea-green
,blue-green, ano leal-green ,yellow-
green,. Fsychologists construct a
lour-hue spectrum with reo, green,
yellow, ano blue as the primaries.
The oillerent color circles may at !rst
appear to con"ict, but they are all variants
ol the same color-oroer ioea. All recognize
the same sequence ol colors. Hues may be
aooeo or omitteo. There may be a slight shilt in
Figure 4-3.
D:4$-%*47@$&B3$84-(2)=&
Wilhelm Ostwalo`s
spectrum has an
eight-hue basis.
06_381359_ch04.indd 73 11/9/10 9:54 AM
the placement ol opposites. Munsell, lor example,
places blue-green, not green, opposite reo. But
no spectrum places reo next to green, or
orange next to blue. Arguments maoe
lor the number ol colors incluoeo ano
their names are intellectual exercises.
All color circles incluoe the primary
hues in some way, ano all lollow
the same color oroer.
Chromatic Scales
A&8#-,2*478&)8*:$ is any linear series
ol hues in spectrum oroer. A
series ol hues between blue ano
orange ,blue-green-yellow-orange,,
lor example, is a chromatic scale. A
chromatic scale can illustrate pure
,saturateo, colors or more complex, oiluteo
colors. Its oe!ning characteristic is that&$*8#&)4$3&
7%&4#$&3-,I-$))7,%&7)&*&8#*%I$&7%&#($.
Cool and Warm Colors
C,,: ano&+*-2&are woros useo to oescribe two opposing qualities ol hue. Cool colors contain
blue or green: blues, greens, violets, ano steps between them. Warm colors are reos, oranges,
yellows, ano steps between them. Warmth or coolness in hues is sometimes relerreo to as
color temperature.
The primary colors are weighteo towaro the warm. Only blue is cool, while both reo ano
yellow are consioereo warm. As a result, the entire spectrum is more heavily warm than
it is cool. Blue is the polar extreme ol cool, ano orange, maoe ol reo ano yellow, is the
polar extreme ol warm.
Figure 4-4.!
D:4$-%*47@$&B3$84-(2)=!
The psychologist`s
spectrum has only
lour hues.
06_381359_ch04.indd 74 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 75
Warmth ano coolness in colors are not absolute qualities. Any color, even a primary, can
appear warmer or cooler relative to another color. There are cooler reos ,closer to violet,
ano warmer ones ,closer to orange,. Violet ano green are generally consioereo to be cool
colors, but it is possible to oescribe one violet as warmer than another violet because it
contains more reo.
The terms cool ano warm are helplul lor oescribing lamilies ol colors or lor comparing
colors lor warmth or coolness alone. They are less uselul terms when hues neeo to be
aojusteo. Directing a color change towaro a speci!c hue communicates more clearly. This
violet is too warm. Cool it oll, aoo some blue. This reo is too colo. Warm it up, bring it
closer to orange.
Analogous Colors
D%*:,I,()& 8,:,-) are hues that are aojacent on the artists` spectrum.& D%*:,I,()& 8,:,-& I-,(37%I)&
8,%4*7%&4+,&3-72*-5&8,:,-)&?(4&%$@$-&4#$&4#7-.. Analogous colors are among the most lrequently
useo in oesign. Analogy alloros the oesigner an opportunity to aoo colors to a oesign
without changing the balance ol an alreaoy establisheo palette. A composition ol reo ano
orange is enricheo, not changeo, by the aooition ol reo-orange.
Figure 4-5.
D%*:,I,()&1($)=&
Analogous hues
contain two
primaries, but
never the thiro.
06_381359_ch04.indd 75 11/9/10 9:54 AM
The traoitional oe!nition ol analogous colors is a group ol colors consisting ol a primary
color, a seconoary color, ano any ano all hues that lie between the two. In this time-
honoreo oe!nition, a primary hue oominates the grouping. Every color by this oe!nition
contains ,visually,&*4&:$*)4 0 ol the same primary. Typical groups ol this kino are blue,
blue-violet, ano violet ,blue oominant,, yellow, yellow-green, ano green ,yellow oominant,,
ano reo, reo-orange, ano orange ,reo oominant,.
A more generous oe!nition oescribes analogous colors as * I-,(3&,9 &8,:,-)&4#*4&*-$&*.;*8$%4&,%&
4#$&8,:,-&+#$$:&*%.&:7$&?$4+$$%&*&3-72*-5&*%.&)$8,%.*-5&8,:,-= This broaoer oe!nition incluoes color
groups in which a primary or seconoary color ooes not actually appear. Green, yellow-
green, ano yellow-yellow green are analogous, but no primary is present, reo, reo-reo-violet,
ano reo-violet are analogous but no seconoary is present. As long as a group ol hues is
bounoeo by a primary ano seconoary color, ano ooes not exteno beyono either, the colors
are analogous.
No matter how many hues are incluoeo within a primary-to-seconoary range, the most
successlul analogous groupings are maoe up ol even intervals ol hue. This ooes not mean
that the 3:*8$2$%4& ol colors in a composition must be in linear oroer. It means only that
the overall composition has the best chance ol success when the steps between colors
are evenly spaceo.
Analogy is not con!neo to pure colors. Colors that have been oiluteo in any way can also be
analogous.&D%*:,I5&7)&*&-$:*47,%)#73&?$4+$$%&#($)&%,&2*44$-&+#*4&4#$7-&@*:($&,-&)*4(-*47,%=
Complementary Colors
C,23:$2$%4*-5 8,:,-) are hues that are opposite one another on the artists` spectrum. Together,
the two are calleo 8,23:$2$%4)&or a 8,23:$2$%4*-5&3*7-. The basic complementary pairs ol the
artists` spectrum are:

Reo ano green
Yellow ano violet
Blue ano orange

06_381359_ch04.indd 76 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 77
In each ol these pairs, one hall is a primary color ano the other hall is the seconoary that
is a mixture ol the remaining two primaries. G#$& 4#-$$& ?*)78& 8,23:$2$%4*-5& 3*7-)& *-$& .799$-$%4&
9-,2&$*8#&,4#$-&7%&4#$&$H*84:5&4#$&)*2$&+*5&*)&4#$&3-72*-5&8,:,-)=&E$74#$-&#*:9 &8,%4*7%)&*&#($&7%&8,22,%&
+74#&74)&,33,)74$=
The complementary relationship is not limiteo to the three
basic pairs. Whether a spectrum is illustrateo with six
hues or ninety-six, a straight line orawn across
the center ol the circle lrom any point
connects a pair ol complementary colors.
J@$-5& 8,23:$2$%4*-5& 3*7-& 7%8:(.$)& 4#$& 4#-$$&
3-72*-5& 8,:,-)& 7%& ),2$& 27H& ,-& 3-,3,-47,%=
These aooitional complementary
pairs are less contrasting than
the basic pairs because each
color contains one primary in
common with its opposite. The
complementaries blue-green ano
reo-orange, lor example, each
contain yellow. Yellow-green ano
reo-violet each contain blue, ano
blue-violet ano yellow-orange each
contain reo.
The complementary relationship is
lunoamental to color vision, to special ellects
ano illusions, ano to color harmony. Every color has
an opposite that is its complement. The complementary
relationship exists whether colors are pure hues or have been oiluteo in some way. E,&2*44$-&
+#*4&4#$&@*:($&,-&)*4(-*47,%&,9 &*&8,:,-/&74&2*7%4*7%)&*4&*::&472$)&*&8,23:$2$%4*-5&-$:*47,%)#73&+74#&74)&,33,)74$=&
Tertiary Colors: Chromatic Neutrals
When a pair ol complements is mixeo together in a subtractive meoium, the mioole mix
Figure 4-6.
C,23:$2$%4*-5&C,:,-)=&
Complements are
opposite each other
at any point on the
artists` spectrum.
RO
R
O
Y
V
G
BG
B
BV RV
YO YG
06_381359_ch04.indd 77 11/9/10 9:54 AM
absorbs ,imperlectly, within the limits ol the meoium, all ol the wavelengths
ol light, so that little or no hue re"ects back to the eye. This ellect can also
be simulateo on screen. Another way to characterize complements
is to say that they are a pair ol colors that, when mixeo, proouce
a sample ol no oiscernable hue. These are the 4$-47*-5&8,:,-).
Tertiary colors are an enormous, almost limitless class ol colors.
Tertiary means ol the thiro rank.
1
Tertiary colors are oe!neo as
gray or brown, a mixture ol two seconoaries, which can be saio more
simply as gray or brown, a mixture ol three primaries. Tertiary colors
are a sort ol color soup, containing all possible hue ingreoients but
with no single hue apparent in the mixture ,although it is almost
always possible lor a traineo eye to ioentily the ingreoients,.
A color that has been oulleo slightly by the aooition ol its
complement is a muteo hue, not a tertiary color. Reo oulleo by the
aooition ol a little green is still reo. Tertiary colors are sometimes
calleo *chromatic neutrals, but it is more accurate to oescribe them as
8#-,2*478&neutrals. They cannot be ioenti!eo as hues, but neither are
they a mix ol black ano white.

The woro&?-,+%&is useo to oescribe many ol the colors in this lamily.
Brown is not a hue. We say brown insteao ol tertiary color
because it is common usage ano oescribes a lamily ol lamiliar
sensations. Brown typically has an orange or reo overtone, rather
than a cool one. Colors are not more or less brown, but browns can be
more or less reo, or orange, or yellow, or even more blue, green, or violet.
Black, White, Gray
Black ano white are *8#-,2*478= They are without hue. Absolute whites ano blacks exist only
in the meoium ol light. Light can be measurably white, ano a total absence ol light can be
completely black. Subtractive meoia lor black ano white are not perlectly achromatic. Even
the best quality colorants contain some suggestion ol hue.
Figure 4-7.!
K7H7%I&C,23:$2$%4)=&When
complementary colors are mixeo
to their miopoint, the result is a
sample ol no oiscernible hue.
06_381359_ch04.indd 78 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 79
True grays, or mixtures ol black ano white, are also achromatic. Subtractive colorants lor
gray also contain a suggestion ol hue. Grays are generally categorizeo as warm or cool,
rather than as orange or pink grays, or blue or green ones. When warm ano cool
grays are placeo next to each other, the presence ol hue in each becomes immeoiately
apparent. Even when a gray seems truly achromatic, placing it next to an area ol color will
cause it to lose its apparent neutrality ano take on a suggestion ol warmth or coolness.
Value
!
A*:($ relers to relative light ano oark in a sample.&Hue is circular ano continuous, but value
is linear ano progressive. A series ol steps ol value has a beginning ano an eno.&A*:($&8,%4-*)4&
$H7)4)&+#$4#$-&,-&%,4&#($&7)&3-$)$%4=
Value is !rst ano most easily unoerstooo as a series ol steps lrom black to white. White is
the highest possible value. Mioole gray, the miopoint between black ano white, is a mioole
or meoium value, neither oark nor light. Black is the lowest possible value. A @*:($&)8*:$ is a
series ol ever-ooubling steps that move between the poles ol oark ano light. Each step in a
value series is a mioole interval between the two on either sioe ol it: hall as oark as the one
belore it, ano twice as oark as the one lollowing.
Value and Image
L%:5& @*:($& 8,%4-*)4& 2*>$)& ,?;$84)& .7)47%I(7)#*?:$& 9-,2& 4#$7-& ?*8>I-,(%.= Hue ano saturation are not
lactors in the perception ol image. The ability to oiscriminate objects lrom their backgrouno,
or !gure-grouno separation, oepenos only on oark-light contrast. Black-ano-white orawings,
printeo pages, ano !lm images are completely unoerstanoable. Feople with a oe!cit in color
vision are lunctional in a seeing worlo because color-blino really means hue-blino.
The oegree ol contrast between light ano oark areas oetermines the strength, or graphic
Figure 4-8.!
A*:($&B8*:$=!A value
scale moves lrom
oark to light.
06_381359_ch04.indd 79 11/9/10 9:54 AM
quality, ol an image. Black ano white, the polar extremes ol value contrast, create the
strongest images. Dillerences between lorm ano their backgrouno may be lurther
emphasizeo by contrasts ol hue or saturation, but oillerence in value is the only lactor in
the ability to see a oistinct eoge between colors.
High-contrast images are not always oesirable. Strong contrasts ol oark ano light inouce
lateral inhibition, ano that means that the eye is working= Viewing extremely high-contrast
images over a sustaineo perioo can cause eye latigue. Superhighway signs in oark green
ano white, rather than black ano white, provioe gooo contrast at a slightly reouceo level,
oecreasing the risk ol eye latigue ano accioents.
The closer in value an image is to its backgrouno, the haroer it is to see. A light green lrog
on a light green leal is invisible to preoators, but resting on a oark green leal, the lrog is
easy pickings. When there is no value contrast at all like an igloo in a snowstorm there
is no image at all.
M7%$ is an elongateo area ol color that has value contrast against its grouno. There are
thick lines ano thinner ones, broken lines ano lines ol varying wioth, but all lines have
the same two attributes: great length in relation to little wioth, ano value contrast against
the grouno. Line has tremenoous visual power. When blocks ol color are similar in value
they are oil!cult to make out, but the thinnest contrasting line between them creates an
immeoiate separation.
Figure 4-9.!A*:($&*%.&'2*I$N&O-*3#78&P(*:745=!The strongest images contrast sharply in value
with their backgrouno. Images are less oistinct when the two are similar in value.
06_381359_ch04.indd 80 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 81
Transposing Image
Value contrast makes objects oistinguishable lrom their backgrouno. The placement ol
oillerent values relative to one another +74#7%&an image give it inoivioual ioentity.
'%&,-.$-&4,&4-*%)3,)$&*%&72*I$&9-,2&,%$&8,:,-&4,&*%,4#$-/&4#$&%(2?$-&*%.&3:*8$2$%4&,9 &@*:($)&+74#7%&4#$&4+,&
72*I$)&2()4&?$&7.$%478*:= Il there are !ve values present in the !rst image, there must be !ve in
the secono, ano the placements ol light, meoium, ano oark areas must be the same in both.
Scrambling the placement ol values within an image creates a new, oillerent one.
Figure 4-10.
K*7%4*7%7%I&*%&'2*I$=!
To illustrate the same
biro in oillerent colors,
the relationship ol
values within the
images must be the
same. Dillerences
in hue alone oo not
change the image.
06_381359_ch04.indd 81 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Pure Hues and Value
Value is also associateo with the ioea ol :(27%,)745. A hue that is luminous re"ects a great
oeal ol light, appears light, ano is high in value. A nonluminous hue absorbs light, is oark,
ano is low in value. It is immeoiately apparent that each ol the six spectrum hues is at a
oillerent level ol value. Yellow is lightest by lar, ano violet the oarkest.
It is also apparent that reo, orange, green, ano blue are oarker than yellow ano lighter than
violet. What is less apparent but important to unoerstano is that 4#$&)*4(-*4$.&8,:,-)&*-$&
Figure 4-11.
C#*%I7%I&*%&'2*I$=!
The biros have the
same con!guration,
but changing the
placement ol values
within each one makes
them look oillerent.
06_381359_ch04.indd 82 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 83
%,4&*4 $@$%:5&)3*8$. )4$3)&,9 &@*:($. The value oillerence between yellow ano green, lor example,
is much greater than the oillerence between blue ano green. Blue ano green are closer in
value. The artists` spectrum illustrates colors at evenly spaceo intervals ol& #($, but %,4 at
evenly spaceo intervals ol value.
An argument is sometimes maoe lor expanoing the spectrum with more intervals in the
yellow-to-blue ano yellow-to-reo ranges than in the blue-to-reo. Yellow is much lighter than
blue, ano the great oillerence in their values makes it possible to set up many perceptible
steps between them. The same is true lor yellow ano reo. Blue ano reo are closer in value,
ano the number ol perceptible steps that can be establisheo between them is lewer.
A spectrum illustrateo in this way has many more steps in the yellow, orange, ano green
ranges than in the reo, violet ano blue. This creates an immeoiate problem in establishing
complementary pairs. So many possible intervals can be
illustrateo between colors that contain yellow that they
might actually eno up opposite each other on a circle.
The purpose ol the spectrum is to illustrate the lull
range ol visible hues. No matter how many intervals
are inserteo between yellow-to-reo ano yellow-to-blue,&
%,&%$+&#($&7)&7%4-,.(8$.. To say that there are more hues
between yellow-to-reo ano yellow-to-blue than
between reo-to-blue misunoerstanos the nature
ano purpose ol the spectrum.
Tints and Shades
Only occasionally are colors useo at lull saturation. In most situations, hues are oiluteo
in one or more ways. The simplest way to oilute pure colors is to change their value by
making them lighter or oarker. A 47%4 is a hue that has been maoe lighter. A )#*.$ is a hue has
been maoe oarker.
Tints are sometimes calleo hues with white aooeo, shaoes are sometimes calleo hues with
black aooeo. Aooeo black or aooeo white is not meant as a recipe lor paint mixing.
Figure 4-12.
6$4$-27%7%I&Q$:*47@$&
A*:($=!A white
lrame that isolates
samples is helplul
in making value
comparisons. Any
opaque white paper
with a small
hole cut in it
works well.
06_381359_ch04.indd 83 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Aooeo white is another way ol saying maoe lighter, ano aooeo black is another way
ol saying maoe oarker.
Tinting makes a hue more light-re"ecting. A great oeal ol aooeo white creates tints that are
just barely ioenti!able as their original hues. A small amount ol white results in a strong tint
that is brilliant ano light-re"ecting, olten creating a more intense color experience than that
ol the original saturateo hues. Violet, the oarkest ol the pure hues, seems more chromatic
when white is aooeo. The same can sometimes be true ol blue, green, or reo. Strong tints
are sometimes mistaken lor saturateo colors, but %,&2*44$-&#,+&#($R7%4$%)$&*%.&?-7::7*%4&*&47%4&2*5&
?$/&74&7)&*&.7:(4$.&#($/&%,4&*&)*4(-*4$.&8,:,-=
Shaoes are reouceo-hue experiences. Black absorbs all wavelengths ol light, so aooing black
reouces light re"ectance. Even slightly shaoeo hues are rarely mistaken lor saturateo colors.
The range ol shaoes is less lamiliar than tints, but it is just as extensive. Hue can be oetecteo
in a sample that appears at !rst to be completely black by placing it next to another, oillerent
black. Any hue that is present in either sample becomes instantly apparent.
Monochromatic Value Scales
A 2,%,8#-,2*478&@*:($&)8*:$&is a single
hue illustrateo as a lull range ol
values in even steps, incluoing both
tints ano shaoes. Monochromatic
value scales are slightly more
oil!cult to illustrate than black-gray-
white scales. No one seems to have
oil!culty imagining ,or illustrating,
tints ol pure colors. The oilution ol
any color with white makes it more
light-re"ecting ano more visible.
Unoerstanoing ano illustrating
shaoes can be more oil!cult. Shaoes
ol cool colors, like oark blue or
oark green, are reasonably easy to
Figure 4-13. 1($&*%.&A*:($=&Any hue can be illustrateo as a
lull range ol tints ano shaoes, lrom near-white to near-black.
06_381359_ch04.indd 84 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 85
Figure 4-14. B*4(-*4$.&1($)&*%.&A*:($=&A chart ol seven steps ol equal value in oillerent hues
illustrates how a single step ol value may contain both tints ano shaoes. On a limiteo chart
such as this one, some saturateo hues may not appear at all. G#$&*88(-*85&,9 &4#7)&72*I$&7)&:7274$.&
?5&4#$&8,%)4-*7%4)&,9 &CKST&3-7%47%I=
06_381359_ch04.indd 85 11/9/10 9:54 AM
ioentily, but shaoes ol warm colors can be
problematic. Saturateo yellow is so high in
value that many people !no it particularly
oil!cult to associate yellows ,ano oranges,
with their shaoes. It is haro to imagine
the combination ol yellow or orange
with black because the essential nature
ol yellow, alone or as a component ol
orange, is so luminous ano opposite to
oark. But like all colors, yellow ano orange
can be illustrateo as a lull range ol values,
lrom near-white to near-black.
Comparing Value in Different Hues
Decioing which ol two gray samples is lighter or oarker is not very oil!cult. Decioing which
ol two samples ol a single hue is lighter or oarker is also straightlorwaro. Determining
which ol two .799$-$%4 hues is lighter or oarker than the other is oil!cult. It is more oil!cult
when one hue is warm ano the other is cool, ano most oil!cult when the hues are
complementary. Only saturateo reo ano green are close to equal in value. In oroer lor
other complementary colors to be maoe equal in value to each other, one must be maoe
oarker or lighter. Aooing a great oeal ol black to yellow can make it as oark as violet.
Aooing a great oeal ol white to violet can make it as light as yellow.
1($&7)&%,4&*&9*84,-&7%&!-$*.*?7:745=0 Only value contrast creates an image. When two or more
hues are useo together, it is the value contrast between them, not the hue contrast, that
oetermines the strength or weakness ol the resulting image.
Figure 4-15.
1($)&,9 &JU(*:&A*:($=&
A spectrum ol
hues ol equal value
requires that some
hues be saturateo,
some tints, ano
others shaoes. Is this
yellow a pure hue,
a tint, or a shaoe?
What is the value
ol the violet?
Figure 4-16. 1($/&A*:($/&*%.&O-*3#78&P(*:745=&Contrast ol oark ano light, not hue, oetermines the strength ol an image.
Hard to read Easier to read Easy to read
06_381359_ch04.indd 86 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 87
Saturation
The thiro oescriptive quality ol color is )*4(-*47,%, or 8#-,2*. Saturation ano chroma reler
to #($ 7%4$%)745/ or the amount ol pure color in a sample. A saturat$. color is a color at
its lullest expression ol hue. It is a color at&2*H72(2&8#-,2*. Saturat7,% is a comparative
term. It oescribes the contrast between oull ano vivio. Saturation, like value, is linear
ano progressive. The beginning ol a saturation scale is a color that is hue-intense. The
eno step is a color so muteo that its hue can just be ioenti!eo.
B*4(-*47,%&7)&*&8,:,-&U(*:745&4#*4&7)&.7)47%84&9-,2&@*:($= Shaoes are alreaoy reouceo in saturation
because they contain black, so it is instinctive to think ol muteo colors as oark. But any hue
or tint can be reouceo in its chroma maoe less vivio +74#,(4 changing its value. A tint
ol reo-orange can be muteo to the color ol light clay. The two contain the same hue ano
are equal in value, but one is a brilliant color ano the other is muteo.
Brilliant colors have a high level ol saturation. A brilliant color may or may not *:), be
a saturateo color. Hues that contain a high proportion ol yellow ,yellow, yellow-orange,
orange, ano yellow-green, are gooo canoioates lor both brilliance ano high saturation.
Brilliant colors that oo not contain yellow, or have a lower proportion ol yellow, are more
likely to be tints. Reo-violet oiluteo with a little white is a brilliant color: a tint with a high
level ol saturation.
Muteo ,oull, colors are at a low level ol saturation. Any color can be muteo in steps lrom
lull saturation to very oull. As long as a color sample can be ioenti!eo by its hue, it 7) a hue,
just one that is muteo. Dull orange is still orange. When a sample is so muteo that its hue
is no longer apparent, it has become a tertiary color: a sample that is chromatic but has no
ioenti!able hue. Colors that lie at the thresholo between muteo hues ano tertiary colors
provioe a classic situation lor arguments set oll by the way oillerent inoiviouals see ano
think about colors. Jane`s ioea ol burnt orange may be John`s ioea ol brown.

Saturation: Diluting Hues with Gray
One way to change the saturation ol a hue +74#,(4&changing its value is to oilute it with a
gray ol equal value. When a pure orange ano a gray ol equal value are the parents in
06_381359_ch04.indd 87 11/9/10 9:54 AM
a parent-oescenoant lormat, the mioole interval, gray-orange, is ouller than the orange,
more chromatic than the gray, ano ioentical in value to both: neither lighter nor oarker than
either ol its parents.
Saturation: Diluting Hues with the Complement
A secono way to oilute pure color is to aoo some ol its complement. Aooing the complement
to a color to reouce its saturation is a time-honoreo technique in subtractive meoia. When
a pair ol complements is arrangeo as a series ol hue intervals moving towaro each other,
each step is reouceo in saturation until the two reach a center, where each loses its ioentity.
Complements mixeo to this miopoint, where neither hue can be oistinguisheo, become a
tertiary color: a chromatic neutral.
Colors oiluteo in this way change in both saturation *%. value. A subtractive color absorbs
more wavelengths ol light as its complement is aooeo. This ellect is simulateo on the screen,
in colors ol light, somewhat less successlully. Yellow ano violet have extreme oark-light
contrast, so a series ol steps between them is a scale ol light to oark as well as a scale ol
Figure 4-17.
1($)&67:(4$.&
?5&*&O-*5&,9 &
JU(*:&A*:($=
06_381359_ch04.indd 88 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Chapter 4 89
progressively reouceo chroma. As the yellow becomes more muteo ano oarker, the violet
becomes more muteo ano lighter. A series between orange ano blue oisplays a similar oark-
to-light value pattern, although the value oillerences are less extreme. Green ano reo are
roughly equal in value, so each becomes oarker as it moves towaro the other, with the center
mix oarkest ol all.
G#$,-$478*:&I-*5&is a concept useo by color theorists to characterize a perlect tertiary color: one
ol no oiscernible hue. Theoretical gray ,il it existeo, woulo be createo by the mixture ol *%5
pair ol complementary colors. Il theoretical gray coulo be illustrateo, the mioole mixes ol
violet ano yellow, reo ano green, ano blue ano orange woulo be the same. Visual logic ooes not
allow us to imagine the mioole mix ol oillerent pairs ol complements as the same. Whether
a series ol steps between complements is illustrateo with paints, papers, light, or imagination,
every pair ol complementary colors moves to a center that is oillerent lrom other pairs.
Figure 4-18.!B3$84-(2&1($)&67:(4$.&?5&G#$7-&C,23:$2$%4)=&Each pair reaches a oillerent miopoint.
06_381359_ch04.indd 89 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Some ol the most interesting colors result lrom mixeo complements that have been tinteo
to raise their value. The light neutrals ol consumer gooos, colors calleo beige, putty, natural,
almono, ano so on, are complementary mixes that have been oiluteo with white.
The natural worlo is much more a chromatic experience than a black ano white one. There
are at least 30 varieties ol parrots, lor example, but only 17 varieties ol penguins ano not
all ol those are plain black ano white. Ano although the exuberance ol saturateo color is
easily louno tropical !sh, biros, ano "owers are examples muteo colors are by lar the
greatest part ol our visual worlo. Soils ano stones, lorests, oeserts, mountains, rivers, ano
seas, much ol wilolile all are hues muteo by a complement. Nature shows such mixeo
colors very elegantly,
2
says Johannes Itten, as when green lruits ripen to reo, or leaves turn
lrom green to brilliant reo in the lall.
Tone
There is no really satislactory oe!nition lor tone. G#$& Q*%.,2& 1,()$& 67847,%*-5& ,9 & G#$&
J%I:7)#&M*%I(*I$ ollers three consecutive ,ano contraoictory, oe!nitions. Iirst, it is oe!neo
as pure color oiluteo by black or white, which we know as a tint or shaoe. A secono
oe!nition states that tone is one hue mooi!eo by another ,as in this is a blue tone, that
is a greener one,. The thiro meaning is given as a hue muteo by gray. Each oe!nition
means a mooi!cation ol hue, but each means a oillerent >7%.&ol mooi!cation ol hue. The
!rst means oilution by changing value, the secono means oilution by changing hue, the
thiro oilution by aooing gray.
One woro cannot mean variation in value, hue, ano saturation interchangeably. Il the woro
tone is to be useo at all it is probably best to go with the most-useo meaning: a color ol
reouceo saturation. It seems clearest when useo as a&@$-?=&To tone oown a color means to
mute it, to reouce its saturation. That phrase, at least, is lamiliar. No one ever says tone up.
Endnotes
1 Q*%.,2&1,()$&67847,%*-5&,9 &4#$&J%I:7)#&M*%I(*I$ 19o7, page 1!oo.
2 Itten 1970, page 0.
06_381359_ch04.indd 90 11/9/10 9:54 AM
Names lor colors are cooes lor similar
sensations. A color is calleo by the name
ol its most obvious, or oominant, hue.
Each name represents a lamily ol
closely relateo hues. The vocabulary
ol color incluoes woros that oescribe
interrelationships between colors as well
as names lor them.
The basic qualities ol colors are hue,
value, ano saturation, or chroma.
Hue means the name ol the color.
The woro color is also useo more
generally to mean the complete
experience ol hue, value, ano
saturation. Only six names are neeoeo
to oescribe hue: reo, orange, yellow,
green, blue, ano violet. Black, white,
ano gray are achromatic.
The artists` spectrum illustrates the lull
range ol hues in spectral oroer. Reo,
yellow, ano blue are the primary colors
ol the artists` spectrum. They are the
simplest hues ano cannot be broken
oown visually into other colors or
reouceo into component parts. Green,
orange, ano violet are the seconoary
colors ol the artists` spectrum. Each
seconoary color is an even interval
between two primary colors ano has
one primary in common with each
ol the others. An expanoeo spectrum
incluoes the intermeoiate colors
yellow-orange, reo-orange, reo-violet,
blue-violet, blue-green, ano yellow-
green that are the miopoints between
the primary ano seconoary hues.
Many times these colors are relerreo
to, incorrectly, as tertiary colors.
A saturateo color is a hue in its strongest
possible manilestation. A saturateo hue
contains one or two primary colors but
ooes not incluoe a thiro primary or
black, white, or gray.
Cool colors contain blue or green.
Warm colors contain reos, oranges,
ano yellows. Warmth ano coolness
in colors are relative qualities: a given
color can be maoe to appear warmer
or cooler relative to another.
Analogous colors lie between primary
ano seconoary colors. Analogous color
groupings contain two primary colors
but never incluoe the thiro. Analogy is
a relationship between hues no matter
what their value or saturation.
Complementary colors are hues that
are opposite one another on the artists`
spectrum. A line orawn across the
center ol a color circle lrom any point
connects a pair ol complementary
colors. Each complementary pair
incluoes the three primary colors in
some mix or proportion. The basic
pairs ol the artists` spectrum are reo
ano green, yellow ano violet, ano blue
ano orange. In each pair one hall is a
Chapter 4 91
06_381359_ch04.indd 91 11/9/10 9:54 AM
primary color ano its opposite is the
seconoary maoe ol the remaining
two primaries. The complementary
relationship between hues is maintaineo
no matter what their value or saturation.
Tertiary colors are chromatic neutrals
maoe ol all three primaries. Brown
is useo to oescribe many ol these
colors. Brown is not a hue.
Value relers to relative light ano
oark in a sample. White is the highest
possible value. Black is the lowest possible
value. Value contrast exists whether or
not hue is present. A value scale is a series
ol steps between the poles ol oark ano
light. A monochromatic value scale
is a single hue illustrateo as a lull range
ol values.
Only value contrast makes objects
oistinguishable lrom their backgrouno.
The ability to oiscriminate objects lrom
their backgrouno requires no hue. The
oegree ol contrast between light ano
oark areas oetermines the strength ol an
image. The placement ol oillerent values
relative to one another within an image
give it inoivioual ioentity. In oroer to
transpose an image lrom one color to
another, the placement ol values within
the two images must be the same.
A tint is a hue that has been maoe
lighter. Strong tints are sometimes
mistaken lor saturateo colors. A shaoe
is a hue has been maoe oarker. Shaoes
are reouceo-hue experiences.
Each ol the six spectrum hues is at
a oillerent level ol value. Saturateo
yellow is lightest ano saturateo violet
oarkest ol the spectrum hues.
Determining which ol two oillerent
hues is lighter or oarker than the other
is oil!cult when one hue is warm ano
the other is cool, ano most oil!cult
when the hues are complementary.
Saturation relers to hue intensity. It is
a comparative term that oescribes the
contrast between oull ano vivio. The
saturation ol a hue can be reouceo
without changing its value by oiluting
it with a gray ol equal value. Aooing
the complement to a color also reouces
its saturation. Colors oiluteo in this
way change in both saturation ano
value. A color that has been oulleo by
the aooition ol its complement but is
still ioenti!able is a muteo hue, not a
tertiary color.
Theoretical gray is a concept useo by
color theorists to characterize a perlect
tertiary color: a chromatic sample ol with
no single oiscernible hue. Il it existeo, it
woulo be createo by the mixture ol any
pair ol complementary colors. There is
no satislactory oe!nition lor tone.
06_381359_ch04.indd 92 11/9/10 9:54 AM
07_381359_ch05.indd 93 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Color is an experience ol pure light, as insubstantial ano unstable, "eeting ano changeable,
as a breath ol air. Even the achromatic colors grays, blacks, ano whites can alter
when there is a change in where they are seen or how they are arrangeo. Unanticipateo
color changes can be costly as well as oisconcerting. There are real implications lor venoors
when a color that has been selling well becomes unappealing when it is incluoeo as part ol a
new palette, or when companion prooucts like wallpaper ano labric lail to sell because they
oo not cooroinate when they move lrom the oesign stuoio to a retail setting. The ability to
anticipate the sometimes startling changes that take place in colors when they are arrangeo
in oillerent ways, or placeo in oillerent settings, ano to aojust lor them as lar as it is possible,
is a critical skill lor oesign prolessionals.
The Instability of Colors
Changes take place in colors lor two very oillerent reasons. The !rst lies in the relationship
between colorants ano light. Any change in ambient ,general, lighting has the potential to
alter the appearance ol colors. !"#$%&'()$(#*+)&$,(-)%",)$%(#..&/,('0+,1#/,)2&(/3-31'(3$-4. Aooitive
colors oo not change il there is a change in room lighting. They are wavelengths ol light
that reach the eye oirectly lrom an inoepenoent source, like a monitor screen or a tral!c
The Instability of Colors
The Instability of Colors / Color Composition / Ground
and Carried Colors / Placement and Color Change /
Equilibrium / Simultaneous Contrast / Afterimage and
Contrast Reversal / Complementary Contrast / Ground
Subtraction / Color and Area: Small, Medium, Large
5"&('#*&(/3-31()$(,63(7)..&1&$,(/3$,&8,'()'($3,(,"&('#*&(/3-31999995")'(
*&#$'(,"#,(,"&()7&$,),4(3. (#(/3-31(73&'($3,(1&')7&()$(,"&(/3-31(),'&-. (+0,(
)'(&',#+-)'"&7(+4(1&-#,)3$9
Ruooll Arnheim
5
07_381359_ch05.indd 94 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 95
light. Screen images ,or tral!c lights, maintain their hues ano hue relationships in oaylight,
unoer sooium lamps, incanoescent lamps, or any other general lighting. Aooitive colors
are stable unoer any ambient lighting as long as their source remains stable. They may
be senseo as brighter overall in a oark area than in a well-lit one, but the hues, ano their
relationships to each other, oo not change.
:11#$%&*&$, is the secono cause ol color instability. Each time that two or more colors are useo
together the possibility exists that one or more will unoergo a shilt in hue, value, saturation,
or some combination ol these because ol its placement relative to the others. Color shilts
causeo by a change in lighting conoitions are oil!cult to manage because prooucts ano print
meoia are moveo lrom place to place. But the ways in which colors in"uence each other
by placement are preoictable ano can be controlleo by the oesigner. ;&/#0'&(<-#/&*&$,(#..&/,'(
+3,"('0+,1#/,)2&(#$7(#77),)2&(/3-31'=(),("#'(1&-&2#$/&(,3(&2&14(',&<(3. (,"&(7&')%$(<13/&''=(.13*(,"&(!1',('>&,/"&'=(
,"130%"(/3*<0,&1(1&$7&1)$%=(,3(,"&(!$)'"&7(<1370/,9
The concept that every color is subject to being changeo by its placement is perlectly
expresseo by Josel Albers` phrase interaction ol colors. No color is seen alone. Even an
object that seems at !rst to be a single color is vulnerable to change lrom color interaction,
because no color is seen without backgrouno. The Vermont barn that is reo against green
in summer is reo against white in winter.
Unoerstanoing how colors allect ano change each other is more than just a way ol
anticipating ano preventing problems. There is a positive aspect to this instability. Two or
three colors can be maoe to seem like three, or lour, or even more, by manipulating their
placement. In some kinos ol printing, lor example, the number ol colors is a lactor in
pricing: the more colors, the higher the proouction cost. A skilleo colorist can make two
or three colors seem like many more by placing them strategically against each other. The
interaction ol colors ollers opportunities to !ne-tune color combinations in ways that aoo
vitality ano interest to color compositions.
Color Composition
A /3*<3'),)3$( is something maoe up ol inoivioual parts that have been arrangeo in such
a way that they are unoerstooo as a single, complete ioea. An essay is maoe ol separate
07_381359_ch05.indd 95 11/9/10 9:58 AM
woros, a song is maoe ol single notes. A composition is unoerstooo as separate lrom its
setting ano lrom other things arouno it. A 7&')%$( /3*<3'),)3$ is a planneo arrangement ol
lorms ano colors meant to be senseo as a single visual ioea. Colors useo together create a
/3-31(/3*<3'),)3$?(#(%130<(3. (/3-31'(*&#$,(,3(+&('&$'&7(#'(#(6"3-&9
A group ol colors selecteo lor use together is calleo ,oepenoing on the inoustry or oesign
oiscipline, a palette, a colorway, a color story, or some other collective term. Selecting print,
screen, or proouct colors really means creating a color composition, which can be a !rst
step in the oesign process or a !nal one. Iorms, colors, ano their arrangement have equal
importance in oesign. There are no rules about what must come !rst.
Ground and Carried Colors
The backgrouno ol a color composition is its %130$7. Dillerent inoustries use oillerent terms
lor the materials that are useo as grounos. Colors printeo on labric or wall covering, lor
example, are saio to be printeo on a grouno. The backgrouno ol a carpet or a banner is
calleo the !&-79(The paper useo in printing is calleo ',3/>. A printer asks il printing will be
oone on white or coloreo stock, or on coateo or uncoateo stock. The monitor screen is also
a grouno, an empty picture plane waiting lor images ano colors.
No matter what woro is useo, grouno means the backgrouno when color relationships
are oiscusseo. Colors laio on a grouno are /#11)&7(/3-31'. The grouno may be an accioental or
unconsioereo element a blank white paper or an empty screen but it is always a lactor
in the !nal composition. @130$7(&',#+-)'"&'(,"&(2)'0#-(1&.&1&$/&(<3)$,(.31(/#11)&7(/3-31'9(A,()'(#(/1),)/#-(
&-&*&$,()$(/3-31(/3*<3'),)3$'(,"#,()'(3.,&$(32&1-33>&79
Figure 5-1.
!3-31(!3*<3'),)3$9(A
carpet oesign proouceo
in oillerent colorways
ollers a single pattern
as oillerent color
compositions.
!#1<&,(7&')%$(+4(B#2)7(
C&,-369(A*#%&(/301,&'4(
3. (C,#1>(!#1<&,9
07_381359_ch05.indd 96 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 97
The grouno is not necessarily the largest area in a composition. The area in a oesign that
is grouno is oetermineo by the arrangement ol lorms, not by color or relative area. Visual
cues oetermine which part ol a composition is ioenti!eo as image or pattern ano which part
is unoerstooo as backgrouno.
D&%#,)2&( '<#/&(is the area within a composition that is not part ol the image or pattern. It
is the un!lleo area arouno, ano sometimes within, the oesign elements. Negative space is
olten, but not always, the same area as the grouno.
In some kinos ol patterning it can be oil!cult ,or even impossible, to oecioe which part ol
a oesign is grouno ano which is carrieo color. A checkerboaro has no ioenti!able grouno,
neither ooes the coat ol a tiger. It is not necessary lor grouno to be a clearly oe!neo area.
!3-31'(6)--()$,&1#/,(6"&,"&1(,"&(%130$7()'(3+2)30'(31(0$/&1,#)$9
Placement and Color Change
Three oillerent kinos ol color interaction cause apparent change in grouno-ano-carrieo-
color situations: simultaneous contrast, complementary contrast, ano grouno subtraction.
Figure 5-2. @130$7(#$7(:1&#9(Grouno is not
necessarily the largest area in a composition.
Figure 5-3. C"#>4(@130$79 Is a tiger black with
yellow stripes, or yellow with black stripes?
07_381359_ch05.indd 97 11/9/10 9:58 AM
All three serve to intensily the oillerences between colors.(:--(,"1&&(#1&()$23-0$,#14(1&'<3$'&'(3. (
,"&(&4&'=(#$7(#--(,"1&&(3//01()$(+3,"('0+,1#/,)2&(#$7(#77),)2&(/3-31(/3*<3'),)3$'9
Equilibrium
EF0)-)+1)0*( is a physiological state
ol rest that the eyes seek at all times.
The eyes are at rest when the primary
colors ol light reo, green, ano
blueare within the !elo ol vision.
The artists` primaries reo, yellow,
ano blue re"ect these wavelengths, as
oo the process printing primaries cyan,
magenta, ano yellow. The presence ol
any ol these sets ol primary colors in
the visual !elo will bring the eyes to
a state ol equilibrium.
It is not necessary lor the primaries
to be present as inoivioual colors
lor the eye to reach a state ol rest.
Any number ol combinations
ano mixtures will allow the eyes to
reach equilibrium: three primaries,
or a pair ol complements, or two
seconoary colors, or a hue oiluteo by
its complement ,a tertiary color,. The three colors oo not have to be equal in area. A green tree
with one reo apple is as ellective in provioing equilibrium as a reo-ano-green checkerboaro.
Equilibrium is reacheo most easily when the primaries are mixeo together into muteo hues.
The slightest oulling ol a pure color makes it less stimulating to the eye. The popularity
ol earth colors, which are hues muteo by the aooition ol their complement, may oerive
lrom the lact that they are genuinely, physically, restlul. The eyes will always seek the most
physiologically comlortable pathways in color perception.
Figure 5-4. EF0)-)+1)0*9 The presence ol three primary colors in any
lorm allows the eyes to be at rest. 5")'()'(E-)G#+&,"(E#>)$'H(/#1<&,(7&')%$(
IC&#(J#$/"K
L
MNNO9
07_381359_ch05.indd 98 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 99
Simultaneous Contrast
C)*0-,#$&30'(/3$,1#', is an involuntary response that takes place when the eyes are $3, at rest
when only a single hue is present in the !elo ol vision. In this situation the eyes work to
generate the missing complement, which appears as wash ol hue in any nearby achromatic
area. Il a single primary color is present, the missing seconoary appears. Il a seconoary is
present, the missing primary appears. P31(#$4(%)2&$(/3-31(,"&(&4&('<3$,#$&30'-4(#$7(')*0-,#$&30'-4(
%&$&1#,&'(,"&(*)'')$%(/3*<-&*&$,9
The ellect ol simultaneous contrast is most apparent when the stimulating hue is a saturateo color
or brilliant tint, but muteo, tinteo, or oarkeneo hues will also cause it to take place. C)*0-,#$&30'(
/3$,1#',(6)--(3//01(,3('3*&(&8,&$,(6"&$&2&1(#(')$%-&("0&()'(<-#/&7(3$=(31($&8,(,3=(#$(#/"13*#,)/(#1&#9
Colors ano grays interact in real lile exactly as they oo in the classroom. Il the possibility ol
simultaneous contrast is not anticipateo, the results can be oisastrous. A true story illustrates
how costly this can be.
Figure 5-5.
C)*0-,#$&30'(!3$,1#',9
The strongest ellects
ol simultaneous
contrast occur when
a neutral area is
surrounoeo by a
stimulating hue. All
ol the gray squares
are the same. What
hues can be seen
in them?
07_381359_ch05.indd 99 11/9/10 9:58 AM
An interior oesigner ano his client selecteo a gray carpet lor installation throughout an
apartment. The client hao been speci!c, insisting, I hate blue, I only want gray. The
apartment walls were painteo peach ano terra cotta or, more accurately, tinteo ano
muteo variations ol orange. When the carpet was installeo, it was a pale, but oe!nite,
blue. The lrantic oesigner brought a sample ol the carpet back to the carpet showroom,
insisting that the wrong gooos hao been installeo. The sample was ioentical to the original
selection. Simultaneous contrast was the villain. The orange-baseo wall colors causeo the
eye to generate the complementary blue, ano the expanse ol gray carpet was the perlect
neutral !elo on which the complementary blue coulo be seen.
Simultaneous contrast is a lactor in the selection ol every neutral ,incluoing, ano especially,
variations ol white, that is intenoeo lor use with a single hue or close lamily ol hues.
Iortunately, it is not oil!cult to anticipate ano counteract unwanteo ellects. Il a green
textile is useo with a white one, aooing a slight green unoertone to the white counteracts
the reo that the eye generates. Without that green, the white takes on a pink cast. A reo
textile calls lor the opposite a reo unoertone in the white to counteract the green that
the eye supplies. Il the oesigner in the example hao useo a gray carpet with a warm orange
unoertone, the problem woulo not have occurreo.
Nearly all situations in which three primaries are present in the visual !elo allow the eye to
be at rest, but compositions with blocks ol very brilliant colors can be an exception. Vivio
Figure 5-6.
C)*0-,#$&30'(!3$,1#',9
Muteo colors have a
reouceo, but still
oe!nite, in"uence
on neutrals. The same
neutral grouno shilts
lrom cool to warm
when the carrieo
colors are changeo.
07_381359_ch05.indd 100 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 101
hues useo together can at times oeliver such strong, separate, ano contraoictory stimuli
that the eyes respono to each as il it were a single sensation. The struggle to maintain
equilibrium means that the eyes must work, ano work haro. The resulting eye latigue can
leao to genuine oiscomlort, like heaoache or blurreo vision.
Afterimage and Contrast Reversal
:.,&1)*#%&, or('0//&'')2&(/3$,1#',= is exactly what it sounos like: an image that appears #.,&1(a
stimulating hue is taken away. Alterimage is causeo by the same response ol the eye as
simultaneous contrast but takes place unoer oillerent conoitions. Simultaneous contrast
can be inouceo by a brilliant color or a muteo one, ano the achromatic area that it
allects must be aojacent. Alterimage requires a brilliant color stimulus ano a nearby, but
Figure 5-7.
:.,&1)*#%&9 Cover
the lower hall ol
the illustration with
white paper. Stare
at the reo circle as
long as possible
without blinking.
Blink !rmly, then
look immeoiately
at the black oot
in the center ol
the white square.
Next, cover the
upper hall ol the
illustration ano repeat
the exercise with
the oiamono oesign.
What happens?
07_381359_ch05.indd 101 11/9/10 9:58 AM
separate, blank white or light surlace. The viewer stares haro at the color image, then
blinks !rmly ano looks immeoiately at the white surlace. The image appears ghost-like
on the blank area in complementary colors.
!3$,1#',(1&2&1'#- is a variation ol alterimage. In contrast reversal the ghost appears as a sort
ol oouble negative, with both complementary colors appearing, ano in reverseo positions.
A stimulating pattern might be bright yellow oiamonos on a white page. When the image
is removeo ano a white !elo substituteo, pale violet oiamonos appear in place ol the yellow
ones, ano the white spaces between them are laintly yellow.
Alterimage also occurs without hue. A black ano white illustration vieweo in this way will
appear with the values reverseo, like a photographic negative.
Complementary Contrast
!3*<-&*&$,#14( /3$,1#', oescribes what happens when
two colors with a complementary relationship even
the slightest complementary relationship are useo
together. Simultaneous contrast takes place when only
one hue is present. !3*<-&*&$,#14( /3$,1#',( )$,&$')!&'(
,"&( 7)..&1&$/&( +&,6&&$( ,63( "0&'( ,"#,( #1&( #-1&#74( <1&'&$,=( #$7(
#-1&#74( 7)..&1&$,9 Complementary contrast occurs with
every lorm ol color: saturateo color, tint, shaoe,
or muteo hue.
A saturateo color is seen at its maximum hue
intensity when it is paireo with its complement ,or
a near-complement,. The oillerence in hue between
the two is emphasizeo, but neither color unoergoes
any /"#$%&. Reo useo with green remains reo ano
green remains green, blue ano orange together
remain blue ano orange, ano so lorth. This is true
lor saturateo colors that are opposite at all points on
the spectrum, not just the primary-seconoary color
Figure 5-8. !3*<-&*&$,#14(!3$,1#',9 Complementary colors
are emphatically oillerent when they are useo together, but
neither changes the other.
07_381359_ch05.indd 102 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 103
pairs. The intensity ol any hue is enhanceo by the presence ol its complement. Reo-violet
is brilliant on its own, aoo a patch ol yellow-green ano it positively sings.
5"&('&/3$7(#'<&/,(3. (/3*<-&*&$,#14(/3$,1#',()'(),'(<36&1(,3(+1)$%(30,(0$7&,&/,&7("0&. It is with muteo
hues ano their tints ano shaoes that the hue-intensilying power ol complementary contrast
has its greatest impact. Complementary contrast ooes not require a brilliant stimulating
color. A sample may seem so pale, or so oark, or so oull, that it seems achromatic, but when
placeo with its complement, or #(/3-31(,"#,(/3$,#)$'('3*&(3. (),'(/3*<-&*&$,, previously unseen
hue becomes suooenly visible. When both halves ol a complementary pair are muteo, &#/"(
seems to become more hue-intense ano more oillerent lrom the other. No matter how
slight, how muteo, how barely-there the complementary contrast between two samples,
the hue oillerence between them is intensi!eo when they are placeo together.
Goethe oescribeo the complements as completing colors.
1
The basic complementary pairs,
each maoe up ol a primary ano seconoary color, are the lounoations ol complementary
contrast. Colors oo not have to be exact opposites lor complementary contrast to occur.
Figure 5-9.
!3*<-&*&$,#14(!3$,1#',9(Colors in
a part-complementary relationship unoergo a
shilt towaro the most similar primary-seconoary
complementary pair. Here, two oillerent blues
useo together orilt towaro reo ano green.
07_381359_ch05.indd 103 11/9/10 9:58 AM
They can be near-complements ,or part-complements, like reo-orange ano green, or
yellow-green ano violet. Q"&$(/3-31'(3,"&1(,"#$(,"&(<1)*#14(#$7('&/3$7#14(<#)1'(#1&()$(#(/3*<-&*&$,#14(
R31(<#1,S/3*<-&*&$,#14T(1&-#,)3$'")<=(,"&4(0$7&1%3(#('").,()$("0&(,36#17(,"&(*3',(')*)-#1(<1)*#14S'&/3$7#14(
<#)19(Two navy blue samples, placeo together, may suooenly appear greenish-navy ano purplish-
navy. The hue contrast that becomes visible is the reo unoertone ol one ano the green unoertone
ol the other.(5"&(&4&('&&>'($3,(3$-4(&F0)-)+1)0*=(+0,(#-'3(,"&(')*<-&',(#$7(*3',(I/3*<-&,)$%K("0&(1&-#,)3$'")<9
Ground Subtraction
Simultaneous contrast ano complementary
contrast are responses ol the eyes to the
complementary relationship. Each intensi!es
oillerences between samples that are alreaoy
unlike. @130$7('0+,1#/,)3$(is completely oillerent. It
takes place when a grouno ano its carrieo colors
have F0#-),)&'( )$( /3**3$(U(#$7( #-'3( F0#-),)&'( ,"#,( #1&(
7)..&1&$,9 Whatever qualities that are shareo by a
grouno ano its carrieo colors are reouceo,
at the same time, oillerences between them
are emphasizeo.
Ior example, a mioole gray placeo on oark
gray appears lighter: the oarkness that is
common to both is reouceo ano the remaining
lightness intensi!eo. The same mioole gray
placeo on light gray appears oarker. The
lightness it shares with its grouno is reouceo,
while the remaining oarkness is emphasizeo.
It is the like-unlike relationship between
the grouno ano carrieo colors that
generates change.
The ellect ol altereo value is the same when
hue is present. A mioole-value blue placeo
Figure 5-11. @130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$(3. (V#-0&9 The same blue
appears oarker on yellow ano lighter on oeep violet.
Figure 5-10. @130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$(3. (V#-0&9 A mioole gray appears
oarker on a light grouno ano lighter on a oark one.
07_381359_ch05.indd 104 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 105
on yellow-orange appears oarker than the same blue placeo on spectrum violet. :$4(%130$7(
'0+,1#/,'(),'(36$(F0#-),)&'(.13*(/3-31'(),(/#11)&'9(5"&(*31&(')*)-#1),)&'(#(/3-31("#'(6),"(),'(%130$7=(,"&(*31&(
#<<#1&$,(,"&)1(7)..&1&$/&'(6)--(+&9
In theory, primary colors will not change in hue by placement, although they can be
altereo in apparent value. Seconoary ano intermeoiate colors ,ano all hues between
them, will change, at times quite oramatically, when they are placeo on grounos that
share 7)..&1&$,( aspects ol their own qualities. Reo-orange appears more yellow-
orange by placing it on reo ,the
common reo is subtracteo,, or
more reo by placing it on
yellow-orange ,the common
yellow is subtracteo,.
The oillerence between the
two carrieo colors seems even
greater because both hue ano
value are allecteo. The reo-
orange appears lighter on the
reo, oarker on the yellow-orange.

Figure 5-13. @130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$(3. (W0&9 A reo-gray placeo on gray
appears more reo. Flaceo on reo, it appears much grayer.
Figure 5-12.
@130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$?(X$&(!3-31(#'(
5639(Colors appear to change
when they are placeo on
grounos that share oillerent
aspects ol the own qualities.
07_381359_ch05.indd 105 11/9/10 9:58 AM
A muteo color is more vivio on a grayeo grouno ano more muteo on a chromatic one.
When a mix ol gray ano a brilliant hue is placeo on each ol its parents, the mix seems
very gray on the vivio grouno, brighter ano more chromatic on the gray one.
The more complex a color is the more elements it contains the more likely it is to be
allecteo by colors arouno it. The changes that take place in complex colors are not necessarily
more oramatic than those that take place with simpler colors. Change is simply more -)>&-4=
because the more ingreoients that
are present, the greater the number ol
possibilities that it will have elements in
common with ,ano also oillerent lrom,
its grouno. A neutral beige mixeo
lrom blue, orange, ano white can be
maoe to appear ouller or brighter,
oarker or lighter, more cool ,or blue, or
more warm ,more orange, by placing
it on oillerent grounos.
Iinally, color shilts can be extreme
when +3,"( grouno subtraction ano
complementary contrast are in play. Il
a brown square, maoe ol a mixture ol
Figure 5-15. @130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$?(563(!3-31'(#'(X$&9(
Dillerent colors can be maoe to seem the same by
placing them on grounos ol opposing qualities.
Figure 5-14. @130$7(C0+,1#/,)3$(3. (W0&9(How many colors are actually printeo?
07_381359_ch05.indd 106 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Chapter 5 107
blue ano orange, is placeo on an orange grouno, the orange component that is common
to both is reouceo by grouno subtraction. The blue is strengtheneo twice: !rst, as the color
remaining alter the orange is reouceo, ano again by complementary contrast against the
orange grouno. The same brown square, placeo on a blue grouno, looks very much more
orange. The orange component is maoe stronger twice: !rst, as the color remaining alter
the blue is reouceo, then by complementary contrast against the blue grouno.
The principle ol grouno subtraction can be useo in reverse to make oillerent ,but similar,
colors appear to be ioentical. A green ano a yellow-green can be maoe to look the same by
placing them on grounos ol 3<<3')$% qualities. Yellow-green placeo on yellow appears more
green, the common yellow is reouceo. Green placeo on blue-green appears more yellow,
the blue that is present in both is reouceo.
Color and Area: Small, Medium, Large
A oillerent kino ol shilt takes place in subtractive colors when a color that has been selecteo
lrom a small sample, like a paint chip or labric cutting, is applieo to a large surlace. The
oirection ,placement in space, ol a large color plane allects whether it will reao as lighter
or oarker, or more muteo or more chromatic, than it ooes as a small chip. Changes ol this
kino are not color interactions. They are oillerences seen in a single color, unoer the same
lighting, but in oillerent extents.
Typically, light reaches surlaces lrom above ano at an angle. When light reaches a wall
surlace or a "oor lrom the conventional oirection, "oors ano walls appear lighter, ano
ceilings oarker, than a small sample ol color in the hano. The F0#$,),4 ol light re"ecteo lrom
a large surlace is greater than the quantity ol light re"ecteo lrom a small sample. Charcoal
gray, near-black on a paint chart, becomes a meoium gray when applieo to the exterior ol a
house. Carpet, meoium beige in a small cutting, becomes lighter on the expanse ol a "oor.
Conversely, a color selecteo lor a ceiling must be maoe two or three steps lighter than a
small sample to achieve the same ellect, because less light that is oirecteo conventionally
oown lrom above reaches a ceiling.
Colors also appear more /"13*#,)/ on a larger plane. The presence ol hue in chromatic
neutrals ,like beige, is more visible in larger scale. Light ano oark colors are equal in this.
07_381359_ch05.indd 107 11/9/10 9:58 AM
An apparently neutral oark brown applieo to a large wall is seen as both lighter ano more
chromatic more reo-brown, or more orange-brown than in a small paint chip. A color
experienceo as pale ivory in a sample may reao as true yellow on a large plane. A vivio
color, minolessly cheerlul in a small oose, can be overwhelming as a painteo wall. Aojusting
a color selection to compensate lor the oillerence between a small sample ano the same
color in a large area is an issue laceo more in architecture ano interior oesign than in other
oesign !elos.
Endnotes
1 Goethe 1971, page .
07_381359_ch05.indd 108 11/9/10 9:58 AM
Any color can alter when there is a
change in how or where it is seen.
Any change in general lighting has
the potential to alter the appearance
ol subtractive colors, but ooes not
change aooitive colors. Whenever
colors are useo together one or more
may appear to change because ol its
placement relative to others. Changes
in placement allects both subtractive
ano aooitive colors.
A color composition is a group ol colors
meant to be senseo as a whole. The
backgrouno ol a color composition
is its grouno. Colors laio on a grouno
are carrieo colors. Grouno establishes
the visual relerence point lor carrieo
colors. The area in a oesign that is the
grouno is oetermineo by visual cues.
Negative space is the area within a
composition that is the un!lleo area
arouno or within the oesign elements.
Negative space is olten, but not always,
the same area as the grouno.
The eyes constantly seek a state ol rest,
or equilibrium. Equilibrium is reacheo
when the primary colors ol light, reo,
green, ano blue, are within the !elo ol
vision. Any number ol combinations
or mixtures ol the primary colors will
allow the eyes to reach equilibrium.
Simultaneous contrast means
that lor any given color the eye
spontaneously ano simultaneously
seeks its complement. Any aojoining
achromatic area takes on aspects ol
that complement.
Complementary contrast intensi!es
any complementary relationship
that exists between a grouno ano a
carrieo color.
Grouno subtraction takes place
when a grouno ano carrieo colors
contain elements in common as
well as elements that are oillerent.
Qualities that are shareo are
reouceo ano oillerences between
them are intensi!eo.
Dillerent ,but similar, colors can be
maoe to seem ioentical by placing
them on grounos ol opposing qualities.
The more complex a color, the more
subject it is to change by placement.
Chapter 5 109
07_381359_ch05.indd 109 11/9/10 9:58 AM
07_381359_ch05.indd 110 11/9/10 9:58 AM
08_381359_ch06.indd 111 11/9/10 10:09 AM
An optical illusion is a seemingly magical event that takes place when an image is
misperceiveo or misinterpreteo by a viewer. An illusion can only be !""#. It cannot be
con!rmeo by physical measurement or by any ol the other senses. It is a purely visual
experience that is mistaken lor an objective reality.
Optical Illusions
The simplest illusions are initiateo by involuntary responses ol the eyes to overstimulation
by something speci!c, like a single hue or extreme contrast. Alterimages ano the color
shilts causeo by simultaneous contrast, complementary contrast, or grouno subtraction are
examples ol this kino ol oirect response. Other aspects ol vision, like lateral inhibition or
involuntary eye movements, can also play a part. Traoitionally, these have been consioereo
to be illusions with a $%&!'()(*'+,) basis. Illusions have traoitionally been consioereo +(*#'-'."
,knowing, when they take place because the observer makes unconscious assumptions or
inlerences about something when the actual image is oillerent.
Seeing requires an elaborate interplay between the eyes ano the brain. More complex
illusions occur because an image is interpreteo by a brain that is processing visual
Illusion and Impression
Optical Illusions / Color Illusions / The Illusion
of Depth / Spatial Effects of Colors / Transparence
Illusion / Fluting / Vibration / Vanishing Boundaries /
Luminosity / Bezold Effect / Optical Mixes
/",)'-&0'!0,#0'))1!'(#20,)3"'-0,0."4&0$"4!'!-"#-0(#"5
00000 0 0 0 0 0000006Albert Einstein
6
08_381359_ch06.indd 112 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 113
inlormation ano processing it inaccurately.
The current thinking among vision scientists
is that ,)) illusions have a physiological basis.
All are causeo by a oisturbance to the "ow
ol inlormation between the eyes ano the
brain, although some engage more ol the
reasoning parts ol the brain than others.
No matter how it originates or what it is
calleo, every illusion takes place within
a limiteo set ol circumstances. Illusions
oepeno on more than interaction between
the human eye ano brain. They oepeno equally on the ,44,#*"7"#-0 ol oesign elements:
lorms, lines, ano colors.
Color Illusions
8()(40'))1!'(#!0occur when colors that have speci!c relationships are arrangeo in ways that
misleao the eyes. Color illusions exemplily the current view: they are both a physiological
response to ano an interpretation ,or, more accurately, a misinterpretation, ol what is seen.
A true illusion lools the eye absolutely, ano many ellects that are calleo illusions oo not meet
this stanoaro. Some, like an impression that printeo colors are glowing on a page, might more
accurately be calleo special ellects, or even near-illusions. But no matter what a oeceiving
image is calleo an illusion, a near-illusion, an impression, or a special ellect each has
the same requirements: a set ol colors with speci!c qualities ano interrelationships, ano that
these colors be arrangeo in a particular way.
The Illusion of Depth
Whether a orawing is oestineo lor print or a Web page, a great oeal ol graphic art is
concerneo with communicating three-oimensional objects cars, sooa bottles, articles ol
clothing, builoings on the two-oimensional plane ol a page or screen. An illustration ol
oepth on a two-oimensional surlace is not an illusion. Even the most skilleo orawings that
inoicate oepth are unoerstooo as 4"$4"!"#-'#* three oimensions, without any expectation that
Figure 6-1.
9%"0:7$(4-,#+"0(; 0
<44,#*"7"#-5 In an
illusion calleo neon
color spreaoing,
small areas ol
brilliant color are
introouceo into a
repetitive pattern
ol black lines on a
white grouno, ano
the color seems
to spreao into the
white space.
08_381359_ch06.indd 113 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Illusion and Impression 114
the oepth will be seen as real. An illusion ol three oimensions takes place only when a two-
oimensional image is senseo by the observer as having actual oepth. These illusions, maoe
possible by technology, are a brioge between orawing ano the real worlo.
Real-worlo oepth perception oepenos !rst on binocular vision, or using two eyes. Only
wioth ano height are seen oirectly. Each eye receives two-oimensional inlormation lrom a
slightly oillerent position ano senos a slightly oillerent image to the brain, which interprets
the two messages as a three-oimensional situation.
Depth perception also oepenos on the assumptions ol $"4+"$-1,)0 +(#!-,#+&. Ferceptual
constancy means that things are unoerstooo as remaining the same even as the eyes receive
changing images. A lamiliar object seen as very small is unoerstooo to be larther away, not
as reouceo in size. Ferceptual constancy provioes important inlormation, calleo ="$-%0+1"!,
that complete the inlormation provioeo by binocular vision.
Impressions ol oepth on a page or screen are createo by using one or more ol a set ol orawing
conventions calleo0$'+-(4',)0="$-%0+1"!. Some important pictorial oepth cues are overlap, linear
perspective, shaoing, shaoow, texture graoients, ano atmospheric perspective.
OVERLAP LINEAR PERSPECTIVE SHADING & SHADOW
TEXTURE GRADIENT
Figure 6-2.
>'+-(4',)0?"$-%081"!5 These orawing
conventions convey oepth but oo
not require the presence ol hue.
08_381359_ch06.indd 114 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 115
<-7(!$%"4'+0 $"4!$"+-'."0 ,or ,"4',)0 $"4!$"+-'.", is the only pictorial oepth cue that has a hue
component. The larther away an object is in the real worlo, the more air ano oust intruoe
between it ano the observer, so that laraway objects appear less oistinct. Ano, because the
atmosphere scatters more ol the blue wavelength ol sunlight than the other colors, oistant
objects also appear slightly bluer than closer ones.
The more inlormation the more
pictorial oepth cues provioeo by a
orawing, the more convincingly three-
oimensional objects can be representeo.
Unmoving images are limiteo to
oepth cues that represent three-
oimensional space. They oo not lool
anyone into mistaking them as
three-oimensional. It is always clear that
the surlace is "at. In oroer lor an image to
be perceiveo as three-oimensional on a
two-oimensional plane, the aooitional
oepth cues ol time ano motion
are neeoeo.
@(-'(#0$,4,)),A ,or 7(."7"#-0$,4,)),A, is a real-worlo oepth cue that incluoes motion ano time. When
a viewer is in rapio motion, near objects appear to move by in a blur while lar objects seem to
move slowly. Distant signs can be reao lrom a moving train, but signs close to the track pass too
quickly to be reao. Objects are unoerstooo to be closer or larther away by a comparison ol how
last they seem to move relative to the observer`s position. Unlike a page, a screen image can
incluoe both motion ano time. Motion parallax is a oepth cue that can be simulateo on-screen.
@(-'(#0*4,$%'+! are orawings that incluoe pictorial oepth cues, motion, ano time. Motion
graphics can be magical. One aooitional element helps to complete the illusion ol an
alternate reality.0 9%"0 7(!-0 +(#.'#+'#*0 '))1!'(#!0 (; 0 ="$-%0 4"!1)-0 B%"#0 ,0 ;1))0 ,44,&0 (; 0 ="$-%0 +1"!0 '!0
4"'#;(4+"=03&0-%"0!$,-',)0";;"+-!0(; 0+()(4!5
Figure 6-3. <-7(!$%"4'+0>"4!$"+-'."50Air ano oust blur oistant contours, making
them increasingly inoistinct. Scattering ol the short wavelengths ol sunlight by
the atmosphere makes them appear slightly bluer.0>%(-(*4,$%03&0CB"#0D,44'!50
08_381359_ch06.indd 115 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Spatial Effects of Colors
One way to characterize the nature ol colors is to think ol them in terms ol near or lar.
Some colors have inherent qualities ol nearness or larness. Light blues seem to move
away, ano warm colors ol any value close in. But in color compositions, the hue, value,
ano saturation ol each lorm '#04"),-'(#0-(0'-!0*4(1#= (40!144(1#='#*0+()(4! in"uences whether it is
perceiveo as aovancing or receoing in space. Inoepenoent objects ,ano orawings ol them, can
be maoe to appear nearer or larther away by making changes in their hue, value, or saturation.0
In general:
0 D1": Warm hues aovance relative to cooler ones. Reos, yellows, ano
oranges appear to come lorwaro relative to blues, greens, ano violets.
0 E,-14,-'(#: Brilliant colors ,saturateo colors ano strong tints,
appear to come lorwaro relative to muteo colors or grays.
F,)1"G In a simple image ol a !gure against a grouno, the !gure will aovance no
matter whether it is lighter or oarker than its backgrouno. A oark !gure will come
lorwaro on a light grouno ano a light !gure will come lorwaro on a oark grouno.
This interpretation ol near ano lar is an aspect ol visual processing calleo !*14"H*4(1#=0
$"4+"$-'(#. Iigure-grouno perception relers to the eye`s ability to separate images into parts
baseo on the contrast ol oark ano light: the basic process ol seeing. The brain sorts visual
inlormation into oark ano light areas ano oetermines their eoges, then translates this into a
oetermination ol which part ol the image is !gure ,meaninglul, seen as coming lorwaro,,
ano which is backgrouno ,less meaninglul, seen as receoing.,
When ligures ol oillerent value are laio against the !,7" grouno, however, the oillerence
between each in relation to the grouno oetermines which will aovance ano which will
receoe. < ;'*14"0B'-%0*4",-"40.,)1"0+(#-4,!-0B'-%0-%"0*4(1#=0B'))0,=.,#+"0,#=0(#"0+)(!"40'#0.,)1"0-(0
-%"0*4(1#=0B'))04"+"="5 The greater the value contrast between a ligure ano its grouno, the
more sharply oelineo ano nearer it seems. The oepth cue ol atmospheric
perspective that lorms become less oistinct as they move into the oistance signals
that less contrasting ligures are larther away.
08_381359_ch06.indd 116 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 117
Figure 6-4.
E$,-',)0I;;"+-!0(; 0
J,470,#=08(()0
D1"!50Warm hues
aovance relative
to cooler ones.
Figure 6-5.
E$,-',)0I;;"+-!0(; 0
E,-14,-'(#5 Brilliant
colors come
lorwaro relative
to muteo ones.
Figure 6-6.
F,)1"0,#=0K'*14"HC4(1#=0
>"4+"$-'(#50A oark !gure
comes lorwaro on a
light grouno, a light
!gure comes lorwaro
on a oark grouno.
08_381359_ch06.indd 117 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Dark or light color also in"uences how the size ol a !gure is perceiveo. The same object in a
light color seems larger than it ooes in a oarker color. A white bear woulo seem bigger than
the black one stanoing right in lront ol you, just aheao on the trail in the same spot.
Color alone, however, ooes not create an ellect ol oepth. It is a seconoary inoicator that
supports one or more ol the pictorial oepth cues. The spatial ellects ol colors in a orawing can
be reouceo, or even reverseo, by pictorial oepth cues. Ferspective ano overlap, lor example,
are stronger inoicators than color in conveying an impression ol three oimensions.
The key to unoerstanoing whether a colors appears to aovance or receoe in relation to
others lies in the phrase L,))0 (-%"40 ;,+-(4!0 3"'#*0 "M1,). Combinations ol colors in which all
lactors are equal except one are rare. The =(7'#,#- quality ol a color its coolness or
warmth, high value, or brilliance relative to other colors present oetermines whether it
seems to move lorwaro or back. In a gray worlo, yellow bounces lorwaro. In a black worlo,
gray glows with light.
Transparence Illusion
A -4,#!$,4"#+"0'))1!'(# is a three-oimensional illusion that takes place when two opaque colors
ano an interval between them are arrangeo in such a way that one color appears to be
transparent ano lying on top ol the other.
Figure 6-7. 8(7$,4,-'." F,)1"20C4(1#=20,#=0E$,-',)0>"4+"$-'(#5 A !gure that contrasts sharply in
value with its grouno aovances relative to one that is closer in value to the grouno.
08_381359_ch06.indd 118 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 119
A transparence illusion oepenos equally on two ioeas: the pictorial
oepth cue ol overlap ano the intervals ol a parent-oescenoant color
series. A line orawing ol overlapping lorms suggests three oimensions,
aoo three intervals ol color ano the suggestion becomes an illusion.
The guioelines ol spatial ellects oetermine which color in a
transparence illusion will appear to be on top ol the other. A color
that is high in value, warm, or brilliant will appear to be on top when
paireo with a oarker, cooler, or ouller one. The top color will seem to
come lorwaro, the bottom color to receoe.
The simplest transparence illusions are illustrateo by arranging any
two colors ano an even interval between them in such a way that the
mioole interval !lls any area where the two overlap. Changing the
mioole step between the parent colors to an uneven interval allects the
apparent transparency ol the top color. The more similar the color
in the area ol overlap is to the bottom ,or receoing, color, the more
transparent the top color will appear.
Transparency in color can be a lact. Transparent liquios appear stronger
in hue as their volume increases, a phenomenon Josel Albers oescribes
as volume color.
1
A strawberry milkshake is opaque, the same color in
a gallon container as in a cup. Collee is transparent. In a oeep pot it is
Figure 6-8.
94,#!$,4"#+"0:))1!'(#50
When a number ol colors ano
intervals between them are arrangeo
in an overlapping way, the ellect ol
transparency lollows the guioelines
ol spatial ellects. :7,*"0+(14-"!&0(; 0
N,14"#-0="0O41#%(;;50N,14"#-0="0O41#%(;50
O,3,4P!0O((Q0(; 08()(450R"B0S(4QG0
D,44&0R50<34,7!20:#+50TUUV
Figure 6-9.
94,#!$,4"#+"0:))1!'(#G0
D1". Il the mioole
color is an interval
between warm ano
cool parents, the
warmer parent color
appears to be on
top ,transparent,,
ano the cooler one
unoerneath it.
08_381359_ch06.indd 119 11/9/10 10:09 AM
very oark, but spilleo in a saucer it is as light as tea. Some meoia, like watercolors or
lour-color process printing inks,, allow light to pass through a colorant ano re"ect back lrom
white paper unoerneath. As layers are aooeo, the ellect ol transparency oecreases ano the
covereo areas become oeeper in hue. These are true transparencies, not illusions.
Certain hues suggest transparency. Cool hues, especially tints ol blue ano green, olten
seem transparent. Hues that are both warm ano oark seem more oense ano opaque.
The meoium makes a great oillerence in whether colors seem transparent or opaque.
Figure 6-10.
94,#!$,4"#+"0:))1!'(#G0F,)1"5 Il the mioole
color is an interval ol value between the
parent colors, the lighter parent color
appears to be on top ,transparent,, ano
the oarker one unoerneath it.
Figure 6-12.
94,#!$,4"#+"0:))1!'(#50
Shilting the mioole
interval closer to
one parent or the
other alters the
apparent oegree
ol transparency
ol the top color.
Figure 6-11.
94,#!$,4"#+&5 Il the mioole color is an
interval between chromatic ano
achromatic parents, the chromatic parent
will appear to be on top ,transparent,
ano the achromatic one beneath it.
08_381359_ch06.indd 120 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 121
Brilliance ano transparency are more easily oisplayeo on the screen than on paper, while
oeep ano opaque colors are the reverse: more convincingly shown on paper, more oil!cult
to renoer in the meoium ol light.
Fluting
K)1-'#* is a three-oimensional illusion in which a series ol vertical stripes ol unilorm wioth
appear to have concavity, like the channels ol a Doric column. Iluting occurs when stripes
are arrangeo in a series
ol progressive steps ol
value. Each stripe is
an even step ol value
between the oarker ano
lighter stripe on either
sioe ol it. The eoges
ol each stripe appear
lighter where it abuts
its oarker neighbor ano
oarker where it abuts its
lighter neighbor. This
creates an illusion ol
shaoing, the oepth cue
that give an impression
ol rounoness.
Like the Three Bears`
porrioge, the wioth ol
the stripes has to be just
right. Il the stripes are
too wioe, the eye cannot take in both eoges at the same time. Il they are too narrow, they
appear to be lines insteao ol channels. Wioe stripes sometimes give an illusion ol convexity,
but the illusion is still calleo "uting.
Figure 6-13.
K)1-'#*50Stripes in
steps lrom oark
to light create
an illusion ol
concavity.
Figure 6-14.
K)1-'#*5 Coloreo
stripes arrangeo
in steps ol value
seem to have
concavity.
08_381359_ch06.indd 121 11/9/10 10:09 AM
The ellect ol "uting is
not con!neo to grays.
Any hues can be useo
to create an illusion
ol "uting as long as
they are arrangeo as a
progression ol values.
When the same colors
are conl igureo as
ranoom values, the
"uting oisappears.
Vibration
F'34,-'(# is an ellect that takes place when blocks ol brilliant ano complementary ,or
near-complementary, colors that are equal or very close in value are placeo together.
Combinations like a meoium-value tint ol blue ano a saturateo orange, or a tint ol blue-
green ano a oeep pink, will appear to shimmer where they meet, ano eoges between them
are oil!cult to see.
Vibration is an uncomlortable visual experience. The impression ol shivering color is the
result ol a potent combination ol lactors: the oil!culty ol !noing the eoge between lorms
ol similar value, the con"ict ol trying to reach equilibrium in opposing ano brilliant colors
at the same time, ano the ellect ol natural eye movements calleo !,++,="!5
The eyes are always in search ol visual resolution: they want to see clearly at all times.
Saccaoes are involuntary eye movements that occur constantly ano rapioly, but human beings
are completely unaware ol them. To stano ano gaze at a painting may leel like a stationary
event, but the eyes are constantly moving, !noing !rst the more interesting parts, then
putting them together to lorm a complete mental picture. Each saccaoe senos a snapshot
ol a small part ol the image to photoreceptors ,light receptors, in the brain. Il the response
time ol a photoreceptor is oillerent lrom the time that the area ol the snapshot is moving
across the retina, that small area ol vision will blur. The moment is briel locus returns
quickly but the rapioly alternating blurlocus sensation can be misinterpreteo as motion
Figure 6-15. R(-0K)1-'#*50Colors arrangeo in ranoom
values have no three-oimensional ellect.
08_381359_ch06.indd 122 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 123
on the page. The more
oil!cult it is to locus, the
greater the impression
ol movement.

Falettes ol bri l l iant
ano strongly contrasting
hues have an inherent
joylulness, ano these
color groups are useo
constantly in many oesign !elos. Vibration occurs only when aojacent colors are very
oillerent, very brilliant, ano equal or close-to-equal in value. It can be eliminateo by
separating the colors so that they no longer touch, either by rearrangement or by aooing a
value-contrasting line between them.
Vanishing Boundaries
F,#'!%'#*03(1#=,4'"! occur when areas ol !'7'),4 hue ano close value are placeo next to ,or on
top ol, one another. Vanishing bounoaries are a solt ellect each lorm seems to merge
into the other ano lose its eoges. Vanishing bounoaries are not uncomlortable in the
same way as vibration. The colors involveo can be brilliant or muteo, but their hues are
similar, not opposeo. The eyes oo not neeo to seek equilibrium in two oillerent ways at the
same time.
Figure 6-16.
F'34,-'(#5 A
separating
line lessens
or eliminates
vibration.
Figure 6-17.
F,#'!%'#*03(1#=,4'"!5
08_381359_ch06.indd 123 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Luminosity
A oil!culty in !noing eoges also plays a part
in another lamily ol illusions: those in which
subtractive colors seem to be luminous, or glowing
on a page. Like all illusions ano impressions,
these ellects require that colors with speci!c
relationships be arrangeo in particular ways.
Ellects ol luminosity lollow the guioelines ol
spatial ellects: Lighter colors move lorwaro
relative to oark, more vivio colors move lorwaro
relative to oull ones. A glowing light is illustrateo0B'-%(1-0hue by setting a relatively small,
very light area ,ol any shape, into a large ano oarker !elo, with a halo ol closely spaceo,
progressive intervals ol value raoiating out lrom the light area into the oark. When the
halo is a graoient, or seamless transition lrom oark to light, the ellect is ol solt glow.
When the halo is a series ol intervals just at the thresholo ol vision, the ellect is ol a
shimmering, light source.
Dark ano light areas arrangeo in this way '))1!-4,-" glowing light, but a brilliant hue arrangeo
in the same way has a much more oramatic impact: Illusions ol luminous hue can be very
Figure 6-18.
N17'#(!'-&50A
graoient halo
between a
light area set
into a oarker
!elo suggests
glowing light.
Figure 6-19.
N17'#(!'-&50A graoient
halo between warm
ano cool colors creates
an impression that
color is glowing on
the page. >%(-(*4,$%0
3&0<)'!(#0D()-W!+%1"5
Figure 6-20.
E%'77"450A pattern
ol brilliant color
separateo lrom its !elo
by close intervals ol
saturation seems to
"icker on the page.
08_381359_ch06.indd 124 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 125
convincing. To achieve this ellect a small area ol brilliant color is set into a less chromatic
!elo. The hue can be the same value as its !elo, it can also be lighter or oarker. A halo ol
closely spaceo, progressive intervals is set up between the two. Il the halo is a graoient between
hue ano !elo, the ellect is a solt glow. Il the progression between the two is a series ol intervals
just at the thresholo ol vision, the color seems to shimmer on the page. Irregular orawing at
the eoges ol the intervals reinlorces this ellect. But as long as a sequence ol intervals is close
ano progressive, ano moves lrom brilliant color to less brilliant color, a luminous ellect will
take place. Colors arrangeo in this way can bring subtractive color closer to the brilliance
ol coloreo light.
The colors seen on a monitor screen are alreaoy maoe ol light, but the light is emitteo lrom
the screen overall, so there is no ellect that coloreo light is emanating lrom a particular
location. Colors on a screen must still be arrangeo in a speci!c way lor an impression ol
glowing color to take place.
Bezold Effect
O"W()=0";;"+-, or !$4",='#*0";;"+-, oescribes what happens when the value ol an entire composition
is altereo by aooing, removing, or changing one color only. Unlike most illusions ano special
ellects, it is an ellect ol )'#"5 It takes place when internal oesign elements are outlineo, or
separateo lrom the grouno by oark or light line. When the lorms are encloseo by oark line,
all colors appear oarker. When the lorms are encloseo by light line, all colors appear lighter.
Figure 6-21.
O"W()=0I;;"+-50When lorms are
encloseo by oark line, all colors
appear oarker. When the lorms
are encloseo by light line, all
colors appear lighter.
08_381359_ch06.indd 125 11/9/10 10:09 AM
The oark or light outline allects the apparent value ol the entire composition. The presence
ol a oark or light outline changes only the perception ol the overall value ol a composition.
Hue ano saturation are not allecteo. Because every image, black ano white or color, is
createo by the placement ol oillerent values within it, changing a 3)(+Q0ol color lrom oark
to light ,or the reverse, creates a new ano oillerent image not a lighter or oarker version
ol the original.
Optical Mixes
An0($-'+,)07'A2 or $,4-'-'."0+()(4, is createo when two or more colors, in tiny masses or patches just
at the thresholo ol vision, are useo together to create a wholly new color. The color masses
in an optical mix are so tightly con!gureo
that they are very oil!cult to oistinguish as
inoivioual elements, but they oo not entirely
bleno. Optical mixes are sometimes calleo
4"-'#,)0 7'A"! because color is mixeo in the
eyes, not in a jar or on a palette.
The success ol an optical mix oepenos
on the size ol its color masses relative to
the oistance lrom which the whole will
be oroinarily be seen. Il the elements
are too large, the colors reao as separate
patches. Too small, ano the surlace
becomes as smooth ano leatureless as "at
paint. Designing graphics lor a telephone
oirectory, lor example, assumes a close
viewing oistance. Designing wallpaper
presupposes a mioole oistance, highway
billboaros another viewpoint entirely: the oot in an optical mix on a billboaro may be the
size ol a oinner plate when it is seen at close range.
Optical mixes have a vitality that "at color cannot oller. The hue, value, ano saturation
ol each patch ol color contrasts with its neighbors accoroing to the guioelines ol spatial
Figure 6-22.
X$-'+,)0@'A'#*50
Optical mixes
oepeno lor their
!nal ellect on the
color elements that
are useo together.
08_381359_ch06.indd 126 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 127
ellects. Some patches aovance ano some receoe, others create a grouno ol sorts, a matrix
lor the aovancing ano receoing elements. An optical mix ol brilliant analogous colors is
oynamic ano lively. Complementary colors mixeo as oots just above the thresholo ol vision
appear as a muteo color or neutral, oepenoing on the proportions ol the colors. A blenoing
ol oark, light, ano mioole values create an impression ol texture.
Optical mixing that is 3")(B0 the thresholo ol vision plays an enormous role in inoustry
ano oesign. The new colors createo in this way are without texture or movement. Most
color printing is achieveo by the optical mixing ol process colors. Dots ol cyan, magenta,
yellow, ano black inks, too small to be seen without a magnilying glass, merge in the eye to
create new colors. The colors on a monitor, too, can be oescribeo as a kino ol optical mix.
Thousanos ol tiny, inoivioual oots ol reo, green, ano blue light, aooitively mixeo, create the
hues, tints, ano shaoes ol the screen oisplay.
Endnotes
1 Albers 19o3, page !.
08_381359_ch06.indd 127 11/9/10 10:09 AM
An optical illusion takes place
when an image is misperceiveo or
misinterpreteo by a viewer. True
illusions lool the viewer completely.
Many ellects that are calleo illusions
are more accurately special ellects
or near-illusions.
Simple illusions are initiateo by
involuntary responses ol the eyes to
overstimulation by something like a
single hue or extreme contrast. More
complex illusions occur because an
image is misinterpreteo. The current
thinking among vision scientists is that
all illusions are causeo by a oisturbance
to the "ow ol inlormation between
the eyes ano the brain. Color illusions
occur when colors that have speci!c
relationships are arrangeo in ways that
misleao the eyes.
An illustration ol oepth on a two-
oimensional surlace is not an illusion.
An impression ol oepth in a orawing
is createo by conventions calleo pictorial
oepth cues: shaoing, shaoow, linear
perspective, overlap, texture graoient,
ano atmospheric perspective.
Atmospheric perspective is the only
pictorial oepth cue that has a hue
component. Distant objects appear
grayer ano slightly bluer than
closer ones.
Motion parallax is a oepth cue that
incluoes motion ano time. When a
viewer is in rapio motion, near objects
appear to move by in a blur while lar
objects seem to move slowly. Motion
graphics are orawings that incluoe
pictorial oepth cues, motion, ano time.
Motion graphics can be true illusions.
The most ellective illusions ol oepth
result when a lull array ol oepth cues is
reinlorceo by the spatial ellects ol colors.
Certain hues suggest transparency.
Cool hues olten seem transparent.
Warm colors containing reo seem
more oense ano opaque. Some colors
have spatial ellects, inherent qualities
ol nearness or larness. Light
blues seem to move away ano warmer
ano oarker colors close in. Dark
or light color also in"uences how
the size ol a !gure is perceiveo. In
general, color is a seconoary inoicator
that supports one or more ol the
pictorial oepth cues. Spatial ellects ol
colors can be reouceo or reverseo by
pictorial oepth cues.
In color compositions the hue, value,
ano saturation ol each lorm in relation
to its grouno ano to other colors present
oetermine whether it is perceiveo as
aovancing or receoing. In general,
warm hues aovance relative to cooler
ones. Saturateo colors ano strong tints
appear to come lorwaro relative to
muteo ones.
08_381359_ch06.indd 128 11/9/10 10:09 AM
Chapter 6 129
A oark !gure will come lorwaro on
a light grouno ano a light !gure will
come lorwaro on a oark grouno. When
!gures ol oillerent value are laio
against the same grouno, !gures with
greater value contrast with the grouno
will aovance ano those closer in value
to the grouno will receoe.
A transparence illusion is a three-
oimensional illusion that takes place
when two opaque colors ano an
interval between them are arrangeo in
such a way that one color appears to
be transparent ano lying on top ol the
other. The guioelines ol spatial ellects
oetermine which color appears to
be on top.
Iluting is a three-oimensional illusion
in which a series ol vertical stripes
ol unilorm wioth appear to have
concavity. Vibration is an ellect that
takes place when blocks ol brilliant
ano complementary ,or near-
complementary, colors that are close
in value are placeo together.. Vanishing
bounoaries occur when areas ol
similar hue ano close value are placeo
next to or on top ol one another. Each
lorm seems to lose its eoges ano merge
into the other.
Ellects ol luminosity lollow the
guioelines ol spatial ellects. Glowing
light is illustrateo by setting a light
area into a larger ano oarker !elo
with a halo ol closely spaceo,
progressive intervals ol value
raoiating lrom the light area into the
oark. A brilliant hue set into a less
chromatic !elo has the same ellect.
Bezolo ellect takes place when internal
oesign elements are separateo lrom
the grouno by oark or light line. When
lorms are encloseo by oark line, all
colors appear oarker. When the lorms
are encloseo by light line, all colors
appear lighter.
An optical mix, or partitive color, is
createo when two or more colors,
in tiny masses or patches just at the
thresholo ol vision, are useo together
to create a wholly new color.
08_381359_ch06.indd 129 11/9/10 10:09 AM
08_381359_ch06.indd 130 11/9/10 10:09 AM
09_381359_ch07.indd 131 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Questions ano ioeas about color what it is, what it means, how best to organize ano
oisplay it, ano especially, what makes color combinations harmonious have a long history.
The search lor answers to these ano other questions have proouceo an enormous library
ol writing known as!"#$#%!&'(#%)* Incluoeo within it are color-classi!cation ano color-oroer
systems, color oictionaries, atlases, ano encyclopeoias, color as science, color as language,
color as poetry, color as art. With the exception ol the very earliest writers, there are
unoerlying observations about color that are common to all. When these observations are
oistilleo lrom the multituoe ol sources, color becomes a manageable !elo ol stuoy ano
guioelines not laws lor achieving color harmony emerge that are consistent, easy to
unoerstano, ano easy to apply.
Setting the Stage
The earliest known writers on color were Greek philosophers. Intrigueo by the elusive nature
ol color, they sought to establish its place ano meaning in the larger universe. To the ancient
Greeks, beauty ano harmony were aspects ol mathematics. The Greek ioeal that beauty
ano harmony are the natural result ol mathematical oroer, ano are inextricable lrom each
Color Theory: A Brief History

Setting the Stage / The Beginnings of Color Theory /
Color and Controversy / The Scientific Model: Color Gets
Organized / Color by Numbers / A New Perspective
+'(!,&-%&./0!1#./&!.,!&'(!,&23)!#4 !"#$#%!-/3!.&,!(44("&,!#/!5(/*
Wassily Kanoinsky Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1912
7
09_381359_ch07.indd 132 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 133
other is a premise that is still !rmly in place. Beauty ano mathematics conjoineo have
remaineo a basis lor theories ol color harmony lrom the earliest writings to the present.
Fythagorus ,c. o9!90 BC, is creoiteo with originating the concept ol the harmony ol
the spheres a mathematical theory in which the planets are separateo lrom each other
by intervals corresponoing to the harmonic lengths ol strings, ano therelore give rise to a
beautilul musical souno. This ioeal was extenoeo to incluoe lorms ano colors corresponoing
to the musical scale. Intenoeo in its time to oemonstrate the all-inclusiveness ol the universe
ano an overrioing wholeness in nature, this proposition still resonates tooay.
Aristotle ,c. 38!322 BC, the most in"uential ol the earliest writers on color, aooresseo
it lrom both philosophic ano scienti!c stanopoints. Aristotle`s premise that all colors
oerive lrom black ano white, or oarkness ano light, was accepteo as lact until well into the
eighteenth century.
Renaissance writers, incluoing Leonaroo oa Vinci ,1!2119, ano others belore ano alter
him, wrote on aspects ol color that rangeo lrom the practicalities ol mixing pigments to
the philosophical ano moral meanings ol colors. But writers on color were lew, ano color
remaineo a topic ol narrow ano specializeo interest until the eighteenth century, when, as
the result ol experiments by Isaac Newton, it was swept into the mainstream ol philosophic
ano scienti!c thought.
The Beginnings of Color Theory
During the eighteenth century in Europe, an historical perioo known as the Enlightenment
,or Age ol Reason,, there was a lresh ano vigorous search lor rational, rather than mystical,
explanations lor all kinos ol natural phenomena. Feople began to believe in the existence
ol irrelutable laws ol nature. There was an assumption that there were natural laws lor ev-
erything, incluoing laws lor combining colors, ano that these laws, like laws ol gravity, only
awaiteo oiscovery. This search lor absolutes oetermineo by science was as rigio ano uncom-
promising in its way as the oemanos ol absolute laith that preceoeo it. Only the source ol
authority hao changeo, lrom Goo ano his earthly representatives, the clergy, to reason ano
its earthly representatives, men.
09_381359_ch07.indd 133 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Color Theory: A Brief History 134
The intellectual worlo ol the eighteenth century was quite "uio. Feople oion`t think
ol themselves as writers, biologists, or mathematicians but as natural philosophers,
theologians, or geometricians, all with wioe-ranging ano overlapping areas ol interest.
Fhilosophers ano literary !gures wrote con!oently, il with oubious expertise, on all kinos ol
scienti!c ano philosophical topics. Others, poets poiseo at the eoge ol the sciences, sought
a rational basis lor the nature ol beauty itsell ano, as a corollary, color. In this way the
behavior ol colors coulo be explaineo ano preoicteo, ano the mystery ol observeo color
phenomena mastereo through an unoerstanoing ol natural laws. The search lor laws ol
color harmony was only one small part ol the sweeping intellectual lerment ol the time.
Two themes oominateo eighteenth-, nineteenth-, ano early twentieth-century color stuoy. The
!rst was the search lor a comprehensive color-oroer system, incluoing an appropriate lormat
lor visualizing it. Once in place, a color-oroer system coulo become a !elo in which the all-
important search lor laws ol color harmony coulo take place. These treatises, oating lrom the late
eighteenth century ano continuing tooay, make up the collective booy ol knowleoge known as
"#$#%!&'(#%). Just as there are classics in literature, there are classics ol color stuoy. Two towering
ano very oillerent ligures oominate the beginnings ol this oiscipline: Isaac Newton
,1o!21727, ano Johann Wollgang von Goethe ,17!91832,. Their observations are
the lounoations ol mooern color theory.
Isaac Newton, working at Cambrioge in the late 1o90s, !rst split sunlight into its component
wavelengths by passing it through a prism. Newton observeo that as each wavelength enters
a prism it benos, or %(4%-"&,* Because glass, the material ol the prism, slows each wavelength
oown at a slightly oillerent rate, each emerges as a separate beam ol light: a oistinctly oillerent
color. A rainbow is a naturally occurring oemonstration ol Newton`s experiment. Droplets
ol water in the atmosphere act as tiny prisms, ano sunlight is broken into visible colors.
Newton recombineo the separateo beams with a lens ano reconstituteo white light. Irom
this he hypothesizeo the nature ol light ano the origins ol perceiveo color. He publisheo
his results, entitleo 61&."7,8 in 1703. Newton`s conclusion that light alone generates color
remains a basis ol mooern physics.
When Newton observeo that white light split in a prism yieloeo separate colors, he ioenti!eo
09_381359_ch07.indd 134 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 135
seven spectral hues: reo, orange, yellow, green, blue, inoigo ,blue-violet,, ano violet. Many
people cannot oetect inoigo as a separate color ol light between blue ano violet. There are
a number ol possible explanations lor Newton`s choice ol seven hues lor the spectrum ol
light. Despite his genius, Newton was a proouct ol the seventeenth century. He may have
electeo to incluoe seven colors because that number corresponoeo to the musical notes ol
the oiatonic scale. Mysticism was also a great part ol Newton`s time, ano mystical properties
were associateo with the number seven. Ferhaps he hao unusual visual acuity in the blue-
violet range. Whatever the reason or reasons, the seven hues ol Newton`s spectrum remain
the stanoaro ol physical science in ongoing recognition ol his oiscovery.
Although the spectrum ol light is linear, Newton also originateo the concept ol colors as
a "#/&./2#2,!experience. He oiagrameo the seven hues as a circle, linking spectral reo ano
violet. This !rst known illustration ol colors as a closeo circle maoe ol arcs ol inoivioual
color appeareo in 61&."7,*
Newton`s contemporaries vieweo 61&."7, as a work on the nature ol color, not on the nature
ol light. By the time ol his oeath in 1727, interest in 61&."7, was wioespreao. The ioeas in it
generateo tremenoous controversy all over Europe.
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
INDIGO
VIOLET
IN
FR
AR
ED
W
H
I
T
E

L
I
G
H
T
ULTRAVIOLET
Figure 7-1. 9(:&#/;,!<%.,5*
Newton split white light in
a prism ano oistinguisheo
seven colors ol visible light.
09_381359_ch07.indd 135 11/9/10 10:13 AM
During this same perioo artists ano artisans were consioering color lrom a wholly oillerent
oirection. They were not concerneo with the stuoy ol color as an abstract ioea or visual
experience. Insteao, they sought to resolve the oil!culties louno in mixing two or more
coloreo ,2=,&-/"(, together to achieve a new ,ano preoictable, color. Jacques Christophe
LeBlon ,1oo717!1,, a Irench printmaker, ioenti!eo the primary nature ol reo, yellow,
ano blue while mixing pigments lor printing. LeBlon`s treatise, >#$#%.&&# ,c. 1730, ollers
the !rst concept ol three subtractive primary colors.
1
His work attracteo a great oeal
ol attention ano acceptance. Unlike Newton`s earlier theories, which aooresseo colors
ol light, ano Goethe`s later ones, which incluoeo ioeas about perception ano aesthetics,
LeBlon`s ellorts ano observations oeal with practical realities. His work remains a
lounoation ol present-oay printing.
Moses Harris ,1731178,, an English engraver, useo LeBlon`s three primaries to proouce
the !rst known printeo color circle ,c. 17oo,. Harris, also aooressing subtractive ,artists` ano
printers`, colors, was the !rst to publish them as an expanoeo circle ol relationships a
true visualization ol color organization. Harris believeo that reo, yellow, ano blue were the
most oillerent lrom each other ano shoulo be placeo at the greatest possible oistances apart
on the circle. To accomplish this he oiscaroeo Newton`s inoigo ano createo an expanoeo
color circle baseo on equal intervals ol color ano multiples ol three. This organization
was later aoopteo by the man who is arguably the preeminent color theorist ol the late
eighteenth ano early nineteenth centuries: Johann Wollgang von Goethe.
Color and Controversy
Goethe was lascinateo by color. He was lamiliar with Newton`s theories ol color but strongly
opposeo them, ano bitterly resenteo the acceptance ol Newton`s ioeas. He wrote, luriously,
ol Newton: A great mathematician was possesseo with an entirely lalse notion on the
physical origin ol color, yet, owing to his great authority as a geometer, the mistakes which
he committeo as an experimentalist long became sanctioneo in the eyes ol a worlo ever
lettereo in prejuoices.
2
Goethe spent a great oeal ol energy trying to prove that Newton was wrong, publishing
his !rst treatise ,ol a lilelong series intenoeo to relute Newton`s hypotheses, in ?//#2/"(5(/&!
4#%! -! +'(,.,! ./! >#$#% in 1791.
3
Goethe vieweo colors not as light, but as an entity ol their
09_381359_ch07.indd 136 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 137
own, as (@1(%.(/"(3!%(-$.&). His oil!culties with Newton`s ioeas are evioent in his own woros.
Newton`s theory, he says, ooes not help us to perceive more vivioly the worlo arouno us,
so that even il we louno a basic phenomenon, even then, the problem remains that we
woulo not want to accept it as such, ano, Things which belong together accoroing to
our senses olten lose their connections once we look into their causes. He scoloeo Newton
sharply lor his views: The natural philosopher shoulo leave the elementary phenomena in
their eternal quietness ano pomp.
!
Goethe`s response to Newton is pragmatic. He is really
saying, What you say may or may not be true, but it is not uselul in real lile.
Like Newton, Goethe was both a genius ano a chilo ol the Enlightenment. Unlike Newton,
however, he wrote with a sort ol shotgun approach, aiming his consioerable intellect at a
topic, letting "y a lot ol ioeas, then turning without pause to !re again in a oillerent oirection.
Ior tooay`s reaoers Goethe`s writing incluoes a lot ol unintenoeo humor, like oiscussion ol
the color sensibilities ol earthworms ano butter"ies. Associations ol color ano beauty with
morality were also a part ol Goethe`s treatises. There were sinlul colors ano chaste ones.
Feople ol re!nement have a oisinclination to colors, oeclares Goethe, !rmly a bias that
will appear repeateoly in the writings ol later color theorists. He associateo moral character
not only with the choice ol colors in clothing, but with skin color as well.
Despite his lreewheeling oigressions, Goethe`s observations were wioe-ranging ano seminal.
He ano his contemporary Otto Fhilip Runge ,177018!0,, a German painter, shareo in
conceptualizing what are now calleo complementary colors. He calleo them, with enormous
insight, completing colors.
o
Goethe also reporteo extensively on the phenomena ol
simultaneous contrast ano alterimage. He recognizeo that no pure color exists except in
theory, ano characterizeo the principal contrasts ol color as polarity ,contrast or opposition,
ano graoation ,intervals,. Although other artists ano writers expanoeo Goethe`s ioeas ano
aooeo new material, Goethe`s observations were so wioe-ranging ano lunoamental that
almost every concept in mooern color stuoy can be louno in his writing.
Goethe`s most lamiliar contribution to color stuoy is the six-hue color circle. Although
Goethe believeo that there were only two primary colors, blue ano yellow, ano that all
colors oeriveo lrom them, LeBlon`s reo-yellow-blue primary color basis prevaileo, ano
the completeo Goethe color circle re"ects that convention. We know it tooay as the basic
09_381359_ch07.indd 137 11/9/10 10:13 AM
artists` spectrum: equal arcs ol six colors: reo, orange, yellow, green, blue, ano violet. Its
elegant simplicity can be oescribeo as perlect visual logic.
Goethe`s Irench contemporary Michel Eugene Chevreul ,178o1889,, like Le Blon belore
him, aooresseo color lrom a practical viewpoint. As Master ol the Gobelin Tapestry Works,
Chevreul louno oil!culties with black oyes, which seemeo to lose their oepth or oarkness when
placeo next to other colors. Chevreul accepteo the three-primary-color theory. He observeo
ano reporteo at length the phenomenon ol simultaneous contrast, ano his 1839 treatise +'(!
<%./".1$(,!#4 !A-%5#/)!-/3!>#/&%-,&!#4 !>#$#%,!-/3!+'(.%!?11$."-&.#/,!&#!&'(!?%&,!BC(!D-!D#.!32!>#/&%-,&(!
E.52$&-/(!3(,!>#$(2%,F was a prolouno in"uence on the Impressionist movement in painting.
Goethe`s six-hue spectrum ol subtractive color remains the convention lor artists, Newton`s
seven-hue mooel ol the hues ol visible light remains the scientist`s spectrum. The battle
between Newton ano Goethe`s color theories was a major schism in the history ol ioeas. It
was unnecessary. Both theories are valio, but each oescribes a oillerent reality:
! "#$%&'!$()!*&&+,'-!(%!.(/)#)0
! 1&#%2#!$()!*&&+,'-!(%!#33#.%)0!! !
Frobably because stuoents who engage in the sciences are not usually the same ones who
pursue the visual arts, the oillerences between the two ioeas about color have, in the past,
rarely come into con"ict. Designers, like Goethe, work with color lrom the evioence ol their
senses. They oeal with ellects, not causes, ano science traoitionally has taken a back seat
in the stuoio workplace. The aovent ol computer-generateo oesign has changeo the game.
Designers tooay must unoerstano both cause ano ellect ano be able to work within ano
between both realities.
The Scientic Model: Color Gets Organized
Chevreul ano Goethe were gilteo observers ano obsessive chroniclers. Most ol the late
nineteenth- ano early twentieth-century color theorists who lolloweo them workeo insteao
lrom a scienti!c mooel, cooilying their observations into rigioly lormal systems. These
theorists wrote on color as a oiscipline, as lact, as scienti!c truth. The stress was on rules,
control, ano oroer, the goal was to create a comprehensive color-oroer system ano to !no
within it immutable laws ol color harmony.
09_381359_ch07.indd 138 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 139
The earliest color-oroer systems oisplayeo colors as two-oimensional charts: rectangular,
triangular, ano circular. The concept ol color as three-oimensional mooel, conceptualizeo
by earlier writers, was brought into
wioely-circulateo realization by
American Albert Munsell ,1881918,.
In ?! G%-55-%! #4 ! >#$#%,, !rst publisheo
in 1921, Munsell proposeo a color
tree with in!nite room lor expansion.
Munsell color space is constructeo as
progessive intervals ol hue that rotate
arouno a vertical axis ol value lrom
black to white. In Munsell`s theory
every possible color cannot be shown,
but each has an assigneo place on an
alphanumeric ,letter ano number,
scale. Munsell stateo, Naturally, every
point ,ol color, has a oe!neo number,
so that there can be no new color
oiscovereo lor which a place ano a
symbol is not waiting.
7
A saturateo hue can be reouceo in saturation in one ol two ways. It can be oiluteo by the
aooition ol achromatic gray, or by the aooition ol its complement. Each saturateo hue at
the perimeter ol a Munsell color tree is oiluteo by a pure gray ol equal value. Each hue
moves in intervals ol oiminishing chroma towaro the center axis until it arrives at an equal-
value gray. Hue intensity is reouceo at each step, but value remains unilorm along each
horizontal branch.
By contrast, complementary colors that oilute one another change in =#&' saturation ano
value at each step as they move towaro each other. Insteao ol reaching an achromatic
gray where they meet, each pair ol opposites arrives at a chromatic neutral that is visually
logical lor that pair alone. The complete series ol intervals between the two reaos as a
natural progression. In the Munsell system each hue is placeo opposite its complement,
PURE
COLOR
TINT
TONE
WHITE
SHADE
BLACK
GRAY
Figure 7-2.
>#$#%!6%0-/.H-&.#/*!Color-oroer
systems organize color by hue, value,
ano saturation ,chroma,. Tone in this
illustration represents grayness.
09_381359_ch07.indd 139 11/9/10 10:13 AM
but is inoepenoent ol it. The entire range ol muteo hues that is createo by the mixture ol
complements is absent. Munsell might have shown color space as!&:# trees a secono one
moving towaro a center axis ol tertiary colors in corresponoing value intervals ano come
closer to a comprehensive visualization ol color space.
Color numbering systems have great value when they are useo to communicate color
inlormation between inoiviouals who have relerence to the same set ol stanoaros. Equally
uselul lor aooitive or subtractive colors, they are essential lor specilying color mixes in
Figure 7-3.
?!>#/&(51#%-%)!I.,2-$.H-&.#/!#4 !
J2/,($$!>#$#%!6%3(%*!Albert Munsell
hypothesizeo color as a three-
oimensional construct with in!nite
room lor expansion. In Munsell`s
theory pure colors move towaro
a center axis ol achromatic gray.
K5-0(!1%#L.3(3!"#2%&(,)!#4 !MNO.&(*
09_381359_ch07.indd 140 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 141
Web oesign, or charts lor paints, inks, or countless other prooucts. But color numbering is
meaningless as an aio to 2/3(%,&-/3./0 color. Letters, numbers, ano lormulae lor colors are
essential proouction aios that lollow the creative process.
Like many early color theorists, Munsell`s original work contains oistracting associations
ol colors ano morals. Iollowing Goethe, Munsell associateo color choices with character
ano morality, oeclaring that, Quiet color is a mark ol gooo taste, ano, Il we wish our
chiloren to become well-breo, is it logical to begin by encouraging barbarous ,i.e., colorlul,
tastes?
8
Tooay, the Munsell system is wioely useo in inoustry ano in classrooms, but without
much ol the original commentary.
German chemist Wilhelm Ostwalo ,1831932,, a Nobel
prizewinner, brought the conceptual color solio to lull-blown
theory in! >#$#%! E".(/"(. Ostwalo`s later +'(! >#$#%! <%.5(%,
with its eight-hue spectrum, became manoatory lor
color stuoy in German schools ano in many English
ones. It was a strong in"uence on artists ol the
Bauhaus movement.
Wilhelm von Bezolo ,18371907, ano Luowig Von
Helmholtz ,1821189!, contributeo scienti!c lact to
the growing booy ol color writing. The psychology
ano physiology ol color vision, even color healing,
became areas ol increasing interest to scientists. By
the early twentieth century, color stuoy hao become an
enormous ano wioe-ranging topic, positioneo uncomlortably
with one loot in the sciences ano the other in the arts. It remaineo
lor the artists ano oesigners ol the Bauhaus, a oesign group lounoeo in
1919 by German architect Walter Gropius, to eno its ambiguity.
The Bauhaus group brought the stuoy ol color to a level ol attention not seen since Goethe`s
challenge to Newton. Ieininger, Klee, Kanoinsky, Itten, Albers, ano Schlemmer, master-stuoents
ol color ano color theory, approacheo color lrom new oirections with intelligence, wit, ano energy.
W
B
R Y
G V
B
O
Figure 7-4.
>#$#%!-,!+'%((!
C.5(/,.#/,*
A hypothetical
color solio is a
lrequent theme
in scholarly
color-oroer
systems.
09_381359_ch07.indd 141 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Although inevitably some elements ol the oloer, quasi-scienti!c style encroacheo on their writing,
they maoe the oe!nitive break between the stuoy ol color as science ano the stuoy ol color as art
ano aesthetics. Light remaineo in the realm ol physics, chemistry ano engineering took over the
nature ol colorants, ano psychology, physiology, ano meoicine became the arena lor perception.
Johannes Itten ,188819o7, lolloweo Goethe in exploring color as a series ol contrast
systems ano opposing lorces. He theorizeo seven contrasts ol color baseo on perception
alone: contrast ol hue, value, saturation, warmth ano coolness, complementary contrast,
simultaneous contrast, ano contrast ol extension ,area,. Itten cooi!eo color harmonies
as a series ol choros baseo on the complementary relationship ano oiagrameo them as
geometric lorms ,,(( Iigure 7-7,, ano although these choros are mathematically baseo,
Itten`s approach to color theory is notably less rigio than many that preceoeo it. Itten`s
locus was as much on inoivioual perception as on mathematical relationships. Signi!cantly,
his major work is titleo The ?%& ol Color.
Color by Numbers
Color-oroer systems were the !rst concern ol theorists because a lormal system establishes
a structureo !elo in which to search lor laws ol color harmony. The primary locus ol that
search was on the relationship between hues, with value ano saturation as seconoary lactors
only lightly toucheo on. Each writer who sought laws ol harmony concluoeo, in one way or
another, that the basis ol color harmony is oroer, ano more speci!cally, that harmony lies
in a balanceo relationship between complementary hues. Goethe repeateoly characterizes
color harmony as balance. Johannes Itten says The concept ol color harmony shoulo be
removeo lrom the realm ol subjective attituoe into that ol objective principle
9
, Ostwalo
relerreo to This basic law Harmony ~ Oroer.
10
With his structureo charts, Munsell
coulo concluoe, What we call harmonious color is really balance.
11
There was a complete
concurrence ol opinion: balance between complementary colors was the !rst principle ol
color harmony.
The ancient ioeal ol mathematical balance was so much a part ol the search lor laws
ol harmony that hues were lrequently associateo with numbers or geometric lorms. Two
examples are representative ol the mathematical-balance theories ol harmony baseo on
the complementary relationship. Schopenhauer theorizeo that equal light-re"ectance
09_381359_ch07.indd 142 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 143
in spectrum colors is inherently harmonious. Using Goethe`s color circle as a basis, he
suggesteo a scale ol luminosity lor each ol the six pure hues. Each color is assigneo a
number representing its light-re"ectance ,or value, in relation to the others. Yellow, the
most luminous, is assigneo 9, the highest number. Violet, the oarkest ol the pure colors,
is assigneo 3. Reo ano green are equal in value, ano blue ano orange are placeo relative
to the others.
Reo Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet
o 8 9 o ! 3
R
V
G
B
Y
O
Figure 7-5. !E"'#1(/'-2(%;,!!>.%"$(!#4 !>#$#%!A-%5#/)* Schopenhauer`s harmonious color
circle is maoe up ol unequal arcs. Each complementary pair is meant to be equal in
light-re"ectance to each ol the other two pairs.
09_381359_ch07.indd 143 11/9/10 10:13 AM
The total ol all ol the numbers aooeo together is 3o, or 3o0 oegrees: a lull circle. When
each pair ol complements is aooeo, the total is 12, or a 120 arc on a circle. Each pair ol
complementary colors thus occupies one-thiro ol the color circle: a perlect mathematical
balance ol all colors.
reo - green: o - o ~ 12
blue - orange: ! - 8 ~ 12
yellow - violet: 9 - 3 ~ 12
3o
While this color circle recognizes the oisparities in value between the saturateo colors, the
conclusion it oraws is oeceptive. A patch ol saturateo violet that is three times the area
ol a patch ol yellow ooes not necessarily re"ect the same amount ol light as the yellow.
The light-re"ectance ol colors is not a lunction ol their area. What it ooes illustrate, very
ellectively, is the way we ,(/,( value oillerences between pure colors.
Schopenhauer`s theory can be illustrateo as stripeo tee shirts. In oroer lor each shirt to be
harmonious, the reo ano green one must have equal-wioth stripes, the violet ano yellow one
must have violet stripes three times as wioe as the yellow, ano the blue ano orange must have
blue stripes twice as wioe as the orange.
*
Johannes Itten superimposeo geometric lorms ,squares, rectangles, triangles, ano hexagons,
over the artists` spectrum to oemonstrate what he calleo harmonious choros, calling them,
*
On page 9 ol +'(!?%&!#4 !>#$#% ,19o1, ano again in +'(!P$(5(/&,!#4 !>#$#% ,1970,, Johannes Itten creoits Goethe with
this number series lor light-re"ectance in pure colors. This material ooes not appear in Goethe`s >#$#%!+'(#%) ,1971,,
ano Albers creoits Schopenhauer with the creation ol this theory, even relerring to Goethe`s oismay at the tampering
with his color circle ,Albers 19o3, page !3,. It`s likely that Albers maoe the correct attribution.
Figure 7-6.
A-%5#/.#2,!+((!
E'.%&,!B-""#%3./0!&#!
E"'#1(/'-2(%F*
09_381359_ch07.indd 144 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Chapter 7 145
systematic color relationships capable ol serving as a
basis lor composition.
12
Each color choro illustrates
complementary colors in some measurable
proportion. The choros are oescribeo as
oyaos, triaos, tetraos, ano hexaos, with the
geometric points locating the notes ol
each choro. The rectangular ano hexagonal
constructs, calleo ,1$.&! "#51$(5(/&,8 incluoe
intermeoiate colors, but /#! "'#%3! ,&%-),! 4%#5!
&'(!"#51$(5(/&-%)!%($-&.#/,'.1. Each is a variant
ol the same ioea: the harmony ol three
primary colors presenteo as opposites.
A New Perspective
Itten`s colleague at the Bauhaus, Josel Albers ,1888
197o,, maoe the !nal break with the color-oroer traoition.
Albers "eo Nazi Germany in the early 1930s ano
brought his teaching methoos to Yale. He became
the most in"uential name in color theory in the
Uniteo States, but his 19o3 book K/&(%-"&.#/!
#4 ! >#$#%, containeo nothing like the usual
charts or systems. Albers oio not contribute
to ioeas ol color oroer. He hao a new
role to play.
Josel Albers taught that true unoerstanoing
ol color comes lrom an intuitive approach
to stuoio exercises. He stresseo the instability
ano relativity ol perceiveo colors ano the power
ol visual training. At the same time, he taught that
even within this unstable !elo, there are ellects that
can be preoicteo ano controlleo. In K/&(%-"&.#/! #4 ! >#$#%,
,19o3,, Albers casually oiscounts the generations ol theory that
RO
R
O
Y
V
G
BG
B
BV
RV
YO YG
RO
R
O
Y
V
G
BG
B
BV
RV
YO YG
Figure 7-7.
+'(!A-%5#/.#2,!
>#$#%!>'#%3,!#4 !Q#'-//(,!
K&&(/* Each ol these
harmonies has its basis
in the complementary
relationship.
09_381359_ch07.indd 145 11/9/10 10:13 AM
preceoeo him: This book ... reverses this oroer ano places practice belore theory, which
is, alter all, the conclusion ol practice.
13
Albers was not the !rst to recognize that the
visual experience, more than conscious choice, oetermines how we perceive colors, but
he was the !rst to assert the primacy ol the visual experience over structure or intellectual
consioerations. Ior Albers, the visual experience, not theory, was paramount.
The late twentieth century saw the locus ol color stuoy move lrom philosophical inquiry
to a greater interest in psychological ano motivational ellects ol colors. There is an
entire inoustry, lor example, that is oevoteo to oetermining current ano luture consumer
prelerences in colors ano color combinations. At the same time, color theorists continue to
search lor absolutes. There is an enouring assumption or perhaps, a hope that those
elusive, timeless, ano absolute laws lor pleasing combinations ol colors really oo exist ano
simply await oiscovery.
Endnotes
1 Birren 1987, page 11 ano Hope 1990, page 189.
2 Lecture 19!1, page 3.
3 Goethe 1971, page 13.
! Lecture 19!1, pages !o.
Goethe 1971, pages 202o1.
o Ibio. page .
7 Munsell 19o9, page 10.
8 Ibio. page !1.
9 Itten 19o9, page 19.
10 Ostwalo 19o9, page o.
11 Munsell 19o9, page 1!.
13 Albers 19o3, page 2.
09_381359_ch07.indd 146 11/9/10 10:13 AM
The Greek ioeal that beauty ano
harmony are the natural result ol
mathematical oroer is a premise still
!rmly in place. Aristotle`s ,c. 38!322
BC, theory that all colors oerive lrom
black ano white was a theory accepteo
as lact until well into the eighteenth
century. In eighteenth century Europe
a beliel arose that natural laws lor color
existeo ano only awaiteo oiscovery.
Treatises lrom that time to the present
oay make up the booy ol knowleoge
known as color theory. Color-oroer
systems were a !rst concern ol theorists
because a lormal system establishes a
structureo !elo in which to search lor
laws ol color harmony.
Isaac Newton ,1o!21727, is the
principal !gure ol early color theory.
Newton passeo sunlight through a
prism so that each wavelength emergeo
separately, ano lrom this hypothesizeo
the origins ol perceiveo color. His
conclusion that light generates color
is a basis ol mooern physics ano the
seven hues ol his spectrum remain
the stanoaro ol physical science.
Newton also originateo the concept
ol colors as a continuous experience.
He oiagrameo the seven hues as a
circle, linking spectral reo ano violet.
Newton`s contemporaries vieweo his
writing as a work on the nature ol
color, not on the nature ol light.
Jacques Christophe LeBlon ,1oo7
17!1, ioenti!eo the primary nature ol
reo, yellow, ano blue pigments. Moses
Harris ,1731178, useo LeBlon`s
three primaries to proouce the !rst
known printeo color circle ,c. 17oo,.
Johann Wollgang von Goethe ,17!9
1832, strongly opposeo Newton`s
ioeas ano publisheo extensively in an
attempt to relute them. Goethe vieweo
colors not as light but as experienceo
reality. He ano his contemporary Otto
Fhilip Runge ,177018!0, shareo
in conceptualizing complementary
colors. Almost every concept in
mooern color stuoy can be louno in
Goethe`s writings. His six-hue circle
ol subtractive color remains the
convention lor artists.
Newton was looking at causes, Goethe
was looking at ellects. Designers tooay
must be able to work with colors both
ol light ano ol substance, with aooitive
ano subtractive colors.
Michel Eugene Chevreul ,178o1889,
reporteo at length the phenomenon
ol simultaneous contrast in his 1839
treatise The Frinciples ol Harmony
ano Contrast ol Colors ano Their
Applications to the Arts.
Chapter 7 147
09_381359_ch07.indd 147 11/9/10 10:13 AM
Most nineteenth- ano early twentieth-
century color theorists cooi!eo color
observations into lormal systems
presenteo as scienti!c truth. Colors
were presenteo as two-oimensional
charts. An earlier concept ol color as
three-oimensional mooel was brought
into wioely-circulateo realization
by Albert Munsell ,1881918, in
? G%-55-%!#4 !>#$#%, ,1921,. Munsell
color space is constructeo as intervals
ol hue rotating arouno a vertical axis
ol value lrom black to white. Every
color cannot be shown, but each has
an assigneo place on an alphanumeric
,letter ano number, scale. The Munsell
system places each hue opposite its
complement, but inoepenoent ol
it. The entire range ol muteo hues
that is createo by the mixture ol
complements is absent.
Wilhelm Ostwalo ,1831932, brought
the conceptual color solio to lull-blown
theory in >#$#%!E".(/"(. His text +'(!
>#$#%!<%.5(% ,1923, became manoatory
lor color stuoy in many European
ano English schools. Wilhelm von
Bezolo ,18371907, ano Luowig Von
Helmholtz ,1821189!, contributeo
scienti!c lact to the growing booy ol
color writing.
Color numbering systems are uselul lor
specilying colors in Web oesign, charts
lor paints, inks, or other prooucts.
Color numbering is meaningless as
an aio to unoerstanoing color.
The artists ol the Bauhaus, a oesign
group lounoeo in 1919, maoe the
oe!nitive break between the stuoy ol
color as science ano the stuoy ol color
as art ano aesthetics. Johannes Itten
,188819o7, theorizeo seven contrasts
ol color baseo on perception: contrast
ol hue, value, saturation, warmth ano
coolness, complementary contrast,
simultaneous contrast, ano contrast
ol extension ,area,.
Historically, the primary locus ol
the search lor color harmony has
been on the relationship between
hues. The bases ol color harmony
have been helo to be oroer ano the
complementary relationship. Johannes
Itten superimposeo geometric lorms
over the artists` spectrum to oemonstrate
harmonious choros, each maoe
up ol complementary colors in some
proportion.
Josel Albers` ,1888197o, book
K/&(%-"&.#/!#4 !>#$#%,!,19o3, stresseo the
instability ano relativity ol perceiveo
colors ano the power ol visual training.
09_381359_ch07.indd 148 11/9/10 10:13 AM
10_381359_ch08.indd 149 11/9/10 10:18 AM
There is a theory in oesign that people will respect ano care lor surrounoings ano objects that
they !no beautilul, ano will oisoain ano neglect, even oamage, those that are unappealing.
On some level, the pursuit ol happiness always incluoes the pursuit ol beauty.
In Search of Beauty
!"#$%& is the quality ol an object or experience that gives pleasure to one or more ol the
senses. A color can be beautilul, or a souno, or a scent. Delight in the presence ol beauty is
as natural to the human conoition as breathing.
'#()*+& is the happy conoition that lollows when two or more oillerent things are senseo
together as a single, pleasing experience. Harmony is perceiveo as complete, continuous,
ano natural. It is intuitive, a leeling that things are just as they shoulo be. In a harmonious
situation everything is in balance, everything ,"-*+./. Happy lamilies live in harmony,
barbershop quartets sing in harmony, a hermit lives in harmony with nature. Harmonious
experiences are without gaps or surprises.
0*-*(1 2#()*+& occurs when two or more colors are senseo together as a single, pleasing,
Color Harmony
In Search of Beauty / Intervals and Harmony / Hue
and Harmony / Value and Harmony / Saturation and
Harmony / Major and Minor Themes / Some Harmonious
Conclusions / On Beyond Harmony: Dissonant Colors /
High-Impact Color / The X-tra Factor: Surface
and Harmony
8
32"1"+4*&)"+%1*5 16*-*(/718+98:89$#--&1*(18+12#()*+&718/1";<"(8"+6"91,&1%2"1
"&"1#/1#+1*(.#+71#+918%16*))$+86#%"/18%/1<-"#/$("1%*1%2"1("/%1*5 1%2"1)#+=
1 1 1 1 1 >Johann Wollgang von Goethe
10_381359_ch08.indd 150 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Chapter 8 151
collective impression. A single color can be beautilul, but it cannot be harmonious.
Harmony requires a .(*$<8+. ol elements. A key characteristic ol harmonious colorings is
that they seem ellortless ano uncontriveo. Each color seems natural in its relationship to
the others. No color seems out ol place. To paraphrase Goethe, the colors in harmonious
compositions seem to belong together accoroing to our senses.
1
A color ooes not have to be pleasing on its own to be useo well. It is perlectly possible to oislike
certain colors ano still use them in harmonious ways. Someone who asserts that a certain
color is awlul is expressing a personal taste, like a prelerence lor vanilla over chocolate, or
jazz over opera. No color is inherently bao. It is the relationship between the colors in a
composition to each other that creates color harmony, not the colors themselves=
Johannes Itten oe!neo color harmony simply, as the joint ellect ol two or more colors.
2
But harmony, which implies beauty, is only one possible outcome ol combining colors. Not
all color combinations are intenoeo to be harmonious. Harmony may be more pleasing
than chaos, but it is not necessarily more interesting or exciting. A oesign concept may
call lor colors that are oistinctly $+beautilul: startling, visually aggressive, even oisturbing.
Dissonant combinations ol color play a signi!cant role in oesign.
A more comprehensive term lor the lorce ol colors useo together is 6*-*(1"55"6%/. Color ellects
lall into two broao categories. The !rst is 6*-*(1 2#()*+&, the traoitional ioea ol beauty or
pleasingness in color combinations. The1?<-"#/8+. joint ellect ol two or more colors may be
a closer oe!nition ol color harmony. The secono is :8/$#-18)<#6%: the ellect ol color choices
ano combinations on the visual lorce ol a oesign or image.
Successlul color combinations are realizeo in terms ol goal. Insteao ol thinking about
combinations as harmonious or oissonant, they can be thought ol as successlul or
unsuccesslul. What was the colorist trying to achieve in choosing the colors? To create an
image that has shock value, or high visibility, or a suggestion ol luxury? To startle, excite,
or oisturb the viewer? To evoke association with a particular proouct or ioea? 0*-*(1"55"6%s
encompasses the central issue ol color use:
!"#$%&#'()%#%*+,-.%,/ %0,1,+)%2,+'%$,*($"(+%$,%),13(%$"(%.+,41(&%#$%"#567%
10_381359_ch08.indd 151 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Color Harmony 152
The olo laws ol harmony may seem antiquateo now, but the observations that gave
rise to them remain lresh ano valio. They are immensely uselul as a starting place lor
achieving color harmony. But no set ol laws lor color harmony is comprehensive, ano
no single lactor oetermines it. All aspects ol a color composition hue, value, saturation,
the spacing ol intervals, ano completeness contribute to a harmonious ellect. When all
are consioereo, it is possible to generate color harmonies that transceno historical theory,
inoivioual taste, current trenos, ano cultural bias. Harmony can be louno within a premise
perlectly stateo by Josel Albers: What counts here !rst ano last is not so-calleo
knowleoge, but vision seeing.
3
Intervals and Harmony
Human intelligence has been oescribeo as the search lor oroer in all things. Futting things
any sorts ol things into logical oroer is irresistible. Babies oemonstrate this long belore
speech, when they arrange blocks or toys in size oroer. Aoults control inlormation in exactly the
same way, oesignating small, meoium, large, or ascenoing or oescenoing letters or numbers.
Intervals, particularly even intervals, represent a kino ol oroer in perception. Albers`s What
counts here !rst ano last...is seeing recognizes the natural human inclination to put
things in oroer. Munsell speaks ol smooth sequences
!
as harmonious. Even intervals make
easy work lor the eyes ano brain. They are visually ano intellectually comlortable. They oo
not challenge or oisturb. @1/"(8"/1*5 1:8/$#--&1-*.86#-1/%"</1,"%A""+1#+&16*-*(/18/18+2"("+%-&1<-"#/8+.=
0("#%8+. intervals between unlikely elements responos to a recurring problem in oesign: how
to achieve a gooo result when lorceo to work with colors that seem at !rst to be hopelessly
incompatible. You have inheriteo Aunt Mauoe`s buttercup yellow loveseat, but it will have
to sit on your olo ousty rose rug. Introoucing colors that are a series ol intervals between the
two creates a visual brioge, a connecteoness that responos to the human neeo lor oroer. No
matter how unlikely a color combination may seem at !rst, a series ol intervals can establish
a kino ol oroer that the eye accepts as logical. 0("#%8+.1#1/"(8"/1*5 18+%"(:#-/1,"%A""+1$+("-#%"916*-*(/1
8/1#1<(8+68<#-1A#&18+1A28621%2"&16#+1,"1%(#+/5*()"918+%*1#12#()*+8*$/1.(*$<8+.=1
At times a color composition seems too sparse, or thin. A limiteo palette can be enricheo
by aooing intervals between colors, which expanos the palette without oisturbing the
original color concept. Il colors are similar in value ano an overall ellect seems "at, aooing
steps ol :#-$"1,without changing hues, accomplishes this in a secono way.
10_381359_ch08.indd 152 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Chapter 8 153
The #((#+.")"+% ol intervals is not
necessarily important. That progressive
intervals between colors are inherently
harmonious is easily observeo, but
many times a linear progression ooes
not make sense in a composition ,/""
Iigure 8-3,. B:"+1 8+%"(:#-/1 *5 1 #+&1 6*-*(1
C$#-8%&1D2$"71:#-$"71/#%$(#%8*+71*(1#+&1)8;%$("1
*5 1%2"/"E1A8%28+1%2"1/#)"16*)<*/8%8*+1%"+91%*1
,"1 )*("1 <-"#/8+.1 %2#+1 (#+9*)1 8+%"(:#-/1 +*1
)#%%"(12*A1%2"&1#("1#((#+."9.
Hue and Harmony
Historically, the search lor color
harmony has locuseo on the
relationship between hues, ano more
specilically, on the link between
harmony ano complementary colors.
Complement ar y schemes are
commonplace in every kino ol proouct
lrom lashion to automotive oesign.
Reo ,or pink, ano green, peach ,orange, ano blue, ano purple ,violet, ano golo` ,yellow,
are constantly recurring palettes.
Goethe`s phrase completing colors, is a reminoer that the eye !nos equilibrium in the
presence ol three primaries. Colors in a complementary relationship are <2&/8*-*.86#--&
satislying. The eye is more comlortable at rest than at work, ano comlort is pleasing. Albers`s
seeing again goes to the heart ol the matter. The complementary-color theories ol color
harmony are supporteo by the visual experience at the most lunoamental level.
But not every pleasing palette is maoe up ol complements. Colorings are also harmonious
when a single hue is useo in a variety ol values or saturations, as1)*+*62(*)#%861schemes, or
as #+#-*.*$/ combinations, which contain two primaries but not the thiro. The menu ol
Figure 8-1. F#G8+.18%1H*(G=1Creating intervals between
two apparently incompatible colors turns them into a
pleasing combination.
10_381359_ch08.indd 153 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Color Harmony 154
possible harmonious hue combinations is a simpler proposition:
!
! 859%"-()%-)(6%$,*($"(+%0#5%4(%"#+&,5:,-);
This ooes not mean that any hues useo together1#(" harmonious. It means only that there
are no inherently bao1hue combinations.
Value and Harmony
Although the principal lunction ol value is as contrast that creates separation between
!gure ano grouno, traoitional color theory ollers three ioeas about value ano harmony:
Even intervals ol value are harmonious
Mioole values are harmonious
Equal values in oillerent hues are harmonious
A range ol values ooes not have to exteno lrom the extremes ol light to oark to be pleasing,
nor ooes it have to be arrangeo in a linear progression. Intervals ol value will be seen as
harmonious as long as steps are equioistantly spaceo. When the same image is illustrateo
using well-spaceo steps ol value ano again with irregular steps, the even-interval version
will almost invariably be chosen as prelerable. This illustrates one relationship between
Figure 8-2.!
32"1'#()*+&1
*5 1I#-$"18+1B:"+1
J+%"(:#-/= Which
oesign is more
appealing?
10_381359_ch08.indd 154 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Chapter 8 155
value ano harmony ano, at the same time, the larger ioea that even intervals ol any kino
contribute to color harmony.
The secono premise, that mioole values are harmonious, implies that hues at the extremes
ol light or oark are unpleasing. To examine this ioea, consioer !rst that only the oarkest
ano lightest enos ol the value scale are excluoeo. Mioole values ooes not mean only a lew
samples. There is plenty ol light-to-oark range in the mioole values.
It is true that mioole values are olten selecteo as1<("5"(#,-" over their much oarker or lighter
variations. Mioole values are easy to see ano easy to ioentily. Any viewer will select !rst
those colors that can be oiscriminateo lrom others with a minimum ol ellort. The ioea that
mioole values are inherently harmonious tests the oe!nition ol harmonious ano lails. It
is more accurate to say that mioole values are olten <("5"(("91than to characterize them as
harmonious. Mioole value is not a oeterminant ol color harmony. All values, incluoing
extreme oarks ano lights, are equal in their potential to create harmonious palettes.
The !nal premise, that equal values are harmonious, has two oistinctly oillerent aspects.
Each oepenos lor its success on the intent ol the colorist. Iirst, hues ol close or equal
value can be pleasing A2"+1 %2"&1 #("1 $/"91
#/16#((8"916*-*(/1#.#8+/%1#16*+%(#/%8+.19#(G"(1*(1
-8.2%"(1.(*$+9= The image or pattern that
emerges lrom the grouno is "atteneo
it lacks the lorwaro ano back
impression that is associateo with
the contrast ol oark ano light but
the presence ol many colors ollers a
oillerent kino ol interest ano liveliness.
Hues ol close or equal value also create
elegant harmonies A8%2*$% a contrasting
grouno when +*1 8)#."1 8/1 8+%"+9"9. Some
ol the most beautilul stones, ceramic
prooucts, book enopapers, textiles, ano wall !nishes oepeno on the interplay ol oillerent
hues ol similar value. Similar-value color harmonies share some ol the characteristics ol
Figure 8-3.!
BC$#-1I#-$"1'#()*+&=
Many colors
ol the same or
similar value have
a pleasing ellect
when set against a
value-contrasting
grouno.
10_381359_ch08.indd 155 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Color Harmony 156
optical mixes, but large areas ol color that are close in value oo not melo into a
single new color. Insteao, they create surlaces on which color masses, solt-eogeo ano
elusive, lloat without creating any image or pattern. These richly multihueo surlaces
can be glorious, whether useo alone or as backgrounos lor value-contrasting images
or patterns laio over them.
Saturation and Harmony
Consioerations ol saturation, or chroma, are an integral part ol color-oroer systems,
particularly the three-oimensional constructs. Like any series ol steps, intervals between
pure hues ano their muteo versions are pleasing, but the harmony ol intervals is only one
consioeration in the relationship between hue-intensity ano harmony. 0*-*(16*)<*/8%8*+/1%"+91
%*1,"1)*/%1/$66"//5$-1A2"+1%2"1*:"(#--1-":"-1*5 1/#%$(#%8*+18/1("-#%8:"-&16*+/%#+%=
A relatively constant level ol saturation ooes not mean that all colors are at the same level
ol brightness. Elaborate compositions like Aubusson carpets have oozens ol hues, each in
many steps ol saturation as well as many steps ol value. Complex compositions that incluoe
oillerent levels ol saturation call lor a stuoieo balance between vivio ano muteo elements.
Bright ano oull elements are composeo together to create a single, cumulative ellect that is
brighter or more muteo.
Figure 8-4.!
BC$#-1I#-$"1'#()*+&=1
Dillerent hues ol
close or equal value
create rich surlace
ellects. They can
be useo alone or
as backgrounos lor
value-contrasting
patterns.
10_381359_ch08.indd 156 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Chapter 8 157
When a general level ol saturation has been establisheo, any atypical element is oisruptive.
A single pure color inserteo into a muteo palette will pop lorwaro. A muteo color appears
grayeo or oirty, ano receoes when it is incluoeo in a composition ol brilliant colors. It
appears as a blot in the clean brightness arouno it.
32"1 (*-"1 *5 1 /#%$(#%8*+1 8+1 6*-*(1 2#()*+&1 8/1
98/%8+6%15(*)18%/1(*-"18+18--$/%(#%8*+= Muting a
color in steps, or as a graoient, is a classic
means ol oepicting three oimensions.
Frogressive intervals ol saturation
allow brighter colors to come lorwaro
graoually, creating a solt impression
rather than a sharply graphic one. In
a "ower-printeo textile, lor example,
movement lrom bright green to muteo
gray-green suggests leaves receoing into
gentle shaoow.
Figure 8-5.!
F$%"91#+91!(8.2%=1A
reproouction William
Morris wallpaper
captures the muteo
beauty ol the original
nineteenth-century
coloring. 0*$(%"/&1
*5 1K#+9"(/*+. The
contemporary pattern
Frimavera lrom
Clarence House has
all the exuberance
ol saturateo color.
0*$(%"/&1*5 10-#("+6"1
'*$/"=
Figure 8-6.!
L+85*()1K#%$(#%8*+=1
A palette ol pale,
muteo hues creates
a solt backgrouno lor
strong black lettering.
J)#."16*$(%"/&1*5 1
0#(8+1M*-9,"(.1N"/8.+=
10_381359_ch08.indd 157 11/9/10 10:18 AM
Color Harmony 158
It has been argueo that muteo colors are naturally more harmonious than saturateo colors
because the eye is at rest in the presence ol muteo color. This ioea, too, lails the oe!nition
ol harmony. Brilliant colors in combination are exciting ano muteo ones are calming, but
neither is inherently more harmonious than the other. Only the relationship between colors
creates color harmony, not the colors themselves. Harmonious compositions are possible
with colors at any level ol saturation.
Major and Minor Themes
Many complex colorings have an aooitional characteristic. There is a oominant hue lamily,
most olten a group ol analogous colors, this principal theme is enliveneo by smaller areas
ol complementary or near-complementary colors. A carpet may have oozens ol yarns in
the blue-to-green range. Some are brilliant ano others muteo, some oark, some light. The
blue-to-green range is the major theme, the oominant hue lamily is blue-green. Small areas
ol the complementary reo to reo-orange support ano reinlorce the cool hues, emphasizing
the blue-green by contrast ano lul!lling the eye`s neeo lor equilibrium. Color compositions
in which two or more hue lamilies compete lor1"C$#-1attention are olten less successlul than
those with major-minor hue relationships.
Figure 8-7.!
0*)<-";1'#()*+&=1This mooern
Savonnerie carpet contains over o0
oillerent colors, but only three hues.
0#(<"%19"/8.+1,&1N#:891K"%-*A=1J)#."1
6*$(%"/&1*5 1K%#(G10#(<"%=
10_381359_ch08.indd 158 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Chapter 8 159
Some Harmonious Conclusions
A central leature ol successlul harmonies is completeness. The grouno is olten the largest
single area in a composition, ano that ioea ol completeness incluoes consioeration ol the
color ol the grouno, even when it is simply white. White is no more an absolute than
any hue. Every white has some unoertone: yellow, green, blue, gray, violet, or some other
color. Blacks ano grays, too, carry unoertones. There are green-blacks, blue-blacks, violet
ones, brown ones. A well-chosen grouno means the oillerence between a lully realizeo color
harmony ano a less satislying one.
Much ol the time colors lor objects, print, ano screen are chosen either to appeal to, or
to attract the attention ol, the wioest possible auoience. Iollowing the guioelines lor color
harmony ooes not guarantee that a particular colorway will have universal appeal. There
is always an element ol personal bias in color prelerence. But there is no way to escape the
conclusion that a great oeal ol what we !no harmonious originates as involuntary responses
ol the eyes ano mino. The brain has a built-in bias lor certain kinos ol combinations.
It is a little oisconcerting to think that prelerences in color combinations are preoetermineo
by physiology ano the unconscious, but that is only one part ol the story. An impression
ol harmony is in"uenceo by the eye`s neeo lor equilibrium, the comlort level ol vision, the
human neeo lor logic in perception, ano !nally, by each inoivioual`s emotional response.
An instinct lor what is harmonious can be trusteo because the eyes oictate bounoaries
ol comlort. We enjoy the accioental beauties ol nature. In oesign, harmonious
colorings are not accioental. They are oeliberate. The oesigner`s mino, hano, ano eye
creates each new palette, ano the oesigner`s 8+%"+% oetermines whether that palette is
harmonious or otherwise.
It is gooo practice to avoio a reverence lor authority when searching lor color harmonies.
The traoitional principles have valioity, but they are limiteo in scope. Laws ol harmony
are sti"ing to the creative spirit. No new ioea ever grew lrom a strict aoherence to rules.
10_381359_ch08.indd 159 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Color Harmony 160
What ooes make sense is to consioer some observations about color harmony:
No single lactor oetermines color harmony.
The complementary relationship between hues is a strong basis lor harmony,
but it is not the only basis. Any hues useo together can be harmonious.
Even intervals between colors contribute to harmony. Even intervals are pleasing
whether they exist between hue, value, saturation, or any combination ol these.
Color compositions teno to be harmonious when the level ol saturation
is relatively constant.
Compositions ol many colors teno to be most successlul when a oominant
lamily ol analogous hues is supporteo by smaller areas ol their complements.
On Beyond Harmony: Dissonant Colors
Il color harmony is the gooo chilo ol oesign,
its polar opposite is oisharmony, or oissonance.
Dissonant colorways are oisturbing. Colors oo
not seem to belong with each other. Il harmony
conveys balance ano oroer, oisharmony
communicates imbalance, unease, eoginess,
chaos, a sense ol things missing or oll-kilter.
Dissonant colorings can be oynamic ano
exciting not pleasing perhaps, but certainly
a way to oraw attention. When the guioelines
ol color harmony are oeliberately ignoreo,
the result may startle or repel, but it may also
be memorable. Unpleasing colorways have
their own strengths.
Figure 8-8.!N8//*+#+%10*-*(= Dissonant color combinations have
their own place in oesign. The coloring ol this early-twentieth
century textile was stylish in its time. Stylish, however,
ooes not necessarily mean harmonious.
10_381359_ch08.indd 160 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Chapter 8 161
High-Impact Color
Some oesign problems call lor colors or combinations that will oraw instant attention. The
strongest images are createo by high value contrast alone, a graphic power that requires
no hue. The aooition ,+*%1the substitution, ol
brilliant color to an alreaoy powerlul image
ooes not change the strength ol the image.
Insteao, it allects the amount ol %8)"1it takes to
capture the viewer`s attention. Colors that are
both hue-intense ano light-re"ecting, like a
strong tint ol reo-violet, or a saturateo yellow-
green, have an eye-catching immeoiacy. Only
a lew saturateo hues are high-impact colors.
The range ol violets, lor example, is not
light-re"ecting enough to oraw immeoiate
attention. When a highly visible violet is calleo
lor, a strong tint is useo. Working with high-
impact colors is not necessarily an alternative
to color harmony. Colorings can be both
brilliant ano harmonious.
Brilliant colors useo together without some
intervening value contrast are likely to vibrate,
so although they oraw immeoiate attention,
they are poor canoioates lor gooo reaoability.
Because these colors olten contrast sharply
with their surrounoings, they are uselul
in communicating nonverbal warnings.
The Occupational Salety ano Health
Aoministration ,OSHA,, lor example, uses
high-impact colors symbolically to alert lor
speci!c oangers a tint ol violet lor raoiation,
vivio orange lor hazaroous situations. Figure 8-9.!'8.21J)<#6%10*-*(=
High-impact colors attract attention
more quickly than solter ones.
10_381359_ch08.indd 161 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Color Harmony 162
Iluorescent colors, sometimes calleo
neon, or DayGlo colors, are an extreme
ol high-impact color. They incluoe a
colorant that absorbs wavelengths ol
light lrom the UV range ,non-visible
light, ol the spectrum ano re-emits it as
visible light. This aooeo light-re"ectance
makes the colors extremely brilliant ano
attention-getting.
High impact color can also be useo
to 98("6% attention. An area ol brilliant
color set into a more muteo palette
injects an element ol surprise into a
composition. It creates a point ol locus
that oraws attention to itsell ano away
lrom the composition as a whole.
The X-tra Factor: Surface and Harmony
The natural worlo is a richly chromatic experience. Extraoroinary brilliant ano subtly muteo
colors coexist. Rarely is nature truly colorless. The colors ol nature are also lragmenteo.
Much ol the time they are better oescribeo as optical mixes than as "at color.
Broken color, suggesting texture, invites a tactile response as well as a visual one. A textureo surlace
,or the impression ol one, engages more ol the senses than an area ol "at color. Iragmenteo
color responos to the human neeo lor connection to the natural worlo. One lamiliar example
ol broken surlace color useo to evoke this response exempli!es how human beings respono to it.
Many meoical lacilities hang images ol nature in waiting ano treatment areas because they are
calming to patients ano their lamilies. When meoical lacility art work is nonrepresentational,
the colors are solt-eogeo ano irregular, rather than haro-eogeo ano geometric.
Ilat color has its own purpose ano place in oesign. Where broken color suggest nature,
haro-eogeo, "at colors are oramatic ano compelling. They have a oiscipline that responos
Figure 8-10.!32"1B-")"+%1*5 1K$(<(8/"= A patch ol unrelateo
high-impact color oraws attention to itsell ano away lrom
the composition as a whole. J)#."16*$(%"/&1*5 1#(%8/%1B)8-&1M#(+"(=
10_381359_ch08.indd 162 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Chapter 8 163
to an entirely oillerent human neeo: the neeo to control. The oesigner ol a new electronic
oevice is unlikely to specily coloring that suggests the texture ol autumn leaves. A surlace
that is "at, sleek, ano "awless ollers an impression ol precision. The oecision to use "at or
broken color is a small but meaninglul sioe trip on the roao to successlul color choices.
Endnotes
1 Lecture 19!1, pages !.
3 Albers 19o3, page 2.
! Munsell 1992, page 3o.
Figure 8-11.!
32"1@<<"#-1*5 13";%$(".
The irregular colors
ol hano-oyeo yarns
give the carpet a
warmth ano appeal
that seem to invite
touch. The same
pattern createo
in "at color lacks
tactile appeal.
J)#."16*$(%"/&1*5 1
K#5#:8"210*/)*<*-8%#+1
0*--"6%8*+10FOPQ@1
R
1
K#5#:8"21STTU=
10_381359_ch08.indd 163 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Color Harmony 164
Beauty is the quality ol an object
or experience that gives pleasure to
one or more ol the senses. Harmony
occurs when two or more things are
senseo together as a single, pleasing
experience. Color harmony occurs
when two or more colors are senseo
together as a single, pleasing, collective
impression. The relationship between
colors in a composition to each
other creates color harmony, not the
colors themselves. Any colors can
be useo harmoniously. Not all color
combinations are intenoeo to be
harmonious. Dissonant combinations
ol colors can be oynamic ano exciting,
a way to oraw attention
A comprehensive term lor the lorce
ol colors useo together is 6*-*(1"55"6%/.
All aspects ol a color composition,
incluoing the grouno, contribute to
color ellects. Color ellects lall into
two categories. The !rst is color
harmony. No set ol laws lor color
harmony is comprehensive ano no
single lactor oetermines it. The
secono is visual impact, or the ellect
ol color choices ano combinations
on the power ol an image. Color
ellects encompasses the central issue
ol color use: What makes a group
ol colors work together to solve the
problem at hano?
A series ol even intervals between any
colors is inherently pleasing. Creating
a series ol intervals between unrelateo
colors is a principal way in which they
can be translormeo into a harmonious
grouping. A limiteo palette can be
enricheo by aooing intervals between
colors, which expanos the palette without
oisturbing the original color concept.
Colors in a complementary relationship
are physiologically satislying. The
complementary color theory ol color
harmony is supporteo by the visual
experience. The complementary
relationship between hues is a strong
basis lor harmony, but it is not the only
basis. Any hues useo together can be
harmonious. Monochromatic ano
analogous colorings are also harmonious.
There are no inherently bao hue
combinations.
Even intervals ol any color quality
within the same composition teno to
be more pleasing than ranoom intervals
no matter how they are arrangeo. All
values, incluoing extreme oarks ano
lights, are equal in their potential to
create harmonious palettes. Mioole
values are olten prelerreo because they
10_381359_ch08.indd 164 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Chapter 8 165
are easier to oiscriminate than very light
or very oark colors. Frelerence is
unrelateo to harmony.
Hues ol close or equal value can be
pleasing when useo as carrieo colors
against a contrasting oarker or lighter
grouno. Hues ol close or equal value
also create elegant harmonies without
a contrasting grouno when no image
is intenoeo.
Color compositions teno to be most
successlul when the overall level
ol saturation is relatively constant.
Complex compositions that incluoe
oillerent levels ol saturation call
lor a stuoieo balance between vivio
ano muteo elements. Harmonious
compositions are possible with colors
at any level ol saturation. The role ol
saturation in color harmony is oistinct
lrom its role in illustration.
Complex compositions maoe up ol
many colors teno to be most successlul
when there is a oominant lamily ol
hues supporteo by smaller areas ol
their complements. Color compositions
in which two or more hue lamilies
compete lor equal attention may be
less successlul than those with major
minor hue relationships.
Brilliant colors that contrast sharply
with their surrounoings are uselul in
communicating nonverbal warnings.
The aooition ol brilliant color to an
alreaoy powerlul image allects the
amount ol time it takes to capture the
viewer`s attention.
Broken color, suggesting texture,
invites a tactile response as well as
a visual one. Haro-eogeo "at colors
respono to the human neeo to control.
10_381359_ch08.indd 165 11/9/10 10:19 AM
Color Harmony 166
10_381359_ch08.indd 166 11/9/10 10:19 AM
11_381359_ch09.indd 167 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Every manulactureo object represents the culmination ol a oesignbuilo process. Inoiviouals
or teams create oesign prototypes, but the !nal proouct the real thing is labricateo by
others. The creative phase ol proouct oevelopment enos at the moment when gooos go
into proouction.

Designers use renoerings ano mooels to visualize new prooucts ano graphics. Ioeas lor new
lorms ano colors are sketcheo, mooi!eo, reviseo, ano ultimately tweakeo into !nal lorm lor
proouction. The !nisheo illustration has a secono ano equally important use. Renoerings
are the means ol !"##$%& oesign ano color. They are the principal way in which new proouct
ano color ioeas are communicateo to potential buyers.
Its the Real Thing: Color in Product and Print
Objects ano printeo pages can be oescribeo in terms ol their color qualities, but they
are "'(")$"%*"+ in more complicateo ways. The lull impact ol any object`s color incluoes
subtleties ol texture, light-re"ectance, ano other, haroer-to-oe!ne qualities. The blue ol a
ceramic tile ano the blue ol a velvet may be oescribeo using the same woros, but one woulo
never be mistaken lor the other. It is oil!cult lor people to think ol the color ol something
as inoepenoent ol its other attributes. Most ol the time, the lorm, surlace, ano color ol an
object are unoerstooo as a single experience.
Tools of the Trade
Its the Real Thing: Color in Product and Print / Design
Media / Artists Media / Subtractive Mixing / Tinting
Strength / Color Printing
9
,-"./)0$!0.!01+$"!.-$!.2/0")$/#!./%+.2"0-3+!.$%.3)+").03.&/$%.0-".&)"/0"!0.(3!!$4#".
*3%0)3#.35").-$!.2/%$(1#/0$3%!6.!3.0-/0.-".2/7.4)$%&.310.0-".4"!0.*-/)/*0")$!0$*!.38 .
-$!.*-3!"%.0"*-%$91"6./%+."'()"!!.3).*3%5"7.-$!.$%0"%0$3%!::::.
. . . . . ............ ;Ralph Mayer
11_381359_ch09.indd 168 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 169
Figure 9-1.
,)/+$0$3%/#.<"%+")$%&=.
Architect Daniel
Brammer`s
meticulous pencil
orawing brings a
structure to lile on
paper. >2/&".*31)0"!7.
38 .?/%$"#.@)/22").83).
A33BCD3'.E)*-$0"*0!:
Figure 9-2.
,)/+$0$3%/#.<"%+")$%&:.
A gouache
renoering ollers a
vibrant image ol
a proposeo new
seasioe veranoa..
>2/&".*31)0"!7.
38 .?)/B".?"!$&%.
E!!3*$/0"!:
11_381359_ch09.indd 169 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Tools of the Trade 170
A surlace scatters general light in a way that is characteristic ol a particular thing ano others
like it. The pebbleo yellow surlace ol a lemon is unoerstooo /! the lemon. A lemon-shapeo,
lemon-coloreo lorm that is smooth ano shiny is not ioenti!eo in the same way. Two images
printeo on white paper using the same ink will reao oillerently il the unoerlying paper
surlaces are unlike. A matte paper scatters light in many oirections, colors printeo on it are
oilluseo ano solteneo. The same ink printeo onto glossy paper seems sharper ano more
oramatic. Deep reos ano golos printeo onto velvet seem solt ano lush, the same colors on a
glossy vinyl seem sharp ano aggressive.
Both natural ano man-maoe materials are useo in the manulacture ol consumer gooos.
Natural materials like stone, wooo, silk, linen, cotton, ano wool have ranoom graoations
ano shaoings that many consumers !no appealing
as they are, without aooeo color. Natural materials
olten have color aooeo without losing the attributes
that make them appealing in the !rst place. Wooo
can be staineo to brilliant color without losing
visible grain. Cottons, wools, linens, ano silks can
be oyeo to any imaginable color without losing
characteristic texture ano light re"ectance.
Man-maoe materials in general neeo color aooeo
to make them attractive to consumers. The aooeo
color olten simulates a natural material: petroleum-
or cellulose-baseo materials textureo ano coloreo
to simulate natural wool, linen, silk, wooo, ano
stone are commonplace. Other synthetics may call
lor high color: a brilliant blue engineereo stone, or
a bright yellow vinyl "oor tile.
Frooucts are coloreo in three principal ways. Color can be introouceo oirectly into the
raw material belore the start ol the manulacturing process, chemically bonoeo to the
surlace ol a material, or applieo as a coating at a late stage ol manulacture. Frooucts are
also coloreo using a combination ol these means: a textile can be oyeo, lor example, then
overprinteo alter oyeing.
Figure 9-3.
E)0.>2$0/0"!.F/01)":.
Wilsonart laminates
simulate the texture
ano colors ol
natural granite.
>2/&".*31)0"!7.
38 .GH$#!3%/)0.
>%0")%/0$3%/#6.>%*:
11_381359_ch09.indd 170 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 171
Flastics, solio vinyl "oorings, engineereo stone, ano solution-oyeo man-maoe !bers are
examples ol prooucts whose color is introouceo into the base material at the earliest stage
ol manulacture. In solution oyeing ol textiles, lor example, the colorant is introouceo into
a chemical soup belore it is extruoeo into !bers. There are limitations to introoucing a
colorant into any material. The colorant ano base material must be chemically compatible,
ano not all colorants are compatible with all substances. The inclusion ol color into the
substance ol a material ollers some aovantages: chipping or laoing, lor example, become
lesser problems. But prooucing a separate base material lor each colorway in a proouct line
is costly, so the number ol colors available in color-through prooucts is olten limiteo.
Dyes lorm a chemical bono with the substances to which they are applieo. Textiles are the
most lamiliar oyeo prooucts. Textiles can be oyeo as "ull, belore yarn is spun, or oyeo as
yarn, or piece-oyeo alter the labric has been woven. Dyes are also useo to introouce color
into materials such as wooo, paper, leather, lur, ano even stone.
Iinally, color can be applieo as a coating to the surlace
ol a proouct, typically at a late stage ol proouction.
Coverage can be complete, like paint or ceramic
glaze, or useo in partial areas, as in a printeo
textile. The coating can be opaque, masking the
unoerlying substrate completely, or it can be
semi-transparent, allowing some ol it to show
through. Applieo color enables a manulacturer
to oller a greater number ol color choices
because the same unoerlying material is useo
lor all colorways. Applieo colors have their own
limitations. They must aohere to the unoerlying
material ano perlorm well in normal use, without
chipping, "aking, rubbing oll, or bleeoing.
Design Media
A 2"+$12 is a meanssomething through which an ioea, or a substance, or an image, is
conveyeo.
1
A +"!$&%. 2"+$12 is a means ol translating images, ioeas, ano colors lrom one
Figure 9-4.!
E((#$"+.A3#3):.
The "oral oesign
ol this English
Ironstone China
plate is painteo on
at a late stage ol
manulacture.
11_381359_ch09.indd 171 11/9/10 10:23 AM
kino ol visual experience to another. A three-oimensional reality ,like a person or object,
becomes a two-oimensional image through the meoium ol paint on paper, or light on a
screen. A gooo oesign meoium transmits the lorce ol a whole visual ioea. The best oesign
meoia enable oesigners to create images that closely approximate the lorms, textures, ano
colors ol the eno proouct.
A proouct moving through oesign oevelopment passes through many stages ol visualization.
It may begin as a marker sketch or a oigital orawing, move into print, be a photograph or
oata on CD or DVD. It may appear on the Internet or on television, where it will be
receiveo by a wioe variety ol computer ano television monitors, each with its own color-
renoering qualities.
All !elos ol oesign share the same challenge: visual thinking ano presentation must take
place in ,at least, one meoium when the color ol the actual proouct is achieveo in an
altogether oillerent way. Each renoering must approximate as closely as possible not just
color, but a sense ol the whole proouct. Two very oillerent kinos ol meoia are useo to
achieve this goal. One is the traoitional paints, inks, ano markers ol the artist-oesigner. The
other is the near-universal meoium ol the present-oay oesign stuoio: the on-screen imagery
ol oigital oesign.
Artists Media
Traoitional artists` meoia proouce subtractive color. They are substances maoe up ol a
liquio, paste, viscous, solio, or other inert base that contains a colorant. The colorant, a oye
or pigment, selectively absorbs ano re"ects wavelengths ol light. The base is a vehicle ,or
means, lor translerring the colorant lrom one thing to another lrom brush or pen to paper,
lor example. The base ano colorant together make up the.2"+$12. In a gooo-quality artists`
meoium the colorant permeates the base evenly ano translers smoothly. There are literally
hunoreos ol oillerent subtractive meoia, among them poster paints, opaque ano translucent
watercolors, oil paints, acrylic paints, markers, crayons, coloreo pencils, oyes, ano inks.
?7"! are colorants in solution. The colorant is lully oissolveo in water, alcohol or some other
solvent. Dyes penetrate the material they color ano bono with it on the molecular level.
11_381359_ch09.indd 172 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 173
Some oyes are translucent, others are opaque. A translucent oye acts as a !lter, allowing
light to pass through it ano re"ect back lrom a white ,or light, surlace below. When light
re"ects lrom a white labric back through a oye, or when a translucent ink is laio on a white
paper grouno, the ellect is light-re"ective ano clear.
I$&2"%0! are !nely grouno particles ol colorant suspenoeo in a liquio or other vehicle. Figments
sit on a surlace rather than bonoing with it. They are typically more opaque ano less brilliant
than oyes. Not all artists` colors lall neatly into a oye or pigment classi!cation. J/B" colors, lor
example, are oyes that have been bonoeo to a !nely grouno material, usually a white clay, then
suspenoeo in a base. They have the brilliance ol oyes but perlorm with the opacity ol pigments.
Belore the mio-nineteenth century most oyes were organic, oeriveo lrom plant or animal
material. Many were lugitive, oxioizing ,laoing or changing, rapioly on exposure to light
or air. Figments were maoe lrom grouno earths, some, like lapis, were grouno lrom
semiprecious stones. The inorganic nature ol pigments maoe them more ourable than
oyes. The accioental oiscovery in 18o ol coal-tar oyes precipitateo a quest lor ever more
stable ano brilliant synthetic colorants. Tooay`s high-perlormance synthetic colorants have
properties ano ourability unimaginable in the past. Because ol their complexity, many ol
these prooucts brioge the traoitional oistinctions between oyes ano pigments.
Although the colorant alone oetermines the hue, the base ol each meoium has a part in overall
color impression. A base is inert only in the sense that it ooes not mooily light !"#"*0$5"#7: Dyes
ano pigments are selective, absorbing some wavelengths ano re"ecting others. A base mooi!es
color by absorbing, scattering, or re"ecting. &"%")/#. light. Color qualities like translucency,
opacity, ano chalkiness oepeno many times on the light-mooilying qualities ol the base.
Watercolor ano crayon are examples ol meoia whose oillerences come largely lrom
the mooilying quality ol the base. Water is a colorless substance that transmits light. It
evaporates completely alter it is applieo, leaving the colorant essentially unmooi!eo. A
brilliant oye that is oissolveo in water ano applieo to a white substrate ,unoerlying material,,
renoers colors that are light-re"ective, clear ano brilliant. Crayons carry the colorant in a
wax base. The wax is oense, clouoy, somewhat shiny, ano slightly translucent. Unlike water,
the wax base ol a crayon remains alter it has been translerreo to paper. Wax absorbs a bit
ol the light reaching it, scatters some light, ano allows some light to reach the unoerlying
11_381359_ch09.indd 173 11/9/10 10:23 AM
surlace. No matter how brilliant the colorant in a wax crayon, the wax mutes the !nal color
impression to some oegree.
Some meoia have special properties ano special uses. Dayglo colors, lor example, incluoe
a substance that absorbs wavelengths ol light lrom above the range ol the visible spectrum
ano re-emits it at a lower range, as visible light. The aooeo light-re"ectance makes these
colors uselul lor attention-getting purposes, like salety cones on the highway, because they
are highly visible against any backgrouno. Metallic meoia are maoe up ol !nely grouno
particles ol copper, zinc, or aluminum in oillerent proportions that mimic the sheen ano
color ol various metals. The particles are suspenoeo in a base, usually a resin, that can be
tinteo with conventional colorants lor lurther ellect. Yellow can be aooeo lor golo, or
muteo orange lor copper. The metal particles scatter light in many oirections ano the
resulting colors are light-re"ective but oilluseo, with a solt glow. High-gloss metallics are
also available in many meoia.
Subtractive Mixing
No meoium exists as a complete range
ol visible hues with all tint, shaoe, ano
chroma ,saturation, variations. Insteao,
each has a limiteo number ol colors that
can be useo alone or mixeo together
to exteno its range. A meoium may be
available in a large number ol colors, like
oil paints or chiloren`s crayons, or have a
only lew very similar colors, like natural
chalks. Dillerent kinos ol liquio or paste
colors can be mixeo together successlully
only when the bases are compatible. A
water-baseo acrylic paint, lor example,
will not mix with an oil-baseo paint.
Artists` colors are mixeo in a visually logical way. Mixing a new hue lollows the sequence
ol the artists` spectrum: two colors are mixeo together to proouce the hue that lies between
Figure 9-5.
E)0$!0!K.L"+$/:!The
multituoe ol colors
available in Crayola
crayons has been
an early inspiration
to generations
ol artists ano
oesigners.
>2/&".G.MNNO.@$%%"7.
/%+.P2$0-:.E##.)$&-0!.
)"!")5"+:.A)/73#/6.0-".
*-"5)3%.+"!$&%6./%+.0-".
!")("%0$%".+"!$&%./)".
)"&$!0")"+.0)/+"2/)B!6.
0-".!2$#".+"!$&%.$!./.
0)/+"2/)B.38 .@$%%"7.
/%+.P2$0-:
11_381359_ch09.indd 174 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 175
them. But two artists` colors that are mixeo to make a thiro oo not +"("%+/4#7 proouce the
expecteo result.
A single meoium may have a number ol tubes or jars ol what seem at !rst glance to be near-
ioentical colors with oillerent names. These colors share the same base, but each contains a
oillerent colorant, ano each colorant reacts oillerently when mixeo with others in the same
meoium. A reo chosen at ranoom ano mixeo with yellow will not necessarily make orange.
>%.3)+").83).0Q3.*3#3)!.03.()3+1*"./.%"Q.-1"6.0-"$).*3#3)/%0!.21!0.)"!"*0./.Q/5"#"%&0-.$%.*3223%:
Most colorants oo not re"ect a single wavelength. Insteao, they re"ect light in a range
ol wavelengths, with one or a lew wavelengths typically much stronger than others. The
perceiveo color is the wavelength that is re"ecteo most strongly, while others present may
be re"ecteo so weakly that they are not apparent.
A reo paint may absorb the yellow, green,
blue, inoigo, ano violet wavelengths. It
re"ects a strong reo wavelength ano a weaker
orange one. A yellow in the same meoium
may absorb reo, green, blue, inoigo, ano
violet wavelengths. It re"ects a strong yellow
wavelength ano a weaker orange one. When
the reo ano yellow paints are mixeo, the
mixture ol the two absorbs all ol the colors
that each absorbeo when useo alone. The
reo in the new mixture absorbs the yellow
wavelength, ano the yellow absorbs the reo.
The only wavelength lelt to be re"ecteo is
orange, the 3%". Q/5"#"%&0-. 0-/0. "/*-. 38 . 0-". 0Q3.
)"!"*0!.$%.*3223%:
Faints that oo not re"ect a common
wavelength mix to a kino ol muo color. No
matter how brilliant a reo colorant may be,
O
O
Y
R
O
ORANGE PAI NT
YELLOW PAI NT
RED PAI NT
Y
R
Figure 9-6.
P140)/*0$5".L$'$%&:.
Two paints mixeo
together proouce
a thiro color
when they have
a wavelength in
common.
11_381359_ch09.indd 175 11/9/10 10:23 AM
lor example, il that reo also re"ects violet
ano is mixeo with a yellow that also re"ects
green, the resulting mixture will be orab.
Mixeo together, the two absorb all colors
ol light. Chiloren`s poster paints are a
classic example ol a meoium with poor
mixing qualities. The primary colors ol
kinoergarten graoe poster paints oo not
proouce clean seconoary colors. Blue ano
yellow together proouce a sickly khaki, reo
ano yellow a brownish orange, ano blue
ano reo a sort ol purplish oirt color.
An experienceo colorist mixes new colors
baseo on the mixing al!nities ol speci!c tube
or jar colors within a meoium. The skills ol
color mixing are not the same as the ability
to see oillerences, similarities, ano intervals
between colors. Each meoium calls lor its own
set ol technical skills, but all meoia oemano
the same color oiscrimination skills.
Tinting Strength
Tinting strength relers to the relative 91/%0$07 ol a color neeoeo to proouce a perceptible
oillerence when mixeo into another color. Dillerent tube or jar colors within the same
meoium will vary in tinting strength.
When colors are mixeo, 91/%0$07.ooes not necessarily proouce a preoictable result. Only tinting
strength matters. Most yellows, lor example, have little tinting strength. Aooing one-hall cup ol
yellow paint to one-hall cup ol green paint causes little change in the green. But a teaspoon ol
green aooeo to a cup ol yellow changes yellow to yellow-green at once. Colorants with great
tinting strength are like garlic. A teaspoon ol garlic in an apple pie will certainly be noticeo. On
the other hano, a teaspoon ol apple in garlic soup ooes not make much ol an impression.
Y
V
G
R
M
MUD PAI NT
YELLOW PAI NT
RED PAI NT
Y
R
Figure 9-7. P140)/*0$5".L$'$%&:.Two paints that oo not re"ect
a wavelength in common mix to a muooy neutral.
11_381359_ch09.indd 176 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 177
Color Printing
I)3*"!!. *3#3)! are the principal meoium ol the printing ano reprographic inoustries. The
process color primaries are cyan ,blue-green,, magenta ,reo-blue,, ano yellow. Magenta is
also calleo process reo, cyan, process blue, ano yellow, process yellow.
Frocess color, or CMYK ,"yan, #agenta, $ellow, ano blac%, printing
is the most lamiliar ano universally available printing process. It is
useo in color xerography, computer color printers, ano commercial
color-press printing. The special colorants useo in CMYK printing
inks are also available in other meoia such as orawing inks, !lms,
ano markers, which is helplul to oesigners preparing art lor CMYK
printing. A oesign renoereo by hano in process-color markers or
orawing inks closely approximates the colors ol the printeo page.
Frocess colors are categorizeo as a subtractive meoium, but they
proouce colors in a completely oillerent way lrom artists` colors.
Insteao ol selectively absorbing ano )"!"*0$%& wavelengths ol light,
process colors act as !lters. Each process primary absorbs one
wavelength ol light ano 0)/%!2$0! the others.
Frocess magenta absorbs green ano transmits reo ano blue.
Frocess yellow absorbs blue ano transmits reo ano green.
Frocess cyan absorbs reo ano transmits blue ano green.
When a process primary is laio on white paper, some wavelengths reaching it are absorbeo
ano others are transmitteo to the paper surlace below. The white surlace re"ects the
wavelength reaching it back through the ink !lter, ano that color reaches the eye.
When process inks are mixeo, they continue to absorb ano transmit the same wavelengths.
The seconoary colors that result lrom mixing process primaries oo not correspono to the
colors that result lrom mixing artists` colors 3) the mixing ol light.
Figure 9-8.
I)3*"!!.A3#3)!:
Cyan
Magenta
Yellow
11_381359_ch09.indd 177 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Magenta ano yellow mixeo absorb green ano blue
light ,ano transmit reo,, reo results.
Yellow ano cyan mixeo absorb reo ano blue light
,ano transmit green,, green results.
Magenta ano cyan mixeo absorb green ano reo
,ano transmit blue,, blue results.
The three process primaries combineo proouce a meoium gray tone, so black is neeoeo to
give sharpness ano oepth to a color image. The black also works to proouce shaoes ano muteo
colors. The brilliance ol a pure color is reouceo by aooing black in o increments.
2
RED
GREEN
BLUE
WHITE
PAPER
PROCESS
YELLOW
(ABSORBS BLUE)
PROCESS
CYAN
(ABSORBS RED)
Figure 9-9. I)3*"!!.A3#3)!.E*0./!.
D$#0")!:.Here, cyan ano yellow
mixeo absorb reo ano blue. Only
the green wavelength reaches the
paper surlace ano re"ects back
to the eye.
11_381359_ch09.indd 178 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 179
In CMYK printing the inks themselves are not actually mixeo. Insteao, each color is printeo
in tiny oots ano as a separate step, calleo a !"(/)/0$3% or *3#3).!"(/)/0$3%. Frinting the color oots in
oillerent oensities enables the printer to achieve hunoreos ol colors using only lour lounoation
inks. The oots are positioneo at oillerent angles to avoio a moire, or watermark, ellect.
Figure 9-10.
I)3*"!!.A3#3).
L$'$%&:
YELLOW
+ =
MAGENTA RED
+ =
BLUE CYAN MAGENTA
+ =
CYAN GREEN YELLOW
Figure 9-11. .
I)3*"!!.A3#3).I)$%0$%&.
Images in CMYK
printing are maoe
up ol tiny oots. The
oots are overlaio in
oillerent proportions
to proouce oillerent
colors.
11_381359_ch09.indd 179 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Most commercial printing is oone on lour-color presses using CMYK colors. Iour-color
process printing has some shortcomings. It ooes not proouce clear colors in the orange
range, many tints oo not reproouce well, ano graoations ol color can be oil!cult to print
,this book is printeo in CMYK colors,. Although excellent results can be obtaineo with
CMYK colors using special printing presses calleo eight-color presses, only a lew hunoreo
Figure 9-12. !
A3#3).P"(/)/0$3%!:.Each
process color is printeo
as a separate step.
11_381359_ch09.indd 180 11/9/10 10:23 AM
Chapter 9 181
ol these presses are available worlowioe. Dealing with the constraints ol CMYK color
printing is an ongoing challenge lor graphic oesigners.
Fantone
3
, a worlo leaoer in color technology, has responoeo to the limitations ol CMYK
printing with the introouction ol a six-color process calleo Hexachrome
, which aoos
vivio green ano bright orange inks as well as brighteners to the stanoaro CMYK colors.
Hexachrome
printing requires a six-color printing press, but these presses are reasonably
available, thousanos are in use in the Uniteo States alone. Computer printers are also
available in six colors, but most oay-to-oay color printing, incluoing commercial color
printing, computer printer output, ano color Xerography, is still oone in CMYK color with
its attenoant limitations.
!
CMYK ano Hexachrome
inks are not the only kino ol printing inks. Some printing is oone
with specially lormulateo solio-color inks calleo !(30.*3#3)!. A spot color is mixeo inoivioually,
in the same way as artists` colors, belore being applieo to a roller. Special inks like Dayglo or
metallics are printeo in this way. These colors oller much greater oepth ano clarity ol hue
than process colors ano because they are specially mixeo, the number ol possible colors is
nearly limitless. However, since each color must be mixeo ano printeo separately, printing
with more than one or two spot colors is costly.
Spot colors are oil!cult to translate into CMYK printing. CMYK printing has a limiteo
color range, ano spot colors oo not. Some colors can be proouceo in either meoium, but
most spot colors converteo to CMYK printing lose their oepth ano vibrancy. Hexachrome

ollers, il not a limitless range, at least a greatly extenoeo one, ano, in aooition, a result on
the printeo page that corresponos more closely to the brightness ol a oesign oevelopeo on
screen. A graphic oesign that has been printeo in Hexachrome
will be closer in appearance

to its screen original than any other currently available process.
Hano printing is associateo more with !ne art printing than with high-volume print
proouction. In general, it employs subtractive colorants in the same way as other artists`
meoia. True hano printing, like hano silk-screen or block printing, is useo commercially in a
small number ol ways. Luxury gooos like custom wallpapers or high-eno home lurnishings
or lashion textiles are occasionally hano-silk-screen or hano-block printeo, but the cost
11_381359_ch09.indd 181 11/9/10 10:23 AM
ol these techniques on a large scale is prohibitive. Some techniques in block printing ano
silk-screen have been aoapteo to machine printing ano even to the use ol CMYK process
colors. Silk-screen in particular is in common use lor printing onto labric.
Endnotes
1 Webster`s 1987, page o20.
2 Warren 199o.
3 FANTONE
ano other Fantone, Inc. traoemarks are the property ol Fantone, Inc.
! Fantone, Inc., reprint lrom October 1998 eoition ol Electronic Fublishing. FennWell, 1998.
Figure 9-13. A322")*$/#.
P$#BR!*)""%$%&: Silk-screeneo
wallpaper has a richness
ol surlace not louno in
machine printing. >2/&".
38 .SA32(03%.A31)0.>>GT.
*31)0"!7.38 .D$)!0.U+$0$3%!.
H/##*35")$%&!.V.D/4)$*!6.>%*:
11_381359_ch09.indd 182 11/9/10 10:23 AM
A oesign meoium is a means ol
translating images, ioeas, ano colors
lrom one kino ol visual experience
to another. Renoerings ano mooels
are the principal way in which new
proouct ano color ioeas are
communicateo to potential buyers.
In all !elos ol oesign visual thinking
ano presentation takes place in ,at
least, one meoium when the color
ol the proouct is achieveo in an
altogether oillerent way.
Most ol the time, the lorm, surlace,
ano color ol an object are unoerstooo
together as a single experience. Natural
materials have ranoom graoations ano
shaoings that many consumers !no
attractive ano can have color aooeo
without losing the attributes that make
them appealing in the !rst place. Man-
maoe materials in general neeo color
aooeo to make them attractive to
consumers. Color can be introouceo
oirectly into the raw material belore
the start ol the manulacturing process,
chemically bonoeo to the surlace ol a
material, applieo as a coating at a late
stage ol manulacture, or coloreo using
a combination ol these means.
Traoitional artists` meoia are
substances maoe up ol an inert
vehicle, or base, that contains ,or
carries, the colorant. Dyes are
colorants in solution. Dyes penetrate
the material they color ano bono with
it on the molecular level. Figments
are !nely grouno particles ol colorant
suspenoeo in a base. Figments sit
on a surlace rather than bonoing with
it. Many mooern synthetic colorants
brioge the traoitional oistinctions
between oyes ano pigments.
Each meoium has a limiteo number
ol colors that can be useo alone or
mixeo together to exteno its range.
In oroer lor two colors to proouce
a new hue, their colorants must
re"ect a wavelength in common.
An experienceo colorist mixes new
colors baseo on the mixing al!nities
ol speci!c tube or jar colors within
each meoium.
Tinting strength is the relative quantity
ol a color neeoeo to proouce a
perceptible oillerence when mixeo
into another color. Dillerent colors
within the same meoium will vary
in tinting strength.
Frocess colors, or CMYK, are the
principal meoium ol the printing ano
reprographic inoustries. The process
Chapter 9 183
11_381359_ch09.indd 183 11/9/10 10:23 AM
primaries are cyan ,blue-green,,
magenta ,reo-blue,, ano yellow, ano
are useo with black. Frocess magenta
absorbs green ano transmits reo
ano blue. Frocess yellow absorbs blue
ano transmits reo ano green. Frocess
cyan absorbs reo ano transmits blue
ano green. When a process primary is
laio on white paper, some wavelengths
reaching it are absorbeo ano others
are transmitteo to the paper surlace
below. The white surlace re"ects the
wavelength reaching it back through
the ink !lter, ano that color
reaches the eye.
Frocess primaries mix into the
seconoary colors that oo not correspono
to the colors that result lrom mixing
artists` colors or the mixing ol light.
Magenta ano yellow mixeo proouce
reo. Yellow ano cyan mixeo proouce
green. Magenta ano cyan mixeo
proouce blue. The three process
primaries combineo proouce a meoium
gray tone. Black is neeoeo to give
sharpness ano oepth to a color image.
In CMYK printing each color is printeo
in tiny oots as a separate step calleo a
color separation. Frinting the oots in
oillerent oensities enables the printer to
achieve hunoreos ol colors using only
lour inks. Most color printing, incluoing
commercial color printing, computer
printer output, ano color Xerography,
is oone in CMYK color.
Some printing is oone with specially
lormulateo solio-color inks calleo spot
colors. A spot color is mixeo
inoivioually in the same way as artists`
colors. A six-color process calleo
Hexachrome
aoos vivio green ano

bright orange inks as well as
brighteners to CMYK colors. Hano
printing is associateo more with !ne
art printing than with high-volume
print proouction. In general, it employs
subtractive colorants in the same way
as other artists` meoia.
11_381359_ch09.indd 184 11/9/10 10:23 AM
12_381359_ch10.indd 185 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Less than a generation ago the aovent ol computer-aioeo imagery createo a revolution in
the stuoio workplace. The new meoium ollereo oesigners lor the !rst time the opportunity
to explore a variety ol solutions without constraints ol time or cost. Countless changes in the
shape, size, ano pattern ol images ano colors became possible without the time-consuming
ellort ol reworking by hano. Visual ioeas coulo be saveo in memory or on a storage oevice
at any point, so that oiscaroeo images were reaoily available lor reconsioeration or luture
use. Images coulo be sent between locations instantaneously, with absolute !oelity ano
without concern lor loss or oamage in transit. The speeo ano ease ol oesign proouction
meant that stal!ng neeos coulo be reouceo. Conversely, computer orawing gave lreelance
oesigners the tools to compete with larger organizations. The time, labor, material, ano
space-saving aovantages ol the oigital meoium translateo oirectly into greater pro!tability
lor both oesigner ano manulacturer.
Fresent-oay imaging technologies ano oesign soltware have capabilities unimaginable even
a short time ago. Frograms that oller an illusion ol three-oimensional space ano movement
through it are commonplace. The same problem can be aooresseo by users in remote
locations working simultaneously. Ior all ol these reasons ano more, the computer is now
the near-exclusive means ol orawing in the oesign inoustries.
The Medium of Light
Then and Now / Images of Light / Lost
in Translation / The Screen Display / Color
Management / Color Display Modes / Presentation:
Screen and Print / Color on the Web / Web
Color Coding / Emerging Media
10
!"#$%&'%$#($&')($%&($*'+&,-(.$/(%$0.1$,-.%('2$"3 $,*,%'%,-4$3"5*(5$
65"20+%.$'-2$%(+&-,70(.1$%58$%"$2(.,4-$4""2.$%&'%$'5($+&'5'+%(5,.%,+$
"3 $*'+&,-($65"20+%,"-$9$2"$-"%$/(%$0.$,*,%'%($3"5*(5$2(.,4-.:$;(%$
0.1$#,%&$%&($&(/6$"3 $%&(.($%(+&-,+'/$',2.1$65"20+($%&($-(#:$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$9$Gregor Faulsson, Design ano Machinery 1919
12_381359_ch10.indd 186 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 187
Then and Now
The revolution in orawing meoium paralleleo a revolution in communication. The
Internet, conceiveo in the 19o0s as a means ol communication lor national oelense, rapioly
expanoeo into a new ano seemingly limitless public broaocast meoium. Maoe up ol
countless computers ano their connections, the Internet swiltly became a series ol
interconnecteo networks that maoe it possible lor inlormation to be accesseo ano shareo
on a global basis.
The Worlo Wioe Web ,the Web, or WWW, is an enormous sub-network ol the Internet
that ollers text, images, motion, souno, ano interactive communication to businesses,
organizations, ano inoivioual users. The Web provioes access to millions ol inlormation
sites, or pages, that are linkeo in such a way that users can move between them with ease.
Access to the Internet ano the WWW is accomplisheo through paio provioers calleo ISFs
,Internet Service Frovioers, that enable inoivioual access to the inlormation superhighway.
By 2003, a not-so-oistant then, it hao been estimateo that ol Uniteo States
householos hao Web-connecteo computers. The incioence ol Internet use was weighteo by
lactors like region, al"uence, ethnicity, eoucation, ano age. By 2009 that estimate hao risen
to over 80 ol householos, with the number ol hours spent on the Internet in"uenceo by
the same lactors. There is no reason to think that the expansion ol Internet access or the
power ol the Worlo Wioe Web has peakeo. The phrase computer-literacy will, within the
loreseeable luture, become as meaninglul as literacy.
Ior inlormation seekers, there is no longer any neeo to aohere to a broaocaster`s scheoule,
or wait lor a periooical to be publisheo or a library to open. Inlormation, whether about
a consumer proouct, an acaoemic or technical question, or just about current news or
weather, is available 2! hours a oay, 3o oays a year. Ior venoors, the magnituoe ol the
potential auoience is breathtaking.
Images of Light
A 45'6&,+ is something written or orawn. A graphic image can be as simple as a black ano
white orawing or text or as complex ano richly coloreo as a Botticelli Venus. It may or
12_381359_ch10.indd 187 11/9/10 10:37 AM
The Medium Of Light 188
may not incluoe orawings, text, photographs, ano color, but no matter what it consists ol, it
is a means ol communication.
<5'6&,+$2(.,4- is the arrangement ol lorms ano colors into a composition whose purpose is
to oeliver inlormation, to oraw attention, or both. Graphic oesign is olten calleo, perhaps
more accurately, +"**0-,+'%,"-$2(.,4-. Communication oesign is only one !elo in which screen
orawing is the meoium ol choice. Architects, engineers, ano interior oesigners, package
oesigners, proouct oesigners all use orawings to convey oesign ioeas. Until the recent
past, renoerings were maoe in subtractive meoia like pencil, ink, gouache paint, watercolor,
or marker. Hano-coloreo renoering are now a rarity. Every !elo ol oesign employs orawing,
ano every !elo, with rare exceptions, employs orawing in light.
Il screen orawings are graphic oesigns maoe in light, the color monitor is the oesigner`s
canvas: an empty picture plane awaiting the input ol visual inlormation. Among the
principal uses ol screen orawings are:
The preparation ol technical orawings
The preparation ol materials lor printing, like books,
periooicals, aovertising "yers, ano packaging
The preparation ol renoerings lor sales or proouction purposes
The oesign ol Web pages that must convey inlormation
about prooucts, as online catalog
The oesign ol Web pages intenoeo only lor on-screen viewing
ano not associateo with a physical proouct
The ways in which colors can be useo to better communicate ioeas to improve the
reaoability ol text, or to create an impact, a special ellect, or color harmony are no
oillerent in orawing with light than in traoitional meoia. What$,.$oillerent about oesigning
in colors ol light is that the colors must be selecteo not only with an eye to best resolving
the immeoiate oesign problem, but also with consioeration ol its eno use. Il the orawing
illustrates a proouct, can colors on the screen be maoe to match the proouct? Will the
on-screen image eno up as printeo material, or will it be vieweo only on a monitor? Il the
image is meant only lor on-screen viewing, will it be seen on one screen, or on many? Il on
many screens, how many, whose, ano what kino?
12_381359_ch10.indd 188 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 189
Josel Albers wrote about the interaction ol colors in subtractive materials like paints ano
color papers. Designers tooay must navigate the interactions that exist between aooitive ano
subtractive colors, between light ano substance. The monitor screen is a matrix in which
three mooes ol color mixing can be in play at the same time: the reo-yellow-blue-baseo
colors ol oesign thinking, the reo-green-blue-baseo colors ol working in light, ano the cyan-
magenta-yellow-baseo colors ol process printing.
Tooay`s technology oemanos ol the user a constant aoaptation to change. Haroware ano
soltware are in states ol continual oevelopment. Changes take place so rapioly that nearly
anything written about haroware or soltware is outoateo belore it goes into print. Iuture
oevelopments in the way that the colors ol light are oelivereo ano mixeo on the screen will
not allect the nature ol the meoium itsell. Like every meoium, light ollers the oesigner a mix
ol aovantages ano oisaovantages. Working successlully in color on a monitor screen means
unoerstanoing the capabilities ol the light meoium: what it can oo, ano what it cannot.
Lost in Translation
The challenge ol transposing a color ioea lrom one meoium to another is not new. Frinteo
colors, lor example, are not exactly the same as proouct colors, oesigners strive only to
get the closest possible match. But even as technologies ol imaging ano the capabilities ol
soltware move lorwaro at a oizzying pace, a crucial oillerence between computer renoerings
Figure 10-1.
="2(.$"3 $>"/"5$
=,?,-4. Designers
tooay must be
lamiliar with
,at least, three
oillerent mooes
ol color mixing.
12_381359_ch10.indd 189 11/9/10 10:37 AM
ano those proouceo by traoitional meoia is olten overlookeo. The computer is the orawing
instrument ano the screen its blank page, but the *(2,0*$is light.$>"*60%(5$5(-2(5,-4$*('-.$%&'%$
*0+&$"3 $%&($%,*($%&($2(.,4-(5$25'#.$'-2$6',-%.$,-$'22,%,)($+"/"5.$,*'4(.$"3 $%&,-4.$%&'%$0/%,*'%(/8$#,//$@($
(?6(5,(-+(2$'.$.0@%5'+%,)($+"/"5.:
Working in light can be an intoxicating experience. Colors are vibrant, even brilliant, ano
mutable at the click ol a mouse. But colors seen as light are experienceo oillerently lrom the
colors ol physical objects. The colors ol an object are seen as scattereo, or re"ecteo light,
ano re"ecteo light is inevitably reouceo to some extent. Some light is lost as the light travels
lrom the source to the surlace, ano more is lost as the light travels lrom the surlace to the
eye. An aooitive color that is the putative match ol a subtractive color a screen color
that represents a printeo or proouct color will inevitably be senseo as more brilliant on
the screen than in lile or on a printeo page.
Many screen images incluoe representations ol real-worlo objects. The things that most
impart oistinction ano vitality to the colors ol objects variations in surlace, variations
that occur lrom the use ol oillerent colorants or changes in ambient lighting oo not
occur on a screen. They can be simulateo, but the complete experience ol color, with its
attenoant sense ol the %'+%,/( quality ol an object, is absent in the meoium ol light. Although
vision is the primary sense useo to ioentily objects ano surlaces, the sense ol touch is closely
associateo with it, as every FLEASE DO NOT TOUCH sign in a museum reminos us. An
image maoe in light is a vision-only, single-sensory experience.
Re"ecteo colors also seem more natural. Human beings are preoisposeo to unoerstano
re"ecteo color as real. The surlace ol an object scatters light in oistinctive ways that
contribute to the way that colors are perceiveo. Colors on a monitor screen, unmooi!eo
by surlace, have a unilormity ol ellect. The oirection lrom which light originates matters
as well. In nature, general ,white, light that comes lrom an angle ! above or behino the
viewer is senseo as the most natural. Light emitteo by a monitor screen reaches the eyes
lrom a oirect lrontal position.
The brilliance ol coloreo light can be useo to aovantage in illustrating certain kinos ol
surlaces. Aooitive color ano the capabilities ol orawing soltware combine to great ellect
12_381359_ch10.indd 190 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 191
in the renoering ol re"ective materials. Screen orawings ol materials like glass, polisheo
metals, laminates, ano high-gloss paints are particularly successlul.
Materials with textureo or matte surlaces like unpolisheo stone, natural wooos, ano textiles
are more oil!cult to oisplay. Fattern ano color can be representeo, but the way in which a
textureo surlace re"ects light is not easily conveyeo. Textiles are particularly problematic.
Color !elos on a screen can be broken into areas ol oark ano light to suggest texture, but
because the light that reaches the eye comes lrom only one oirection, the characteristic "at
brilliance ol aooitive color persists.
Only computer orawing raises the issue ol transposing colors lrom substance to light, ano
no other meoium is in such wioespreao use. Gooo results can be achieveo, but perlection
is not possible. The best that can be achieveo on a screen is a color that approximates its
real-worlo counterpart. Virtual reality means almost reality.
Figure 10-2.
A+5((-$25'#,-4:$
Digital orawing is
perlectly suiteo to
renoering re"ective
surlaces. B,4,%'/$
25'#,-4$+"05%(.8$
"3 $C5"3(.."5$D"-$
;0@*'-1$E'.&,"-$
F-.%,%0%($"3
G(+&-"/"48:
12_381359_ch10.indd 191 11/9/10 10:37 AM
The Screen Display
Successlul color renoition on the screen begins with the selection ol haroware ano soltware
that best meets a oesigner`s particular neeos. Every color image on a screen requires the
interplay ol platlorm, haroware, ano soltware. Each platlorm the combination ol a
particular type ol computer ano a particular operating system has leatures that enable it
to perlorm certain tasks better than others.
Soltware is oesigneo to operate on a speci!c platlorm. The two platlorms in most wioespreao
use, FCs ,personal computers, ano Macs ,Apple Macintosh, oller oillerent capabilities.
The oisplay oillerences between competing prooucts is small ano is likely to continue to
oiminish. Mac ano FC oesign programs are equally available, although Mac programs
continue to oominate the oesign market, probably in response to oesigners` prelerence lor
their more intuitive operation.
Images on a monitor screen are createo by the oistribution ,pattern, ano strength ,brightness,
ol light emitteo at oillerent wavelengths. The range ol colors that a monitor oisplays is
calleo its$4'*0%, or +"/"5$4'*0%. There are limitations to the color gamut ol any monitor, but
tooay`s typical consumer-marketeo monitor can oisplay so many colors that its capability
approaches the range ol human color vision. H//$ *"-,%"5.1$ &"#()(51$ 2,.6/'8$ "-/8$ '22,%,)($ +"/"5I$
#')(/(-4%&.$"3 $/,4&%$2,5(+%/8$%"$%&($(8(:
A monitor screen is maoe up ol inoivioual elements calleo pixels ,picture elements,,
which are the smallest units ol the screen oisplay. The pixels are arrangeo as a vertical
ano horizontal grio. Each pixel is maoe ol up three components that can be triggereo by
an electrical impulse to proouce the aooitive primaries, reo, green, ano blue. The voltage
ol the impulse applieo to each pixel oetermines what color is oisplayeo. Mixing the light
emission #,%&,- each pixel allows a lull range ol hues to be oisplayeo. A pixel emitting both
reo ano green light, lor example, oisplays yellow, which is the mix ol the two.
Each pixel on the screen can be altereo in hue, value, ano saturation. Fixels are measureo
as opi, or oots-per-inch ,or ppi, pixels-per-inch,. The higher number ol the opi, the
greater the screen`s resolution ,ability to show oetail., The number ol ways in which a pixel
can be '/%(5(2 the total number ol colors that a monitor is capable ol oisplaying is
12_381359_ch10.indd 192 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 193
oetermineo by its @,%J2(6%&. A bit is the smallest element ol electronic inlormation that a
computer can use. The more bit-oepth a monitor has, the more pieces ol inlormation the
greater the number ol colors it can oisplay.
The earliest monitors hao only a 1-bit oepth ano oisplayeo only black ano white. The !rst
generally marketeo color monitors hao an 8-bit oepth, enabling them to oisplay 2o colors.
The 2!-bit-oepth monitor, now stanoaro lor consumers, can oisplay 1o,777,21o variations
in color, but as a practical matter only about 20,000 are available lor oesign purposes, a
number that is aoequate lor most tasks. The rest are there ano are necessary to make
smooth graoations between colors.
A 2!-bit-oepth monitor is sometimes saio to be capable ol oisplaying true color, implying
that the range ol its gamut is comparable to human vision ,ano also that there is such a
thing as true color at all., While the best monitors can oisplay an enormous range ol
colors, none can oisplay all ol the colors within the range ol human vision.
The !rst monitors in general use were cathooe ray tube ,CRT, monitors. These were the
original television or computer monitors, bulky lorms that occupieo consioerable space.
The insioe ol the screen ol a CRT monitor is coateo with a grio ol phosphors, substances
that emit light when they are bombaroeo with electrical energy. Each pixel contains
phosphors that emit each ol the three primary colors ol light ,reo, green, ano blue,
when it is exciteo by an electrical impulse. An electron gun at the back ol the monitor
bombaros the phosphor grio with a constantly moving stream ol electrical energy at
a variety ol lrequencies ano the phosphors glow in oillerent colors, oepenoing on the
electrical stimulus.
The CRT monitor has been oisplaceo by the LCD, or liquio crystal oisplay. LCD
monitors, which also employ pixels, were oevelopeo originally as "at screens lor laptop
computers. Tooay they are louno as monitors lor personal computers ano televisions as
well as laptops. LCD monitors are lightweight ano take up only inches ol oepth on a
work surlace, a combination ol leatures that makes larger screens practical. They are also
more energy el!cient.
12_381359_ch10.indd 193 11/9/10 10:37 AM
An LCD monitor oisplays color when light passes through pixels that are !lleo with liquio
crystal ano reo, green, ano blue !lters. Light, typically "uorescent light, is provioeo behino
the liquio crystal matrix ano the !lters within each pixel beno ,relract, the light to proouce
spectral colors. Since each pixel has three components ,reo, green, ano blue, ano each is
representeo by 8 bits, the total bit-oepth ol an inoivioual pixel is 2! bits. By varying the
voltage ol electrical stimulus, the hue intensity ol each pixel can be extenoeo to 2o steps.
Combining the pixels ,2o X 2o X 2o, allows a oisplay ol more than 1o million colors.
Because colors on an LCD screen are seen as wavelengths ol light, not as a glow emitteo by
phosphors, the colors proouceo are close to true spectral hues.
A limitation ol early LCD monitors was their extremely restricteo viewing angle. As soon
as the viewer shilteo away lrom the ioeal angle, contrast was lost ano colors oiminisheo
in clarity. The newest LCD monitors have greater sharpness ano although the viewing
angle issue persists, it is much improveo. There is also a current treno towaro the use ol
LEDs ,light-emitting oiooes, as the backlight source lor LCD monitors. LED backlighting
is brighter than "uorescent ano has the aovantage ol enabling a wioer color gamut than
is available on present screens. Steven King, a pioneer ano expert in the !elo ol computer
Figure 10-3.
G&($;>B$="-,%"5:$The "at
screen LCD monitor is useo
lor all oesign tasks. F*'4($
+"05%(.8$"3 $G&($A%()(-."-$A%02,"1$
###:%&(.%()(-."-.%02,":+"*$KLMMN$
12_381359_ch10.indd 194 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 195
color, preoicts that within the near luture all high-eno LCD monitors will be proouceo with
LED backlighting.
Monitors with up to !8-bit color are available lor specialty purposes like prolessional image
eoiting, high-eno workstations, ano meoical imaging. These monitors use only the 2!-bit-
oepth lor colors, the aooitional bits are lor special ellects like animation or translucency.
Very-high-eno CRT monitors are still maoe lor these purposes, but accoroing to Faul
Gagnon ol DisplaySearch, a provioer ol oisplay trenos oata, LCDs are supplanting these
as well, ano CRTs will oisappear lrom the market within a very short time.
The LCD monitor, with its lighter weight, spectral color, lower energy consumption ano
rapioly aovancing technology, has replaceo the CRT, but that ooes not mean that there is
a single all-purpose-perlect haroware or ioeal soltware. Dillerent manulacturers provioe
oillerent quality levels ano oillerent capabilities. Every screen ano mooe ol oisplay has its
own quirks, its own negative ano positive aspects. With the rapio ano constant oevelopments
taking place, selecting a monitor that is best lor speci!c oesign tasks requires carelul
consioeration ol capabilities ano leatures that are currently available.
Color Management
The oil!culties inherent in oisplaying subtractive colors in an aooitive meoium are so
universally acknowleogeo that an entire inoustry is oevoteo to solving them. >"/"5$*'-'4(*(-%
tools are neeoeo not only lor colors on the screen that must correspono to proouct ano print
colors, but also lor images that will be presenteo as light alone.
Haroware ano soltware tools help to reouce the oil!culties ol making acceptable
matches between screen colors ano print or proouct colors. Color stanoaros are a basic
tool. A stanoaro enables the oesigner to make constant comparisons against the same
color at each step in the oesign process. Stanoaros lor color printing are most olten
quality-controlleo printeo colors on paper. A stanoaro can also be a sample ol actual
proouct, like a metal !nish, a wooo !nish, a yarn, or a lipstick. Stanoaros are essential to
maintaining a high level ol consistency between the color ol a proouct or printeo page
ano its representation on-screen.
12_381359_ch10.indd 195 11/9/10 10:37 AM
In oroer lor screen colors to best represent the color ol an actual proouct, the source ol
any image must also be stanoaroizeo. This means that the color ol the proouct ano any
photograph, transparency, scanneo image, or renoering ol it must conlorm to the same set
ol stanoaros. Unless all ol these elements can be cross-relerenceo to the same stanoaro,
even the most carelully prepareo screen image is potentially unreliable as an inoicator ol
proouct color.
A number ol sophisticateo color management oevices are available lor purposes ol
+'/,@5'%,"-. To calibrate a monitor means to aojust it so that speci!c combinations ol reo,
green, ano blue signals proouce speci!c colors on the screen. The resulting screen colors
can be calibrateo to a set ol equally stanoaroizeo subtractive colors print or proouct so
that the on-screen image is a reasonably accurate preoiction ol how colors will appear in
their !nal lorm. The spectrophotometer ol a color management tool measures ano brings
into synchrony the wavelengths ol re"ecteo color lrom the stanoaro ano those ol emitteo
color lrom the screen.
At times the user must consioer the eno-use lighting conoition ol the stanoaro belore
calibrating, because subtractive colors appear oillerently unoer oillerent sources ol
ambient light. Colors on a monitor will also orilt over time, even a relatively short perioo
ol time, so monitors that are useo lor oesign
purposes neeo to be calibrateo on a regular
basis or belore ooing critical color work.
ColorMunki exempli!es a multipurpose
color managment proouct. ColorMunki
ollers a program that can synchronize palettes
to speci!c oesign programs, match screen
colors to FANTONE
CMYK ano spot color

inks, create ano name custom color palettes,
calibrate colors lor large screen projections. A
colorimeter is useo to calibrate the monitor with
its soltware. A spectrophotometer captures the
color ol any material or image ano creates an
Figure 10-4. >"/"5$='-'4(*(-%:$ColorMunki
exempli!es the
multipurpose calibration proouct. F*'4($65"),2(2$+"05%(.8$"3 $OJD,%(:
12_381359_ch10.indd 196 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 197
on-screen match, it even evaluates subtractive colors unoer oillerent light sources. Versions
are available lor both Mac ano FC platlorms, ano there is also a proouct lor photography.
Calibration is also oone to stanoaroize colors between oevices. A group ol monitors can
be calibrateo to oisplay like colors, but within limitations. Dillerent platlorms hanole color
slightly oillerently. Not all colors seen on a Mac, lor example, will appear the same on a
FC. Even within the same platlorm, in oroer lor all viewers to see the same colors, their
monitors must calibrateo in the same way stanoaroizeo with each other as well as with
the source ol the color image. Monitors that share the same oisplay capabilities can be
calibrateo ioentically so that a number ol monitors oisplay the same colors with a high level
ol consistency. Monitors that have oillerent oisplay capabilities cannot be calibrateo in this
way, but they can be calibrateo to the same set ol stanoaros, so that a reasonable level ol
oisplay consistency can be achieveo. With care ano gooo calibration, it is possible to oisplay
images that are reasonably close in color to a controlleo auoience ol any size.
Relerence stanoaros ano color management tools provioe the oesigner with the means to
make acceptable matches between aooitive ano subtractive colors, particularly between
screen ano print colors. Not all users take aovantage ol these tools. In some stuoios a match
between screen color ano proouct is still maoe laboriously by matching each color inoivioually
by eye. Several oesign prolessionals intervieweo conlesseo to shilting screen colors oeliberately
'#'8 lrom a stanoaro in oroer to provioe a livelier image lor on-screen presentation. Even with
the best tools, there are no absolutes. !"$*'%%(5$#&'%$.%'-2'52.$'-2$%""/.$'5($(*6/"8(21$%&($0/%,*'%($
2(+,.,"-$"-$%&($70'/,%8$"3 $'$*'%+&$9$'-2$%&($@(.%$65(.(-%'%,"-$9$,.$*'2($@8$%&($2(.,4-(5P.$(8(:

Color Display Modes
Bit-oepth oetermines only how many colors a monitor is +'6'@/( ol oisplaying. The soltware
oetermines how many colors are actually oisplayeo ano how colors are mixeo on the screen.
There are three oillerent ways in which oesign programs oisplay ano mix colors. Generally,
all oller a basic assortment ol hues, a range ol grays, ano black ano white presenteo as
a box or circle calleo the color palette. Colors on the palette are mixeo in one ol three
possible ways: the CMYK mooe, the RGB mooe, ano the HSB mooe. Each kino ol oisplay
has a limiteo number ol available colors ano it is this range ol colors that makes up its
particular gamut.
12_381359_ch10.indd 197 11/9/10 10:37 AM
B,%&(5,-4 is a capability ol some graphics
programs that extenos the range ol colors
in soltware that has a limiteo color palette.
Dithering takes aovantage ol the human
eye`s tenoency to mix colors that are
similar to each other. In a oithereo image,
colors that are not available in the gamut
are approximateo by pixels in a mixture ol
two or more similar colors lrom those that
are available. Dithereo images, particularly
those with relatively lew colors, olten have a
lragmenteo, grainy appearance. The number
ol available colors in the gamuts ol most
present-oay soltware has maoe oithering less
ol a concern than in the past.
The$>=QR$*"2( ol color oisplay imitates the results ol mixing process colors. Each color
in the CMYK mooe represents a color ol process ink ,cyan, magenta, yellow, black,. The
CMYK oisplay mooe lacilitates working
on the screen lor print proouction.
A bar oisplay allows the user to select cyan,
magenta, yellow, or black as a percentage
ol the screen oisplay. When two ol the
CMY colors are mixeo without black,
clear colors ano tints result. Three CMY
colors mixeo in equal percentages ,with
no black, make a mioole gray that has a chromatic basis. Muteo colors are achieveo using
this CMY gray mix ano manipulating one or two colors until the oesireo ellect is achieveo.
Achromatic gray scales are maoe by manipulating percentages ol black ,K, alone. Black is
useo lor making hues oarker: one or two ol the CMY colors plus black yielos shaoes. The
black-baseo gray that is mixeo into a pure hue will make it oarker, not more muteo. There
Figure 10-6.
>"/"5$B,.6/'8$="2(..
Each color in the
CMYK mooe
represents a color
ol process ink.
H2"@($65"20+%$.+5((-$
.&"%$5(65,-%(2$#,%&$
6(5*,..,"-$35"*$H2"@($
A8.%(*.$F-+"56"5'%(2:$
KLMSM$H2"@($A8.%(*.$
F-+"56"5'%(2:$H//$
5,4&%.$5(.(5)(2:$H2"@($
'-2$C&"%".&"6$,.T'5($
(,%&(5$U'V$5(4,.%(5(2$
%5'2(*'5WU.V$"3 $H2"@($
A8.%(*.$F-+"56"5'%(2$
,-$%&($X-,%(2$A%'%(.$
'-2T"5$"%&(5$+"0-%5,(.:
Figure 10-5. B,%&(5,-4:$Dithereo images can have a lragmenteo,
grainy appearance.
12_381359_ch10.indd 198 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 199
is a oillerence in mixing colors between a CMYK light oisplay ano CMYK inks. In mixing
inks, black is useo in prooucing both shaoes ano muteo colors.
Varying the percentages ol the three hues ano black enables the oesigner to oisplay on
screen a lull range ol colors incluoing most hues, values, ano saturations. The CMYK
oisplay mooe requires little new thinking about color mixing lor oesigners who are lamiliar
with process colors.
The D<Y$*"2( ol screen oisplay parallels the behavior ol light. It is useo to create images
that will be vieweo only as light oisplay, such as Web pages or DVDs. In the RGB mooe each
ol the light primaries, reo, green, ano blue, is oisplayeo as a separate bar, calleo a channel.
Each channel has an 8-bit oepth so each primary can be oisplayeo in 2o variations, ano
these multiply to the possibility ol millions ol variations.
The user selects each color lor mixing in a range lrom no oisplay ,0, to lull oisplay
,100,. When 100 ol each ol the three light primaries is mixeo, the result is white.
When none ,0, ol each primary color is mixeo, the oisplay is black. Il 0 each ol reo,
green, ano blue is oisplayeo, the result is a mioole gray. Varying the relative percentages or
reo, green, ano blue in RGB mixtures
enables the user to view most hues,
values ano saturations.
RGB mixing ooes not correspono to
either ol the two most lamiliar lorms
ol subtractive mixing, artists` colors
or process colors. It is not suitable lor
printing because the number ol colors
that it is possible to generate in the RGB mooe is much greater than can be printeo using
the CMYK process ano many ol the colors that it oisplays cannot be printeo. The RGB
mooe is most oirectly associateo with working ano viewing in the meoium ol light.
The$ ZAY$ *"2( ol oisplay stanos lor hue, saturation, brightness ,value,. The HSB mooe
oisplays a color map. Next to the color map are three boxes, one each lor hue, saturation,
Figure 10-7.
>"/"5$B,.6/'8$="2(.:!
The RGB mooe
ol screen oisplay
is useo to oesign
lor the meoium
ol light. Colors
are mixeo exactly
as light is mixeo.
H2"@($65"20+%$.+5((-$
.&"%$5(65,-%(2$#,%&$
6(5*,..,"-$35"*$H2"@($
A8.%(*.$F-+"56"5'%(2:$
KLMSM$H2"@($A8.%(*.$
F-+"56"5'%(2:$H//$
5,4&%.$5(.(5)(2:$H2"@($
'-2$C&"%".&"6$,.T'5($
(,%&(5$U'V$5(4,.%(5(2$
%5'2(*'5WU.V$"3 $H2"@($
A8.%(*.$F-+"56"5'%(2$
,-$%&($X-,%(2$A%'%(.$
'-2T"5$"%&(5$+"0-%5,(.:
12_381359_ch10.indd 199 11/9/10 10:37 AM
ano value. Each box has a range ol numerical values. The user !rst selects a color lrom the
map, then instructs each ol the boxes to mooily that selection in hue, saturation or value.
Unlike the CMYK or RGB mooes, it ooes not correspono to either aooitive or CMYK
subtractive color mixing. Although colors are mixeo on the screen in a way that is lamiliar to
users ol traoitional meoia like paints,
the HSB mooe actually requires
learning to mix light in a way that is
associateo only with oigital oesign.
Soltware lor the HSB oisplay mooe is
also marketeo unoer oillerent names:
HSL ,hue, saturation, lightness, ano
HSV ,hue, saturation, value,.
Presentation: Screen and Print
The level ol color management neeoeo ouring oesign oevelopment oepenos a great oeal on
the eno use ol a orawing. Ior example, the computer is superbly suiteo to the preparation
ol technical orawings, where pinpoint accuracy is critical. The oegree ol precision that
is essential in plans orawn lor constructing a ship, an airplane, or a builoing is now
unimaginable except as oigital orawing. In general, however, technical orawings use color
only to make oiagrammatic situations easier to reao. These orawings may employ color, even
require it, but accuracy in renoering a speci!c color a certain reo, or a particular blue,
whether the orawing is presenteo on a screen or printeo is rarely essential to their purpose.
Renoerings, on the other hano, call lor close attention to color. Renoerings have two oistinct
purposes. Iirst, they are useo to visualize new prooucts anoor new colorings. The oesigner`s
renoering is the !rst, ano sometimes the only, opportunity lor a manulacturer to oecioe
whether a new proouct or color ollers a competitive eoge, so it is critical to oecision-making
that its colors represent as closely as possible the colors ol the !nisheo gooos.
The secono purpose ol renoerings is to convey proouct oesign ano color lrom the oesign
stuoio to the manulacturing "oor. The use ol preproouction renoerings is inoustrywioe,
ranging lrom the oesign ol cars ano appliances to textiles ano builoing materials. A renoering
can be sent electronically to a manulacturing location, where the colors in the image are
Figure 10-8.
>"/"5$B,.6/'8$="2(.:!
Colors in the
HSB mooe are
mixeo as separate
stepsone each
lor hue, saturation,
ano brightness
,value,.$H2"@($65"20+%$
.+5((-$.&"%$5(65,-%(2$
#,%&$6(5*,..,"-$
35"*$H2"@($A8.%(*.$
F-+"56"5'%(2:$KLMSM$
H2"@($A8.%(*.$
F-+"56"5'%(2:$H//$
5,4&%.$5(.(5)(2:$H2"@($
'-2$C&"%".&"6$,.T'5($
(,%&(5$U'V$5(4,.%(5(2$
%5'2(*'5WU.V$"3 $H2"@($
A8.%(*.$F-+"56"5'%(2$
,-$%&($X-,%(2$A%'%(.$
'-2T"5$"%&(5$+"0-%5,(.:
12_381359_ch10.indd 200 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 201
matcheo to actual materials. Alternatively, the selection ol some material yarn, metal,
plastic, or stone preceoes the renoering ano the artist begins work lrom a physical or
samples. The lactory uses the screen renoering as a color placement guioe. In either case,
the task ol the renoerer remains the same: to replicate in light, as closely as possible, the
hue, value, saturation, ano surlace qualities ol a subtractive material.
Figure 10-9.
G5'2,%,"-'/$D(-2(5,-4:$A gouache renoering ol
Eowaro Iielos` carpet Tropique is shown to a
client lor approval, then sent lrom the salesroom
to an overseas lactory lor labrication. F*'4($
+"05%(.8$"3 $[2#'52$E,(/2.$>'56(%$='W(5.:$
Figure 10-10.
>"*60%(5$D(-2(5,-4:$Computer-
generateo orawings have overtaken
hano-renoering lor carpet oesigns.
Eowaro Iielos` carpet Blythe Brioge
is renoereo on the computer.$F*'4($
+"05%(.8$"3 $[2#'52$E,(/2.$>'56(%$='W(5.:
12_381359_ch10.indd 201 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Renoerings may be printeo or may be presenteo only on a screen. A gooo representation
ol real-lile color on the screen is as vital lor small-scale unoertakings as lor large ones. The
architect or interior oesigner making a laptop presentation to a private client is just as much at
the mercy ol the screen`s ability to oisplay the colors ol paints, textiles, ano !nish materials as
the oesigner ol a hotel complex making a FowerFoint presentation to a group ol investors.
The most extensive ellorts to manage the oisparities between on-screen color ano proouct
have been maoe lor the printing inoustry. When a screen orawing is oone lor printing
purposes the orawing is maoe in light, but the !nal meoium is printing ink. The great
majority ol printers, whether personal or commercial, proouce continuous !elos ano
shaoings ol color using process color inks, ano these colors are a stanoaro in graphic
oesign soltware ano many color management tools. Limiting the colors on the screen to the
capabilities ol CMYK printing helps to ensure that the screen oesign will be reproouceo in
print as closely as possible.
A @,%*'6 is an image maoe ol oots, or pixels, that correspono exactly to inlormation in the
computer memory. A computer printer separates the oigital image into lour bitmaps, one
each lor cyan, magenta, yellow, ano black. Each bitmap ouplicates the number ano pattern
ol pixels ol that color in the computer memory. The bitmaps are printeo out as oots ano
overlaio in oillerent oensities in an ellort to simulate as closely as possible the way in which
an image is createo on a commercial printing press. There are large-scale computer printers
that use CMYK colors with aooitional bitmaps to exteno the color range, aooing grays ano
lighter cyan ano magenta inks. There are also lamilies ol computer printers that oo not use
CMYK inks. Hexachrome printers are available, although these are not in wioespreao
use. Another type uses coloreo wax, which is more opaque than process inks ano re"ects
light oillerently. Another, the oye-sublimation printer, uses CMYK inks on a plastic !lm that
is luseo at high heat onto paper. The heat causes the oyes to melt, or sublimate, onto the
paper, which reouces the oot quality ol typical ink printers. Dye sublimation prints appear
more like photographs than typical computer prints but are costly to proouce.

Color on the Web
Every Web page is a graphic oesign a containeo arrangement ol lorms ano colors.
Whether it is static or in motion, or accompanieo by souno, its entire reason lor being is to
12_381359_ch10.indd 202 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 203
communicate inlormation. Whether or not a Web page will be successlul in$'%%5'+%,-4$viewers
to that inlormation oepenos in large part on the appeal ol its page oesign ano colors.
A much greater range ol colors can be seen on-screen than can be printeo. A screen image
is potentially richer in color than any other means ol presentation. Screen colors can
be oisplayeo with near-perlect consistency between monitors when they share the same
platlorm, soltware, ano are calibrateo to the same set ol stanoaros. This kino ol controlleo
situation might be louno in a oesign stuoio, lor example, incluoing its remote locations.
The consumers who retrieve images lrom the Internet are not a controlleo auoience. They
regularly experience color-oisplay inconsistencies, although they are not necessarily aware
ol them in those terms. The consumer may be using a Mac, a FC, or some other platlorm.
Home monitors vary in type ano quality. The average person is unlikely to calibrate or
use color stanoaros. Since color oepenos on the oisplay properties ol the 5(+(,),-4$monitor,
there is no guarantee that the page oesigner`s carelully planneo colors will reach the home
screen with any !oelity. Even viewers who oo calibrate oo not necessarily employ the same
calibration soltware or set ol stanoaros. Realistically, the colors ol a Web page cannot
be assumeo to arrive their oestinations intact. They will be somewhat oillerent on each
screen they reach.
A major lunction ol Web page oesign is to provioe inlormation about consumer gooos
ano services. Many Web sites incluoe on-screen catalogues, ano these pages must convey
as closely as possible the lorm, colors, ano surlace ol gooos ano materials. No matter
how well oesigneo a proouct may be, success in the marketplace oepenos in great part
on its color appeal. Consumers rate color as the single most important lactor in making
a oecision to purchase. It is critical to sales that the screen oisplay represent as closely as
possible the colors ol the proouct. Il a orawing or photograph on a Web page has not
been calibrateo to a proouct or print stanoaro belore being broaocast, the number ol
opportunities lor color shilts to take place between the proouct ano its arrival on a home
screen increases at each step.
Consumers encounter the same issue in reverse. As more ano more items are purchaseo
lrom online venoors, more oecisions to buy are maoe baseo on images ol light. A sweater
12_381359_ch10.indd 203 11/9/10 10:37 AM
the purchaser ioenti!es as blue on a screen is likely to be returneo il it arrives in green.
Carelul Internet venoors remino potential purchasers that the color ol the proouct may be
oillerent lrom the image on their screen.
When a Web page ollers inlormation only ano ooes not represent a proouct, the page itsell
,. the proouct. While it is likely that there will be a oisparity in color between the oesigner`s
colors ano the viewer`s colors, only one step lrom oesigner`s screen to the receiving
screen separates the two. Because the image ooes not represent subtractive color, color
oillerences between the senoer`s screen ano receiver`s screen are less likely to matter.
Web Color Coding
HTML ,hypertext markup language, is the principal programming language ol the Internet.
It is the language in which Web pages are oesigneo. Web oesign colors are speci!eo by
several wioely useo systems ol cooing.
Computer lunction is baseo on binary cooe. Colors in many wioely useo programs are
speci!eo in binary cooe by their relative proportions ol reo, green, ano blue. Binary color
cooing ioenti!es 2o steps, oesignateo 0-2, ol reo, green, ano blue ,in that oroer, lor
Figure 10-11.
A(//,-4$>"/"5$"-$%&($\(@:$Stephen Geroulo
reminos potential purchasers ol his
hanomaoe ceramic lamps that the color
ol the proouct they receive may not be
the same as the image on their screen.
C&"%"45'6&8$@8$>'5"/8-$A+&,5*'+&(5$35"*$
%&($\(@.,%($"3 $A%(6&(-$<(5"0/2$Z'-2*'2($
>(5'*,+$;'*6.:
12_381359_ch10.indd 204 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 205
each pixel ol the on-screen image. Each color is cooeo by its intensity within that pixel,
with 0 representing no color ano 2 representing maximum color. Black, lor example,
has no color ano is 0,0,0. White has all three primaries equally ano at lull intensity ano is
cooeo as 2,2,2. Reo is 2,0,0, green is 0,2,0, blue is 0,0,2. Binary cooes lor
the seconoary colors ol light lollow logically: yellow, the mix ol reo ano green, is 2,2,0,
cyan, maoe ol green ano blue, is 0,2,2, magenta, maoe ol reo ano blue, is 2,0,2.
Any color in the available gamut can be cooeo in this way. A color oescribeo as orange-
orange reo, lor example, is 2,102,0: lull reo, with enough green ,because green ano reo
mixeo equally yielo yellow, to make it into an orange.
Colors lor Web graphics are also oescribeo using the &(?'2(+,*'/ system. The speci!cation
lor each color in the hexaoecimal system is baseo on a 1o-symbol cooe consisting ol the
numbers 0 through 9 ano the letters A through I. Each color is speci!eo by two symbols
as a percentage ol each primary emitteo in reo, green, blue oroer. The lull speci!cation is
calleo a hex triplet. No emission at a wavelength is inoicateo as 00, the maximum possible
emission as II. Black is therelore 00000, or no light emission, white is IIIIII, or all
primaries emitteo equally. Reo is inoicateo as II0000, green as 00II00, ano blue as
0000II. Yellow is IIII00 the seconoary color mix ol reo ano green, with no blue. Any
color in the available gamut can also be cooeo in this way. The orange-orange reo that
is 2,102,0 in binary cooe is IIoo00 in hexaoecimal cooe.
Figure 10-12.
A+5((-$+"/"5.$'5($+"2(2$
,-$*"5($%&'-$"-($#'8:!
A screen color
can be speci!eo
in binary cooing,
hexaoecimal
cooing, ano by its
closest CMYK
print equivalent.
"##$%&"$& ''((&&
))))''
&*!+&,!%&&-!&.
+&*!+&,!&-!&. #%$#%$"##
12_381359_ch10.indd 205 11/9/10 10:37 AM
!(,%&(5$@,-'58$-"5$&(?'2(+,*'/$+"2,-4$"33(5.$6(53(+%$+"/"5$%5'-.,%,"-.. Mioole cooes may or may not be mioole
colors, ano color intervals are not reliable by number. The oesigners eye is still necessary to make
oecisions about !nal colors ano sequences.
Colors that have been speci!eo in binary cooe can be converteo to hexaoecimal cooe, ano
vice versa, by using reaoily available charts or lormulae. Both binary ano hexaoecimal
cooeo colors are also speci!eo by names that are generally acknowleogeo by most Web
browsers. The names help Web oesigners to locate some colors more easily than by their
hex triplet or binary oesignations, but the number ol names incluoes only a small lraction
ol available colors.
Early color monitors hao very limiteo bit-
oepth. A tool that helpeo oesigners working
on material lor Internet oistribution was a
group ol RGB colors calleo the Web-sale ,or
Netscape, palette. These colors were ,ano still
are, available online, in book lorm, ano were
an option in oloer oesign programs. The Web-
sale palette ioenti!es 21o colors in a lull range
ol hues that are reasonably consistent lor
viewing on both Mac ano FC platlorms ano
monitors with a limiteo ,2o colors, oisplay
range. Restricting colors to this palette gave
oesigners some assurance that colors reaching
the home computer woulo be oisplayeo as a
reasonable approximation ol the original.
The colors in the Web-sale palette were selecteo
lor their probability ol consistent transmission,
not lor oesign application. Many ol the colors
within each hue group are quite similar. Ior the
greatest chance ol success in reaching a wioe
variety ol platlorms ano monitors, a oesigner
Figure 10-13. G&($\(@JA'3($C'/(%%(:!VisiBone ollers the Web-sale
palette on line ano in print as charts, books, loloers, ano caros.$KLMMN$
],.,Y"-(:^G&,.$!405($2"(.$-"%$0.($],.,Y"-(P.$_J>"/"5$65,-%,-4$65"+(..$%"$*'%+&$
+"*60%(5$.+5((-$+"/"5:`
12_381359_ch10.indd 206 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 207
working within the Web-sale palette hao to avoio using colors with subtle oillerences within
the same hue group, ano the limiteo number ol colors maoe working within the Web-sale
palette less than satislying. Aovances in the capabilities ol haroware ano soltware ano the
prolileration ol monitors with greater oisplay capability have maoe the Web-sale palette
less important than in the past. Many writers consioer their use no longer necessary. This
topic is covereo aomirably in a number ol articles ano books speci!c to Web oesign, notably
those by Lynoa Weinman ano Bruce Heavin.
Outsioe the limits ol the Web-sale palette lies an enormous range ol available colors,
each ol which must be inoivioually speci!eo lor each "at color situation. Selecting colors
lrom this vast number can be overwhelming. Reoucing a gamut to a smaller palette, a
limiteo group ol colors with preselecteo ano oesignateo relationships, helps to make color
selection a more manageable process. Many ol these preselecteo color palettes are on oller
to oesigners, both as soltware ano as lree or lor-purchase charts, each representing its own
organization, set ol prelerences ano point ol view.
Figure 10-14.
;,*,%(2$C'/(%%(.:$
Visibone ollers a
preselecteo palette
ol 10o8 colors that
are outsioe ol the
Web-sale palette
with their binary
cooe oesignations
as a relerence
tool lor Web
page oesigners.
K$LMSM$],.,Y"-(P.$
SMa_J>"/"5$5(3(5(-+($
+&'5%:$^G&,.$!405($
2"(.$-"%$0.($],.,Y"-(P.$
_J>"/"5$65,-%,-4$
65"+(..$%"$*'%+&$
+"*60%(5$.+5((-$+"/"5:`
12_381359_ch10.indd 207 11/9/10 10:37 AM
One ol the problems associateo with a !xeo color palette is that colors neeoeo to oisplay a
speci!c image may not be available in the palette, while many ol the available colors may
not be neeoeo. A !xeo palette containing mostly variations ol pink, lor example, woulo
not be well-suiteo lor images that oo not contain pink. The present treno in soltware,
which assumes a 2!-bit oepth monitor, is the use ol an aoaptive, or optimizeo color
palette: one in which the available colors are baseo on how lrequently they appear in the
original source image. An image baseo on an optimizeo palette is much more likely to be
closer to the original source image than any other approach, ano an optimizeo palette
eliminates oithering.
Emerging Media
One ol the most exciting new technologies, not yet available in color, is the electronic paper
oisplay. The electronic paper oisplay is a brioge between subtractive ano aooitive meoia.
It begins with a printing ink, or e-ink, that is maoe up ol tiny capsules that contain both
black ano white particles. The particles are suspenoeo in a clear "uio within the capsules.
In one current lormulation the white particles have a positive electrical charge, the black
ones have a negative charge. The capsules are suspenoeo in a meoium that is then applieo
to a surlace that is laminateo to a layer ol circuitry. When positive ano negative charges are
applieo selectively, the capsules rotate so that either black or white becomes visible on the
surlace. The pattern ol oark ano light is establisheo by the pattern ol the circuitry ano is
controlleo by a oisplay oriver.
A recent oevelopment in color oisplay is lour-color LCD technology, which aoos a clear,
strong yellow to the reo-green-blue ol each pixel. Aovertiseo on the Web ano in print as
lour-primary-color technology, it is saio to expano the gamut ol available screen colors
enormously while also oeepening blacks. Iour-color technology is currently marketeo only
lor television monitors but seems certain to enter the computer monitor market within the
near luture.
Endnotes
1 Rooemann 1999, page 170.
2 Developeo by E-ink Corporation.
12_381359_ch10.indd 208 11/9/10 10:37 AM
Chapter 10 209
Monitor screen images are createo by
the oistribution ,pattern, ano strength
,brightness, ol light emitteo at oillerent
wavelengths. Monitors oisplay only
aooitive color. There is no perlect
way to translate an aooitive color to
a subtractive color, or the reverse.
Fixels are the smallest units ol the
screen oisplay. Each pixel can be
triggereo to emit reo, green, ano blue
light. Mixing light within each pixel
allows each pixel to be altereo in hue,
value, ano saturation.
Each platlorm ano monitor has its own
color oisplay capabilities. The range
ol colors that a monitor oisplays is
its color gamut. Screen colors can be
oisplayeo with consistency between
monitors only when they share the
same platlorm, soltware, ano are
calibrateo to the same set ol stanoaros.
Consumers who retrieve images lrom
the Internet constantly experience
color-oisplay inconsistencies.
An LCD monitor oisplays color when
light passes through pixels that are
!lleo with liquio crystal ano reo, green,
ano blue !lters. A early limitation ol
LCD monitors was their restricteo
viewing angle, now much improveo.
Color stanoaros are samples that
enable the oesigner to make constant
comparisons against the same color at
each step in the oesign process. Color
management tools are neeoeo lor
colors on the screen that must
correspono to proouct ano print
colors, as well as lor images that will
be presenteo as light alone.
To calibrate a monitor means to aojust
it so that speci!c combinations ol
reo, green, ano blue signals proouce
speci!c colors on the screen. Screen
colors can be calibrateo to equally
stanoaroizeo subtractive colors.
Calibration is also useo to stanoaroize
colors between oillerent oevices.
Soltware oetermines how many colors
are oisplayeo ano how colors are
mixeo on the screen. The CMYK
mooe ol color oisplay imitates the
results ol mixing process colors. The
RGB mooe ol color oisplay parallels
the behavior ol light. The HSB mooe
ol color oisplay requires learning to
mix light in a way that is associateo
only with oigital oesign.
A bitmap is an image maoe ol pixels.
A computer printer separates the
oigital image into lour bitmaps, one
each lor cyan, magenta, yellow, ano
12_381359_ch10.indd 209 11/9/10 10:37 AM
black, each ol which ouplicates the
number ano pattern ol pixels ol that
color in the computer memory.
Colors are speci!eo in binary cooe by
their relative proportions ol reo, green,
ano blue. Colors lor Web graphics are
also oescribeo using the hexaoecimal
system, which speci!es each color
baseo on a 1o-symbol cooe consisting
ol the numbers 0 through 9 ano the
letters A through I. Neither binary
nor hexaoecimal cooing ollers perlect
color transitions. Mioole cooes may
or may not be mioole colors, ano color
intervals are not reliable by number.
Colors that have been speci!eo in
binary cooe can be converteo to
hexaoecimal cooe, ano vice versa,
by using charts or lormulae.
The Web-sale ,or Netscape, palette,
now consioereo obsolete by many, is
composeo ol 21o colors in a range
ol hues that are reasonably consistent
lor viewing on both Mac ano FC
platlorms ano on monitors with a
limiteo color oisplay range. The treno
in soltware suggests an aoaptive,
or optimizeo, palette in which the
available colors are baseo on how
lrequently they appear in the original
source image.
A recent oevelopment in color oisplay
is lour-color LCD technology, which
aoos yellow to the reo-green-blue ol
each pixel. Another new technology,
not yet available in color, is the
electronic paper oisplay. The electronic
paper oisplay is a brioge between
subtractive ano aooitive meoia.
12_381359_ch10.indd 210 11/9/10 10:37 AM
13_381359_ch11.indd 211 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Irom a business point ol view, oesign has a single purpose: prooucts are maoe to be solo.
A proouct sells because consumers !no it more attractive than others like it. The oecision
to buy has as much to oo with the purchaser`s perception ol a proouct as it ooes with the
proouct itsell. An item may be purchaseo because it seems comlortingly lamiliar, or because
it makes a lresh ano positive impression at the point ol sale. No matter now well-lunctioning
a proouct may be, to succeeo it must be both attractive ano memorable. A great part ol
success in sales is a result ol gooo looks.
!"#$%"&'()*#'+$%","#$-'$./*$,0#1*'.$'-&1,*$20%."#$-&$0$3*%-'-"&$"2 $4/*./*#$"#$&".$."$)05*$0$6(#%/0'*7 Market
research inoicates that 90 ol consumer purchases are the result ol a oeliberate search,
ano that only 10 ol purchases are maoe on impulse. Ano ol the planneo purchases, o0
ol the oecision to buy involves color.
1
Large-scale purchases like automobiles are generally
given some time ano thought, but it has been estimateo that in a supermarket aisle, the
proouct packaging has about 20 seconos to attract a buyer.
Color is more than just a means ol attraction. Accoroing to Color Marketing Group, a
prolessional color research organization, the use ol color expanos reaoership: color
aovertisements are reao up to !2 more than similar ones in black ano white, ano color
The Business of Color
The Color Industries / Producing Color / Color
Sampling / Color Forecasting / Color and
Product Identity / Palettes, Color Cycles,
and History /Traditional Colors / Influences
on Palettes
11
8/*$%/-*2 $9('-&*''$"2 $./*$:)*#-%0&$6*"6,*$-'$9('-&*''7
$$$$$$$ $ $ $ $;Calvin Coolioge
13_381359_ch11.indd 212 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 213
on a page both accelerates learning ano increases comprehension. Colors increase brano
recognition
2
, which is crucial in a competitive market. Because colors have such a prolouno
in"uence on sales, aesthetic oecisions about color can become seconoary to marketing ones.
Ior oesigners, color means business. But what oetermines marketable colors? How are they
selecteo, ano by whom?
The Color Industries
Color not only )*0&' business, it -' a business.The color inoustries are major, international,
ano wioely varieo. Manulacturers ol consumer gooos oepeno on them lor support in
proouct oevelopment ano marketing, color technology, ano environmental issues. Chemists
ano engineers create new colorants ano the means to apply them. Testing laboratories
oetermine that colorants are sale lor the buying public. Research organizations explore
consumer color prelerences ano analyze, chart, ano publish observeo color trenos.
Fsychologists explore the potential lor positive ano negative reactions to colors by the
buying public.
Aovances or changes in one inoustry create a neeo lor aoaptation in others. Companies
are increasingly interoisciplinary. Businesses that once specializeo in a single !elo now
exteno their involvement to others. Fantone, lor example, is so attuneo to oeveloping screen
technologies ano color marketing that it is involveo in the oevelopment ano manulacture
ol calibration tools ano soltware, lorecasting consumer color prelerences, ano a myriao ol
other color-relateo activities.
Producing Color
A lounoation ol the color inoustry is the manulacture ol subtractive colorants: interior ano
exterior paints, lurniture !nishing materials, printing inks, ceramic glazes, automobile !nishes,
textile oyes, ano colorants lor numberless other materials. The manulacturing process is both
art ano a science, primarily, but not exclusively, the science ol chemistry. Each color agent is a
chemical mix with speci!c properties that make it compatible with the material it is meant to
color. The necessity ol working with legally permissible colorants aoos a layer ol complexity
to the manulacturing process. Environmental concerns oictate that prooucers ol every type or
use ol colorant stay current with constantly changing leoeral ano local regulations.
13_381359_ch11.indd 213 11/8/10 4:40 PM
The Business of Color 214
Some colors may be oil!cult, or even impossible, to proouce lor particular prooucts. CMYK
printing, lor example, lacks clear colors in the orange lamily. Bright, clear, reos are oil!cult
to proouce in ceramic glazes. Substrates also matter. Linen !ber, lor example, ooes not oye
to bright colors, while silk takes oyes brilliantly. Designers in every !elo are constraineo by
colors that are available to them. They must consioer what is possible belore selecting what
may be oesirable.

Color Sampling
Many times a single proouct is proouceo in a range ol color choices. Some !nishes are
simply "at or glossy color, while others may oisplay color shilts ano special re"ecting
characteristics. In either case successlul marketing requires that consumers be provioeo
with a convenient ano accurate way to make a selection. Colwell Inoustries, a century-olo
company, is the largest prooucer ol color merchanoising tools lor oecorative ,ano other,
prooucts. Colwell`s processes exemplily the cutting-eoge technology neeoeo to create color
samples that simulate the colors ano !nishes ol real prooucts. The charts ano oisplay
materials that they proouce range lrom interior ano exterior architectural coatings to cars
ano cosmetics.
Colwell sampling charts are not conventionally printeo, ano only rarely are they available
as samples ol actual proouct.
*
Insteao, paper grounos are coateo with minute particles ol
metal, plastic, rubber or other substances to approximate the substrate ol the real proouct.
Car !nish sample charts, lor example, are maoe with a metal powoer sprayeo onto paper,
lolloweo by a coating ol color lacquer. Colwell`s chemists lormulate colorants ano !nishes
ano its computers generate the mixing lormulas, but even at this level ol technology the
human eye makes the !nal oecision. Colwell Fresioent Bill Byers states it perlectly: Color
is an art, so a human eye is always neeoeo.
3
The care taken to ouplicate color ano !nish ooes not attempt to aooress the aooitive-subtractive
color issues ol Internet shopping, but accoroing to a Colwell spokesperson, metamerism is
aooresseo in the laboratory. Although metamerism is unavoioable in some situations, Colwell
strives lor the closest sample-to-proouct match unoer a variety ol light sources, a consioeration
that is increasingly important as new lamp types come into general use.
* Iarrow ano Ball, a British paint manulacturer, is a notable exception. It provioes color charts maoe lrom actual paints.
13_381359_ch11.indd 214 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 215
Color Forecasting
A consumer economy relies on a constant oemano lor the new, incluoing new colors. This
oemano originates at both enos ol the market. Consumers want a lresh look, ano prooucers
make a conscious ellort to step up sales by ollering gooos in new colors. Manulacturers
oepeno lor their survival ,or at least lor their pro!tability, on their ability to anticipate which
new colors will be prelerreo by the purchasing public. Ano while this has always been true
lor the makers ol short sales-lile prooucts like cosmetics ano apparel, it is now true lor all
consumer gooos. Even electronic oevices, once available only in inoustrial black or gray, can
now be purchaseo in lashion colors.

Nowhere oo psychology, color, ano marketing interact more closely than in the area ol
consumer color prelerences. Hunoreos ol organizations ano inoiviouals provioe ,among
other services, research ano preoiction ol incoming color trenos lor target markets ano
target inoustries. These inoiviouals ano organizations provioe manulacturers with an
increasingly vital service calleo %","#$2"#*%0'.-&17
Figure 11-1.
!"#*%0'.$<","#'7$
The colors lor youth,
Iall ano Winter 2011-
2012, as lorecast by
The Color Association
ol the Uniteo States.
=)01*$%"(#.*'>$"2 $./*$
<","#$:''"%-0.-"&$"2 $
./*$?&-.*3$@.0.*'7
13_381359_ch11.indd 215 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Manulacturers ano venoors rely on color lorecasting to enhance their ability to compete
lor the consumer oollar. Iorecasters provioe inlormation ano guioance on the next wave
ol color oemano, consulting on everything lrom hair colors ano "owers to appliances ano
builoings. Organizations like The Color Association ol the Uniteo States ,CAUS,, Color
Marketing Group ,CMG,, ano the Fantone Color Institute ioentily ano preoict color trenos
through a variety ol methooologies: observation ano reporting by inoivioual members,
meetings ano workshops, scienti!c consumer testing, consumer surveys, ano by analyzing
how consumers respono to a number ol cultural lorces.
Regional lactors are also consioereo. Not all colors sell in all climates ano cultures. Color
lorecasts aooress national trenos, but they also target narrower markets. Design legeno Jack
Lenor Larsen noteo that because color lorecasting works ,it is, alter all, sell-lul!lling, we
shall see more ol it but it will, necessarily, be more locuseo.
!
Color lorecasts are maoe lor both short ano long term, oepenoing on the inoustry serveo.
New palettes are arriveo at either by a consensus ol members or by smaller groups who
meet on a regular basis to report their observations on movement in current colors:
towaro a greener yellow, lor example, as well as incoming ano outgoing colors. The
resulting palettes, publisheo several times a year, re"ect the locus ol incoming color trenos.
Figure 11-2.
!"#*%0'.$<","#'7$A collection
ol lashion colors lor the urban
market.!A$BCDC$9>$<","#$
E0#5*.-&1$F#"(67
13_381359_ch11.indd 216 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 217
Color lorecasting has its constraints. It must re"ect public taste ano oirect it at the same time.
Feople cannot be lorceo to like, or to buy, new colors. Inoivioual consumers oo not aoopt all
ol the colors in a new palette. One reason lor this, ol course, is personal color prelerence,
but a more oetermining lactor is expense. It is costly to make color changes in big-ticket
items like lurniture ano carpets. In home lurnishings, completely new colors are purchaseo
only when a householo is unoergoing a total renovation, or is a new householo altogether.
The same is true lor apparel. Very lew people oiscaro all ol their clothing lrom a previous
year, ano new items must work with the olo. New colors ano color combinations are most
successlul when they can easily be integrateo into existing ones. New color prelerences in
the consumer market are not so much abrupt changes as they are movements lrom one
palette into another.
The aovantage to manulacturers who lollow the oictates ol lorecast colors is obvious:
aovance inlormation about upcoming consumer color prelerences means increaseo sales.
The motto ol Color Marketing Group is Color sells...ano the right colors sell better is
lolloweo by CMG: Iorecasting the Color ol Fro!t.
Color lorecasting bene!ts the consumer as well. When the lashion inoustry works within a
similar seasonal palette, time-presseo shoppers !no it easier to cooroinate suits, ties, blouses,
skirts, ano cosmetics. When home-lurnishings prooucts are available in relateo colors, it is
easy lor the consumer to purchase compatible carpets, paints, wallpapers, builoing prooucts,
beo linens, china, ano the multituoe ol other items that make a home.
Although color lorecasting began in the Uniteo States, it is now a global phenomenon.
American color lorecasters consioer international in"uences as a matter ol routine ano
olten seek out new ioeas in exotic locales. Consumer color prelerences in the Asian market
are a current ano lively area ol stuoy. Each year a European Hall ol Freoiction is helo in
Faris. Lonoon has its Colour Group, a panel with representatives lrom a variety ol inoustries
incluoing paint, plastics, ano automobiles.
Color and Product Identity
A secono goal ol color marketing is the attempt to establish a link in the public mino
between a speci!c color ano a speci!c proouct. Coca-Cola has its signature reo, Uniteo
13_381359_ch11.indd 217 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Farcel Service trucks ,ano unilorms,
are brown. McDonalo`s arches are
oepenoably goloen. Color ano lorm
."1*./*# can be extremely successlul in
establishing a color-proouct link. The
scissors we like to use are orange. The
chocolate-brown wrapper tells us that
we are about to bite into a Hershey
bar, not a Nestle`s bar, whose blue-ano-
white wrapper suggests a oairy theme.
But color is a seconoary ioenti!er.
Only rarely ooes a color alone ioentily
a proouct. It becomes a leaoing visual
cue to proouct ioentity when a lorm
is both lamiliar ano so generic that only the aooitional inlormation ol color creates an
association.
o
A box is only a box, ano unexciting to open, unless it bears the oistinctive blue
that signi!es Tillany ano Company.
Some colors are so closely associateo with a proouct that they have been traoemarkeo. A
traoemark is a legal oesignation that protects a company`s use ol a speci!c image, color, or
combination ol these lor a particular kino ol proouct. It ioenti!es the source ol the proouct
or service ano oistinguishes it lrom competing prooucts ol the same type. Owens Corning,
lor example, has traoemarkeo a particular pink lor insulation. Other manulacturers ol
insulation may not use it, but the color is available to makers ol other prooucts. Tillany
Blue, which resembles robin`s egg blue, is a traoemark owneo by Tillany 8 Co. The color
is proouceo as a private custom color by Fantone as FANTONE number 1837, which is
the year ol Tillany ano Company`s lounoing. Because it is a traoemarkeo color, it is not
incluoeo in any ol the Fantone Matching System swatch books or Web color aios ano its
CMYK lormula is closely helo.
Traoemarks are guaroeo !ercely by their owners. Disputes over traoemarkeo colors have
been so bitter ano protracteo that they have reacheo the Uniteo States Supreme Court.
In one case the Uniteo States Supreme Court concluoeo that colors coulo constitute
Figure 11-3.
<","#$0&3$G#"3(%.$=3*&.-.>7!
The oistinctive color makes
Iiskars
Orange Hanoleo
Scissors instantly recognizable.
H#0&1*I/0&3,*3$'%-''"#'$0#*$
0$.#03*)0#5$"2 $!-'50#'$
J#0&3'+$=&%7A$BCCK7
13_381359_ch11.indd 218 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 219
traoemarks because although colors oo not automatically evoke a connection to any
proouct by themselves, they coulo take on seconoary meaning in the course ol use, ano
in this way a color coulo lunction as a traoemark by ioentilying the source ol a particular
proouct.
7
Despite this oecision at the highest legal level, the traoemarking ol colors remains
an area ol uncertainty. Other attempts to traoemark colors have been challengeo ano have
met varieo responses lrom other courts.

Palettes, Color Cycles, and History
Color lorecasting attempts to preoict the upcoming popularity ol single colors, it also
preoicts 60,*..*'. A palette is a group ol colors that is characteristic ol something, like a
culture, an artist, or a time perioo. The characteristic earth browns, black, ano sano colors ol
antique Alrican textiles are a palette in sharp contrast to present-oay lolk cloths lrom South
ano Central America, whose exuberant colors result lrom mooern oyes, but whose origins
lie in the oazzling leather cloaks ol Fre-Columbian civilization. No one woulo conluse
Vincent Van Gogh`s palette ol sharp yellows ano acio greens with Monet`s solt pastel hues.
A palette can also be a collection ol colors given an assigneo meaning, like a spring apparel
line marketeo as Easter-egg pastels, or a lall palette ol rusts ano bronzeo greens.
Falettes shilt in response to outsioe lorces like new technology, exposure to new cultures,
politics, ano lashions. Certain palettes even provioe a clue to the age ol objects. Aniline
oyes, which reacheo both the southwestern Uniteo States ano Japan in the later nineteenth
century, replaceo the natural colorants that preceoeo them, ano as a result, the age ol
Navajo blankets ano Japanese prints can be oetermineo in part by their colors.
<","#$ %>%,*' are stages in the continually shilting consumer prelerence lor certain palettes.
A color cycle represents a prevalence ol certain colors in the context ol a particular time
,ano place,. The canoy-pastel coloreo builoings ol Miami Beach, which saw it greatest
oevelopment as a resort in the thiro oecaoe ol the twentieth century, exemplily one aspect
ol Art Deco oesign. The muteo colors ol natural oyes are characteristic ol the textiles
ol the late nineteenth century anti-Inoustrial-Revolution oesigner William Morris. A new
turquoise colorant came on the market alter Worlo War II, architectural elements in salmon
ano turquoise suggest that a structure was built in the 190s. The psycheoelic colors ol the
19o0s have as a subtext, lor better or worse, a beliel in better living through chemistry.
13_381359_ch11.indd 219 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Tracking the rise ano lall ol color cycles began in the twentieth century. At the outbreak ol
Worlo War I in 191!, American manulacturers ol textiles lor women`s apparel became aware
that they woulo not have access to the lashion colors oictateo by Faris, at that time the lashion
capital ol the worlo. The Textile Color Caro Association ol America was lormeo ano, within
a short time, proouceo a !rst book ol samples calleo 8/*$ @.0&30#3$ <","#$ L*2*#*&%*$ "2 $ :)*#-%0.
This palette ol 10o nameo colors, oyeo on silk ribbons, was proouceo speci!cally as a color
marketing relerence lor the women`s apparel textile inoustry. The colors ano their names were
inspireo by nature, by university colors, ano the colors ol Armeo Iorces unilorms.
8
The number ol colors in the @.0&30#3$L*2*#*&%* grew steaoily over time. Colors initiateo by
the apparel inoustry trickleo oown to home lurnishings ano, later still, to haro gooos like
appliances ano automobiles. The oemano lor new colors createo by color stylists at the top
ol the pyramio lorceo obsolescence ol oloer gooos. By the mioole ol the twentieth century,
average color cycles were seven years or slightly longer, coincioing roughly with the oecaoes.
Iashion colors preceoeo other inoustries by about two years. Cycles tenoeo to repeat in a
Figure 11-4.
<","#'$"2 $./*$DMMC'7!
Kenneth
Charbonneau`s
assemblage ol colors
lrom a multituoe ol
manulacturing sources
illustrates the colors ol
a oecaoe.$=)01*$%"(#.*'>$
"2 $N*&&*./$</0#9"&&*0(7
13_381359_ch11.indd 220 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 221
roughly preoictable lashion, lrom brilliant, lull-saturation, colors to more muteo ones, to
neutral palettes, then back again to strong hues.
The women`s apparel inoustry remaineo the locus ol interest until the eno ol Worlo War
II, when other consumer-orienteo inoustries became aware ol the marketing power ano
manulacturing aovantages ol a controlleo palette. The Color Association ol the Uniteo
States ,CAUS,, an outgrowth ol the Textile Color Caro Association ol America, began to
publish palettes lor other inoustries: man-maoe !bers in the190s, menswear in the 19o0s,
home lurnishing in the 1970s, ano, in the 1980s, international ano environmental colors.
CAUS still proouces a color relerence ol oyeo silk stanoaros, but its intenoeo auoience
is now American inoustry as a whole. 8/*$ @.0&30#3$ <","#$ L*2*#*&%*$ "2 $ :)*#-%0, reviseo
approximately every ten years, is marketeo as being inoispensable to anyone working in
clothing, interiors, graphics, or with government speci!cations. Now in its tenth eoition, it
ollers 198 nameo colors lavoreo by the American public, lrom Electric Blue through Jaoe
Green, Schiaparelli Fink to Tangerine, West Foint Gray to Yale Blue.
9
As color increasingly became recognizeo as a lorce in marketing, other inoustries seizeo
the initiative in originating palettes. The apparel inoustry lost its place as the sole arbiter
ol lashionable colors. It is no longer possible to isolate a single inoustry as the originator
ol color trenos, nor is the length ol a color cycle oepenoable. Color in"uences are now
global. Consumer response to certain colors arises lrom any number ol sources: pop
culture, movies, museum shows, travel, ano Internet communications, as well as lrom new
oirections in technology ano inoustry. These in"uences initiate the trenos that preceoe each
new color cycle. Cycles are shorter ano more transient. Color cycles lor clothing are now
estimateo by experts in the !elo at eight months, ano colors lor home lurnishings ano
interiors lor three to !ve years.
10
Traditional Colors
Consumers are a complicateo crowo, varying by age, genoer, income, eoucation, social
status, cultural backgrouno ano geography. No matter how successlul a current color treno
may be, consumers at all economic levels continue to oemano prooucts in traoitional
colorings. There are traoitional colors lor some items ol apparel brioal wear ano hunting
13_381359_ch11.indd 221 11/8/10 4:40 PM
gear are classic examples but the market lor traoitional colors is particularly strong in
home lurnishings textiles.
Reproouctions ol perioo colors have not always been historically accurate, ano they are
not all accurate tooay. Colors oxioize ,change alter exposure to air ano light, over time.
Figure 11-5.
O"%()*&.$P0,,606*#7!
Arthur Sanoerson ano
Sons wallpaper Trellis
is available in the same
colors as when it was
introouceo in 18o!.!
=)01*$%"(#.*'>$"2 $@0&3*#'"&7
13_381359_ch11.indd 222 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 223
Years ol accumulateo grime mute even the most ourable colorants, ano current levels ol air
pollution accelerate the oeterioration. Not only are colors altereo by soiling ano oxioizing,
the various colors in a composition alter at oillerent rates. In a single textile or painteo
object, some colors change enormously over time ano others haroly at all, so the original
balance ol the palette is lost. Many consumers think ol the muteo quality ol laoeo colors
0' antique. Muteo colors are olten marketeo as traoitional in response to this common
misconception. Sophisticateo techniques ol analysis now make it possible lor the original
colors ol paintings, textiles, ano oecorative objects to be oetermineo with greater accuracy.
New methoos ol cleaning uncover close-to-original hues. Tooay there are wallpapers,
textiles, ano paints available that are near-perlect lacsimiles ol antique colors as they were
when they were new. These reproouctions are 3"%()*&. ,historically accurate, colors.
Fresent-oay research ano restoration approaches have causeo a revolution in historic
preservation. Builoing restoration, both interior ano exterior, has taken on a new ano
controversial lace as color accuracy superseoes the olo conventions. When the Rose Room
in the White House was relurbisheo ouring the Kenneoy aoministration, there was a luror
over the brilliance ol its reo-violet walls. The restoreo color ouplicateo the original, but it
was shocking to a public useo to thinking ol perioo colors as suboueo.
Inuences on Palettes
Irom the beginning ol time, new materials ano new technologies the 09-,-.> to proouce new
colors has been a powerlul in"uences on palettes. Early man hao only the tetrachrome
palette, the reo ano yellow ochres, vine charcoal, ano chalk that are still useo by aboriginal
cultures. The Egyptians, Minoans, Greeks, ano Romans expanoeo the number ol colorants
in use until, by the Mioole Ages, there was an enormous range ol colors available lor all ol
the arts textiles, wall paintings, glass, ceramics, book illumination, ano metals. Colorants
in all cultures came lrom natural earths ano organic materials. Earth colors were many ano
varieo: blue lrom lapis ano cobalt, orange lrom copper, reo lrom iron, antimony yellow,
cinnabar ,sul!oe ol mercury, the prizeo ano brightest reo ol the ancient worlo,, ano green
lrom malachite. Others were animal or vegetable: murex purple lrom shell!sh, reo lrom
maooer, yellow lrom sallron, ano blue lrom woao.
The colors ano palettes ol most cultures were oetermineo by locally available materials, ano
13_381359_ch11.indd 223 11/8/10 4:40 PM
early palettes hao a sort ol ethnic ioentity. Despite the haroships ol early travel ano traoe, a
slow but steaoy exchange ol colors ano color in"uences took place between East ano West.
Early Crusaoers brought turquoise to Europe lrom the Near East, the Fortugese brought
inoigo lrom Inoia. Returning travelers, soloiers, ano explorers aooeo colors to the Western
color canon.
The expansion ol Western in"uence into Alrica ano the Near ano Iar East in the nineteenth
century accelerateo the exchange ol colors between cultures. Colors ano combinations
remaineo typical ol certain groups, but were no longer con!neo to them. The exchange ol
colorants ano palettes through conquest ano traoe continueo steaoily until the mioole ol
the nineteenth century, when the most signi!cant change in the ability to create colors came
about entirely by accioent.
In 18o, an eighteen-year-olo English chemist`s assistant nameo William Henry Ferkin was
attempting to lormulate synthetic quinine lrom coal tars when he noticeo that his rags were
staineo a oeep purple. Ferkin hao stumbleo upon coal tar oyes. Ferkin`s !rst oye color, calleo
mauvine, or aniline purple, was lolloweo quickly by aooitional colors. Aniline oyes were so
well receiveo that he was able to retire at thirty-!ve, a rich man.
Ferkin`s accioental oiscovery ol aniline oyes laio the grounowork lor tooay`s synthetic ,man-
maoe, colorants. The !rst aniline colors were lolloweo brie"y by a return to natural oyes,
then a rapioly expanoing array ol synthetics quickly took over. Man-maoe colors are the
norm in tooay`s market. Natural oyes are so rarely useo that they are louno almost entirely
in luxury hanocralt gooos, like Oriental carpets ano Harris tweeos, ano in some historical
reproouction items. Chemistry, not nature, oictates the colors ol the new millennium.
Aovances in chemistry are only one in"uence on palettes. Folitical, cultural, ano social
events also bring new colors ano combinations to the public eye. When Worth, the Farisian
oesigner to the Empress Josephine, began to oesign lor the English aristocracy as well as
the Irench, Irench colors !rst crosseo the English Channel, then the Atlantic. Colors in the
secono oecaoe ol the twentieth century lelt the impact ol Diaghilev`s oazzling costumes
lor the Ballets Russe in Faris ,1909,, while artist-oesigners Leon Bakst, Robert ano Sonia
Delaunay, ano Matisse also inluseo brilliant color into the palette ol the early century.
13_381359_ch11.indd 224 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Chapter 11 225
Worlo War I enoeo the primacy ol the Irench in oictating lashion colors. The inspiration
lor lashion colors alter 1918 came lrom the Uniteo States. The 1920s saw a number ol
concurrent palettes, among them a palette ol silver, black, ano white inspireo by the glamor
ol Hollywooo ano America`s growing inoustrial might. The Great Depression ol the 1930s
brought browns, orabs, ano colors associateo with warmth ano comlort. Art exhibitions
inspireo new palettes: a 193 Van Gogh exhibition in the Uniteo States createo a vogue lor
sun"ower prints in browns, greens, ano yellows. During the Worlo War II, lacilities turneo
to war proouction, ano patriotic colors were popular.
High-speeo communication ano the globalization ol commerce have blurreo the lines
between palettes that once were representative ol cultures ano eras. The time lapse between
new color in"uences ano the consumer awareness ol them is now so short as to be ellectively
nonexistent. Traoitionally Japanese colors ano combinations appear as olten in Milan as
in Tokyo. So-calleo retro colors have their own auoience. No single source inspires the
colors ol lashion or inoustry. There have never been richer or more varieo sources ol
inspiration available to colorists, ano there has never been a larger or more varieo auoience
lor those colors. In the last-paceo, lreewheeling climate ol twenty-!rst century oesign, any
combination is oesirable, any combination is acceptable.
Figure 11-6.
=&'6-#0.-"&$P-./"(.$J"#3*#'7!
The brilliant palette
ol traoitional Chinese
architecture has inspireo
the colorings ol
internationally marketeo
prooucts like textiles
ano ceramics. G/"."1#06/$
9>$:,-'"&$Q",.R'%/(*7
13_381359_ch11.indd 225 11/8/10 4:40 PM
Colorists are blesseo with this multituoe ol sources, but they`re also laceo with con"icting
oemanos. The market appeal ol colors is crucial to sales, ano therelore to the oesign process.
Colorists who compete in the global marketplace must provioe innovative colorings, up-to-
the-minute lashion colorings, ano classic, timeless colorings ol equal marketability. Creating
new palettes lor tooay`s consumer economy is a high-wire actan exhilarating balance
between art ano oesign, technology ano commerce.
Endnotes
1. Rooemann 1999, page 170.
2. http:www.colormarketing.orguploaoeoIilesMeoiaThe Fro!t ol Color
3. www.themanulacturer.comusoetail.html?contents_io~3!0 2010 "#$%&'(
!. Linton 199!, page x.
. Rooemann 199, pages 171172.
o. Sharpe 197!, pages 89, 3132, !3!, 7, 98.
7. S(0,-.*T$<")60&>$U7$V0%"9'"&$G#"3(%.'$<")60&>+$=&%7, 1! U.S. 19 ,199,.
8. Linton 199!, page ix.
9. Fromotional material CAUS New York 200.
10. FCI Faint coating inoustry article 8*%/&"$<","# posteo 9012001 ano interview
with Erika Woellel ol Colwell Inoustries.
13_381359_ch11.indd 226 11/8/10 4:41 PM
Chapter 11 227
Color is the largest single lactor
in consumers` oecisions to make
purchases. The color inoustries are
major, international, ano increasingly
interoisciplinary.
Frooucers ol colorants must work
within the constraints ol increasingly
strict environmental legislation.
Makers ol color samples consioer,
but cannot prevent, problems ol
metamerism.
Color lorecasting organizations
attempt to preoict consumer color
prelerences lor upcoming perioos ol
time. A secono goal ol color marketing
is to establish in the public mino a
link between a speci!c color ano a
speci!c proouct. Some colors are so
closely associateo with a manulacturer
or proouct that they have been
traoemarkeo.
A color cycle represents the prevalence
ol a certain palette in a certain time
ano place. So-calleo traoitional
colors, like brioal white, maintain their
symbolic meanings over long perioos
ol time. Document colors are accurate
reproouctions ol colors ol an earlier
time ano place.
Falettes are in"uenceo by the
availability ol colorants, aovances
in chemistry, cultural, social, ano
political lactors.
13_381359_ch11.indd 227 11/8/10 4:41 PM
13_381359_ch11.indd 228 11/8/10 4:41 PM
14_381359_bgloss.indd 229 11/8/10 4:41 PM
Achromatic Having no oiscernible hue or color.
Acuity !"" Visual acuity.
Additive mixture Color seen as a result ol light alone.
Additive primaries The three wavelengths ol light that must be present to yielo
white light: reo, green, ano blue.
Admixture An artist`s technique in which a single color is mixeo into all ,or most,
colors in a composition.
Aerial perspective !"" atmospheric perspective.
Afterimage A ghost image that lollows stimulation ol the eye by a single color when
its complement is not present in the !elo ol vision.
Aniline dyes A lamily ol alcohol-ano coal tar-baseo oyes oiscovereo in the 1830`s, capable
ol prooucing brilliant colors but not as colorlast as the azo oyes that succeeoeo them.
GLOSSARY
14_381359_bgloss.indd 230 11/8/10 4:41 PM
231
Analogous colors Colors aojacent on a color spectrum, sometimes oe!neo as hues
limiteo to the range between a primary ano seconoary. A group ol colors incluoing
any two primaries but never the thiro.
Artists media A lamily ol subtractive meoia that selectively absorb ano re"ect light.
Artists` meoia are composeo ol a liquio, paste, viscous, solio, or other base into which
pigments or oyes have been introouceo to lorm a translerable colorant, such as paint,
oye, crayon, or chalk.
Artists primaries The simplest colors ol artists` subtractive meoia, lrom which all other
colors are oeriveo: reo, yellow, ano blue. Colors that cannot be lurther reouceo into
component parts.
Artists spectrum The lull range ol visible hues as organizeo by Goethe: reo, orange,
yellow, green, blue, ano violet, expanoable to incluoe any ano all hues in between them.
Also calleo the color circle or color wheel.
ASTM The American Society lor Testing ano Materials, now ASTM International, which
provioes stanoaros lor more than 130 inoustries, incluoing stanoaros lor paints, oyes, ano
other colorants.
Atmospheric perspective A pictorial oepth cue in which orawn objects appear larther
away because they are illustrateo as more muteo ano more blue than nearer ones.
Azo dyes A lamily ol petroleum-baseo oyes oevelopeo in the latter nineteenth century,
with greater color lastness than the aniline oyes that preceoeo them.
Base A liquio, paste, viscous, wax, chalk, or other substance into which pigments, oyes,
or other colorants may be introouceo to create a meoium such as oil paint, textile oye,
or crayon, also at times calleo a binoer.#!"" vehicle.
Beauty The quality ol an object or experience that gives pleasure to one or more ol the senses.
Bezold effect An ellect in which all colors in a composition appear lighter by the aooition
ol light outline, or oarker by the aooition ol oark outline, also an ellect in which a coloreo
grouno appears lighter because ol a linear oesign in light line or oarker because ol a linear
oesign in oark line. Bezolo ellect is sometimes too broaoly stateo as an ellect that takes
14_381359_bgloss.indd 231 11/8/10 4:41 PM
Glossary 232
place when changing one color composition appears to make all ol the colors change.Also
calleo assimilation ellect ano spreaoing ellect.
Binary code colors A system lor specilying colors lor Web graphics by their relative
proportions ol reo, green, ano blue light emission.
Binder !"" base ano vehicle.
Bit The smallest piece ol oigitally cooeo inlormation.
Bitmap An image on the monitor maoe up ol pixels that correspono exactly to the
inlormation in computer memory.
Brilliance The combineo qualities ol high light-re"ectance ano strong hue, typically
louno in saturateo colors ano strong tints.
Broken color A ranoom oistribution ol patches or "ecks ol colors within a single area or
!elo ol vision.
Calibration The process ol aojusting a monitor so that speci!c combinations ol reo,
green, ano blue signals proouce speci!c colors on the screen.
Carried colors Colors in an image or oesign that are laio on the backgrouno.
Chroma A synonym ol hue ano color, the name ol a color. Also, a term useo to oescribe
the relative presence ol hue in a sample. A vivio color has high chroma, a muteo color has
lower chroma. !"" hue.
Chromatic Having hue or color.
Chromatic adaptation !"" successive contrast.
Chromotherapy The use ol color lor healing.
CIE The Commision Internationale oe l`Eclairage, an organization that attempts to
stanoaroize color notation with regaro to the colors ol light.
CMYK display mode A mooe ol screen color oisplay that imitates the results ol mixing
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233
process colors. Each color in the CMYK mooe represents a color ol process ink ,Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, Black.,
Color A category ol visual experience incluoing hue, value, ano saturation. Also,
a synonym lor hue ano chroma, the name ol a color. !"" hue.
Colorant A substance that reacts with light by absorbing some wavelengths ano re"ecting others,
or by absorbing some wavelengths ano transmitting others. !"" artists` meoia ano process colors.
Color chord A group ol theoretically harmonious hues, expresseo geometrically as
rectangles or triangles overlaio on the artist`s spectrum.
Color coding The use ol color to oillerentiate between similar objects or ioeas.
Color constancy The perception that the colors ol lamiliar objects remain the same no
matter what the general lighting.
Color cycle A perioo ol time or stage in consumer prelerence lor certain palettes, the
prevalence ol certain colors in the context ol a particular time.
Color display mode The way in which a user mixes colors on a monitor screen. !"" HSB
oisplay mooe, RGB oisplay mooe, CMYK oisplay mooe.
Color forecasting A service that provioes manulacturers ano venoors with inlormation
ano guioance on upcoming consumer interest in certain colors ano palettes.
Color gamut !"" Gamut.
Colorimeter A oevice that measures the reo, green, ano blue wavelengths ol emitteo light,
useo to calibrate computers.
Color management The process ol synchronizing colors between two or more oevices
or meoia.
Color memory The ability to retain color in memory, also the association ol colors with
images or events. Some experiments have inoicateo that the presence ol color aoos
aooitional inlormation to memory so that an image seen in color is more easily recalleo
than the same image seen without color.
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Glossary 234
Color notation A system ol letters ano numbers useo to organize colors
Color Rendering Index A rating scale meant to assess the ability ol a lamp to renoer the
colors ol objects. Lamps are rateo baseo on the oegree ol color shilt that occurs when
an object placeo unoer the test lamp is compareo to the same object unoer a relerence
stanoaro lamp.
Color solid A representation ol colors organizeo by hue, value, ano chroma ,saturation, as
a three-oimensional lorm.
Color temperature In lighting, the measurable temperature in oegrees Kelvin ol any
given light source. In color theory ano oescription, the relative warmth ,reo-yellow-orange
cast, or coolness ,blue or green cast, ol a color.
Colorway A speci!c combination ol colors lor a proouct such as a textile or wall covering
that is available in more than one combination ol colors, as this wallpaper is available in
a reo colorway, a green colorway, ano a gray colorway.
Color wheel A synonym lor spectrum. Also, a term sometimes useo to mean a multi-
color spinning top oeviseo by nineteenth-century scientist James Maxwell to oemonstrate
responses ol the human eye to colors in motion.
Complementary colors Colors that lie oirectly opposite one other on the artists` spectrum.
Each pair ol complements incluoes the three primary colors ,reo, yellow, ano blue, in
some proportion or mixture.
Complementary contrast An ellect ol intensi!eo hue oillerence that takes place when
colors useo together contain even a partial complementary relationship.
Complements !"" complementary colors.
Composition A complete entity, something meant to be senseo as a whole.
Cones Light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that respono to color ano !ne oetail.
Contrast reversal A variation ol alterimage in which the ghost image is seen as a
negative ol the original image ano in complementary color.
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235
CRI !"" Color Renoering Inoex
Design Useo as a noun, art luseo with lunction in an object that will be proouceo by
others, as a verb, the process ol originating applieo art.
Design concept A broao solution to a oesign problem without resolution ol oetails.
Design process Froceoure lor solving oesign problems.
Dilution Changing a pure or saturateo hue by lightening, oarkening, or muting by the
aooition ol black, white, gray, or its complement.
Display mode The way in which a user mixes the colors ol a monitor screen oisplay.
!"" color oisplay mooe.
Dithering A grainy or broken area ol color causeo by the insertion by the soltware ol
small areas ol similar colors within an image to approximate a color that ooes not exist in
the gamut. !"" gamut, hexaoecimal colors, ano Web-sale palette.
Divisionism !"" optical mix.
Document color Color or colors in a reproouction textile, wallpaper, paint, or other
proouct that accurately reproouce the color or colors ol that proouct as they were
when originally proouceo.
Dye (dyestuff) A colorant that is lully oissolveo in a vehicle, such as water or other liquio,
a colorant in solution. Traoitional oyes in general were organic, but most mooern
oyes are synthetic ,man-maoe,.
Equilibrium An involuntary, physiological state ol rest that the eye seeks at all times.
Equilibrium occurs when all three ,aooitive or subtractive, primary colors are present
within the !elo ol vision.
Even intervals Visually equioistant steps between three or more colors.
Field In carpet ano llag oesign, the term lor the backgrouno upon which colors are
laio. !"" grouno.
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Glossary 236
Filter A material that transmits some wavelengths ol light ano absorbs others.
Fluting A three-oimensional illusion in which a series ol vertical stripes ol unilorm wioth
appear to have concavity, like the channels ol a Doric column.
Fugitive Easily laoing or oeteriorating color.
Full color !"" saturateo color.
Gamut The lull range ol colors available in soltware ano seen as the light oisplay
ol a color monitor. Also useo, less lrequently, to characterize the range ol colors in
subtractive meoia.
Glitter Sparkle, sharp light re"ectiveness with an impression ol movement.
Gloss A highly polisheo, light-re"ective surlace quality.
Gradient A series ol progressive intervals ol colors so close that inoivioual steps
cannot be oistinguisheo.
Gray scale A value series maoe up ol intervals ol gray, which may or may not exteno
to incluoe black ano white.
Ground The backgrouno against which colors, lorms, or shapes are laio.
Harmony In color, the pleasing joint ellect ol two or more colors useo together in
a single composition.
Hexadecimal colors Colors within a system ol specilying colors lor Web graphics baseo
on a 1o-symbol cooe consisting ol the numbers 0 through 9 ano the letters A through I.
Each color is speci!eo by two symbols as a percentage ol reo, green ano blue.
HSB display mode The HSB oisplay mooe ,Hue, Saturation, Brightness, mixes light on
the monitor screen in a way that is associateo only with oigital oesign. Soltware lor the
HSB oisplay mooe is also marketeo as HSL ,Hue, Saturation, Lightness, ano HSV
,Hue, Saturation, Value.,
HTML Hypertext markup language, the principal programming language ol the Internet
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237
ano the language in which Web pages are oesigneo.
Hue The name ol the color: reo, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet. Synonyms
are chroma or color.
Hue intensity The saturation or purity ol a color, its vivio versus oull quality.
!"" saturation.
Illuminant mode of vision The presence ol a viewer ano light source only.
Image A representation or oepiction ol a person, animal, or object, also a lorm
or shape seen against a grouno. Images can vary lrom photographic likenesses to
nonrepresentational lorms that oo not portray objects or natural appearances.
Incandescent light Light that results as a byproouct ol burning.
Incident beam The beam ol light leaving a light source.
Indirect color A seconoary re"ection ol color that occurs when light lrom a general
light source reaches a highly re"ective color on a broao plane. The wavelength ol color
re"ecting oll the coloreo plane washes any surlace that is positioneo to receive it ,that is,
positioneo at an angle equal to that ol the incioent beam leaving the general light source,.
Intensity Sometimes useo as a synonym lor brilliance, or the strength ol a hue.
!"" hue intensity ano light intensity.
Intermediate color A color on the spectrum between a primary ano a seconoary.
Interval A visual step between color samples.#!"" even interval.
Iridescence An attribute ol surlaces on which the hue changes as the observer`s
angle ol view changes.
Lamp A oevice that emits light, or visible energy. The correct term lor a light bulb.
Light Visible energy.
Light intensity The light-re"ecting quality ol a color. !"" luminosity ano value.
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Glossary 238
Luminosity Literally, light emitteo without heat. Useo to oescribe the light-re"ecting
quality ol a color. Luminous colors re"ect light, non-luminous colors absorb light.
Luster Sheen, solteneo or oilluseo light re"ectiveness on a surlace.
Matte A smooth, oull, visually "at quality ol surlace.
Maximum chroma The strongest possible manilestation ol a hue.
Medium The means by which something is transmitteo. !""#artists` meoia.
Metameric pair Two objects that appear to match unoer one set ol light conoitions but
oo not match unoer a oillerent set ol light conoitions.
Metamerism The phenomenon that occurs when two objects that appear to match unoer
one set ol light conoitions oo not match unoer a oillerent set ol light conoitions.
Monochromatic Containing only one hue.
Monotone Color without variation. Useo to oescribe two or more colors ol very close hue,
value, ano saturation.
Motif A single, speci!c oesign element, an isolateo ano inoivioual ioea, lorm or shape.
Motion parallax A real-worlo oepth cue that incluoes motion ano time.
Motion graphics Drawings that incluoe pictorial oepth cues, motion, ano time.
Negative space The area ol a composition that is not occupieo by motil or image.
Negative space is olten, but by no means always, the grouno ol a composition.
Object mode of vision The presence ol a viewer, light source, ano object.
Optical mix A new color that is seen as a result ol the close juxtaposition ol small areas
ol two or more other colors. Sometimes calleo oivisionism. !"" partitive color.
Optimized palette A pre-selecteo, limiteo palette maoe up ol colors that are louno in the
original source image.
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239
Palette Literally, a boaro or plate upon which colors are mixeo. Falette oescribes a group
ol colors useo characteristically by an inoivioual artist or oesigner, colors present in a
speci!c oesign, group ol oesigns, or booy ol work, or colors ol a particular era.
Partitive color A new color that is seen as a result ol the close juxtaposition ol small areas
ol two or more other colors. !""#optical mix.
Pastel An apparel-inoustry term lor colors oiluteo by white to high or mioole value,
also, clean tints with little or no muteo quality.
Pattern A oesign composition lormeo by the reoccurrence ol motils. Fattern may be
geometric or "uio, regular or ranoom.
Physical spectrum The lull range ol visible colors ol light as postulateo by Newton: reo,
orange, yellow, green, blue, inoigo ,blue-violet,, ano violet.
Pigment A colorant that is !nely grouno ano suspenoeo as minute particles in a vehicle.
Traoitionally, pigments were inorganic ,earth colors,, but mooern chemistry has blurreo
this oistinction. Figments in general are opaque.
Pixel One ol the points ol light that make up the picture on a monitor screen. The woro
oerives lrom picture element. The greater the number ol pixels in a given area ,the
smaller ano closer together,, the higher the screen resolution.
Primary colors The simplest colors ol the artists` spectrum, those that cannot be reouceo
or broken oown into component colors: reo, yellow, ano blue. !"" artists` primaries,
aooitive primaries, ano process primaries,.
Process colors A subtractive meoium that selectively absorbs ano transmits light. Yellow,
cyan ,blue-green,, ano magenta ,reo-violet, colorants that, when mixeo or laio over one
another, result in a wioe range ol colors lor the printeo page. Useo with the aooition ol
black in lour-color ,CMYK, printing.
Process primaries The simplest colors ol process printing inks, those cannot be reouceo
or broken oown into component colors: Cyan ,blue-green,, magenta ,reo-violet,, ano
yellow. All hues in process printing are oeriveo lrom these three inks. !"" artists` primaries,
14_381359_bgloss.indd 239 11/8/10 4:41 PM
Glossary 240
aooitive primaries, ano process colors.
Pure color !"" saturateo color ano maximum chroma.
Reected beam The beam ol light reaching an object that is re"ecteo back.
Rendering Useo as a noun, a !nal orawing, useo as a verb, the process ol orawing a !nal image.
Resolution A measure ol the sharpness ano clarity ol an image ano extent ano clarity ol
oetail that can be seen. In a monitor image this is oetermineo principally by the number
ol oots ,pixels, per square inch: the more pixels, the higher the resolution. Resolution is
useo to oescribe printers, monitors ano scanners.
RGB display mode The RGB ,Reo, Green, Blue, mooe ol screen oisplay parallels the
results ol mixing light. It is useo to mix colors lor images that will be vieweo only as
monitor screen light oisplay, such as Websites or DVDs.
Rods Light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible lor peripheral, less
locuseo vision.
Saturated color The most intense manilestation ol a color imaginable, the reooest reo
or bluest blue. A lully saturateo color contains one or two ol the primary colors but
never the thiro. Saturateo colors are unoiluteo by black, white, or gray. Synonyms are
pure color, lull color, or hues at maximum chroma.
Saturation The oegree ol purity ol a color, its hue intensity or vivio quality, as opposeo to
muteo or oull quality.
Secondary colors Colors maoe up ol two primary colors. !""#seconoary colors ol light,
seconoary colors ol artist`s meoia, ano seconoary colors ol process printing.
Secondary colors of artists media A group ol colors, each resulting lrom the mixture ol two
subtractive primaries: orange ,reo ano yellow,, green ,blue ano yellow,, violet ,reo ano blue,.
Secondary colors of light A group ol colors ol light ,aooitive colors,, each resulting lrom
the mixture ol two primary color wavelengths: cyan ,blue ano green,, yellow ,reo ano
green,, ano magenta ,blue ano reo,.
14_381359_bgloss.indd 240 11/8/10 4:41 PM
241
Secondary colors of process printing A group ol colors, each resulting lrom the mixture
ol two primary colors ol process color ink: reo ,magenta ano yellow,, green ,yellow ano
cyan,, ano blue ,magenta ano cyan,.
Shade A pure color maoe oarker, or with black aooeo.
Simultaneous contrast A spontaneous color ellect that results lrom a physiological
response ol the eye to stimulation by one color only. The eye, seeking the presence
ol all three primaries in the !elo ol vision, generates a wash ol its complement
onto any aojacent neutral area.
Single interval The smallest oillerence between samples that a viewer can oistinguish,
establisheo by the inoivioual`s thresholo. !"" interval ano thresholo.
Sparkle Sharp light re"ectiveness on a surlace, with an appearance ol movement. !"" glitter.
Spectral colors Scienti!cally oe!neo colors ol light, aooitive colors that are measurable
by wavelength.
Spectral reectance curve The pattern ol relative energy that a speci!c lamp emits
at the various wavelengths.
Spectrophotometer A color managment tool that provioes a wavelength-by-wavelength
analysis ol aooitive or subtractive color.
Spectrum The lull range ol visible hues. !"" artists` spectrum ano physical spectrum.
Spreading effect !"" Bezolo ellect.
Standard A sample against which a color is matcheo.
Subtractive mixture Color seen as the result ol the absorption ol light, the colors
ol objects ano the environment.
Subtractive primaries The primary colors ol artists` meoia, the artists` primaries: reo,
yellow, ano blue !"" artists` primaries ano process primaries.
Successive contrast !"" alterimage.
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Glossary 242
Surface The outermost layer ol a two- or three-oimensional thing, its lace or skin.
Synaesthesia A largely unexplaineo phenomenon in which one sense responos to the
stimulation ol another.
Tertiary colors Colors maoe ol any mixture ol the three primaries, brown, or
chromatic neutrals.
Threshold That point in vision at which an inoivioual can just oistinguish between
two close samples.
Tint A pure color plus white, or maoe lighter.
Tone A nonspeci!c woro relerring to some change in a hue. Most olten useo to mean
a graying, or reouction in saturation ,chroma,.
Transition A change that takes place in steps ,or intervals, lrom one lorm, color, size,
surlace, or other element to another, oillerent one.
Transparence illusion An illusion in which opaque colors are maoe to appear
transparent, createo by orawing two colors as il they overlap ano placing an interval
between them in the area ol overlap.
Value Relative light ano oark, with or without the presence ol hue. High-value samples
are light, low-value samples are oark.
Vehicle A liquio, paste, viscous, wax, chalk, or other substance into which pigments,
oyes or other colorants may be introouceo to lorm a meoium such as oil paint, textile
oye, or crayon. Also relerreo to as a base or binoer.
Visual acuity Sharpness ol vision, the ability ol the eye to see oetail.
Wavelength A pulse ol energy that a light source emits at speci!c oistances apart. Within
the range ol visible energy, each single wavelength is perceiveo as a separate color.
Web-safe palette A palette ol 21o selecteo colors that are reasonably consistent lor
viewing on any operating system ano monitor. With aovances in imaging this gamut is
now consioereo by many to be an unnecessarily restricteo number ol colors. Web-sale
14_381359_bgloss.indd 242 11/8/10 4:41 PM
colors are non-oithering. !"" hexaoecimal colors.
Weber-Fechner principle A mathematical series in which intervals between numbers are
geometric ,1, 2, !, 8, 1o, 32, o!, 128, etc., in progression, each step twice the one belore
ano hall the one lollowing. Weber-Iechner series are useo to illustrate visual intervals,
particularly intervals ol value.
243
14_381359_bgloss.indd 243 11/8/10 4:41 PM
Glossary 244
14_381359_bgloss.indd 244 11/8/10 4:41 PM
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16_381359_bindex.indd 251 11/8/10 4:42 PM
!!
"#$%&'()*#+!,-
"#.*)/+!!""!0*1.(2!(#.*)/
"3(4)()*&5+!67
"33*)*89!#&2&%+!7:
!!'*;*5<+!7=+!=->?!!""#$%&'!@&2&%!3*142(/!
'&391
"9%*(2!49%149#)*89!!""!")'&14$9%*#!
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"A)9%*'(<9+!=:=
"2B9%1+!C&19A+!=D+!6E+!=67+!=6D+!=->
"5*2*59!3/91+!77F
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H%*22*(5#9+!!""!O().%()*&5
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INDEX
16_381359_bindex.indd 252 11/8/10 4:42 PM
253
#
@(2*B%()*&5+!=>E
@(%%*93!#&2&%1+!>E
@$98%9.2+!K*#$92!Q.<959+!=D-
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16_381359_bindex.indd 253 11/8/10 4:42 PM
Index 254
QZ.*2*B%*.'+!>-
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V%(3*95)+!F>
V%(4$*#!#&2&%+!E
V%(4$*#!391*<5+!=--
V%(4$*#!Z.(2*)/+!,>
V%&.53+!>E
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16_381359_bindex.indd 254 11/8/10 4:42 PM
255
W'4%911*&5+!==D
W'4%911*&5(2!#&2&%+!E=
W5#(5391#95)+!!""!Y('41+!*5#(5391#95)
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W53*%9#)!2*<$)+!D,
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W51)(B*2*)/!&A !#&2&%+!>F
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W5)9%'93*()9!#&2&%1+!,7
W5)9%8(21+!FE
!!9895+!F,
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!!19%*91+!F,
!!1*5<29+!FE
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W%*391#95#9+!DE
W))95+!C&$(5591+!=F=+!=6=
!!#&2&%!#$&%31!&A+!=F7+!=F6
)
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!!#&2&%!#&'4(%*1&5!&A+!7D
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!!".&%91#95)+!7F+!D=
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!!<959%(2!2*<$)!1&.%#9+!
!!TWX+!7D
!!$.'(5!#&'A&%)!(53!49%A&%'(5#9!.539%+!76
!!*5#(5391#95)+!7D+!D=
!!YQX+!76
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Y(5<.(<9+!#&2&%!(1+!6,
Y()9%(2!*5$*B*)*&5+!67
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Y.'*5(5#9+!7E
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+
K(#B9)$!2('4+!D:
K($5I9+![%(5I+!6,
16_381359_bindex.indd 255 11/8/10 4:42 PM
Index 256
K()#$*5<+!D7+!=--
K()9%*(21+!7-
!!'(5J'(39+!=,:
!!5().%(2+!=,:
K93*(+
!!(33*)*89+!=-E
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!!391*<5+!=,=
!!9'9%<*5<+!7:-
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!!'9)(22*#+!=,F
!!4%&#911!#&2&%+!=,,
!!1.B)%(#)*89+!=,7
K9'&%/!#&2&%+!66
K9)('9%*1'+!D7+!7=F
K*;*5<+!'&391!&A+!=->+!7:-
!!(33*)*89+!7:!
!!4%&#911!#&2&%+!=,,
!!1.B)%(#)*89+!=,F+!
K&5*)&%1+!=>7
!!#(2*B%()*&5+!=>E
!!@U\+!=>D
!!Y@X+!=>D
K&)*&5!<%(4$*#1+!==6
K&)*&5!4(%(22(;+!==6
K.51922+!"2B9%)!T95%/?+!=D+!=D>+!=67
K.51922!#&2&%!)%99+!=D>
,
^9<()*89!14(#9+!>,
^9&5+!!""!Y('41+!59&5
^9P)&5+!W1((#+!=DF+!=DE
-
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_B]9#)!'&39!&A !8*1*&5+!7,
_4(Z.9!'()9%*(21+!DE
_4)*#(2!*22.1*&51+#!""#W22.1*&51
_4)*#(2!'*;91+!=7E
_OT"+!E:
_1)P(23+!M*2$92'+!=F=
.
N(29))9+!>E+!7=>!
!!(3(4)*89+!7:-
!!*5".95#91!&5+!77D
!!&4)*'*L93+!7:-
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16_381359_bindex.indd 256 11/8/10 4:42 PM
257
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16_381359_bindex.indd 257 11/8/10 4:42 PM
Index 258
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16_381359_bindex.indd 258 11/8/10 4:42 PM
FOURT H EDI T I ON
L I NDA HOLT Z SCHUE
H
O
L
T
Z
S
C
H
U
E
UNDERSTANDI NG
U
N
D
E
R
S
T
A
N
D
I
N
G

C
O
L
O
R
COLOR
AN INTRODUCTION FOR DESIGNERS
F
O
U
R
T
H

E
D
I
T
I
O
N
4-COLOR GLOSSY
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS FOR WORKING WITH COLOR
Now in an updated Fourth Edition, Understanding Color helps you connect the dots between your emotional,
intuitive responses to color and the theories that explain them. Through authoritative, easy-to-follow instruction,
youll learn how to use color more comfortably, creatively, and effectively than ever before.
Take your work to the next level by exploring how different light sources affect color rendition, how placement
changes color, how to avoid costly color mistakes, and how to resolve the color problems that frequently confront
design professionals. This Fourth Edition is full of powerful new features that reect the latest issues in color and
design, including:
I
Nearly 35 percent of content expanded and revised
I
Coverage of a broad range of design disciplines
I
Ideas from the major color theorists that reinforce one another, rather than an approach
emphasizing what is correct or incorrect
I
Discussion of color created by traditional media and digital design, and the issues that
arise when design moves from one medium to another
I
Innovative coverage of color marketing issues
I
Helpful tips for using color in the working environment
I
An online workbook contains valuable exercises to reinforce color concepts
Understanding Color, Fourth Edition is an unparalleled source of authoritative information and practical solutions
for students and professionals in all elds of design.
LINDA HOLTZSCHUE is Principal of Linda Holtzschue and Associates, an interior design rm based in
New York City. She has taught color theory and related courses at Parsons School of Design, where she also
served as an assistant dean; the Fashion Institute of Technology; and the School of Visual Arts. Her work has
appeared in the New York Times Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens.
Design/Graphic Arts/General
978-0470-38135-9
www.wiley.com/go/understandingcolor4e

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Color System, lor

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