ah teaches graphic design (SD-36) (Now: In Colour lecture)

Now: In Colour

Lecture outline

Starting to work with the complexities of colour in design. Lecture slides will be made available on the day of the lecture (Oct 23).

A photo of a flamingo

The Colourful World

How We See Colour

Humans are trichromats. This means we have three distinct cones which sense different wavelengths and intensities of light.

A diagram illustrating how trichromatics work

Gamut

The gamut describes the colours of the visible spectrum that are available.

An illustration showcasing the colours available in the print and screen gamuts

Additive vs. Subtractive

Different ways of rendering colour

Additive colour (RGB)

An illustration demonstrating additive colour

Subtractive colour (CMYK)

An illustration demonstrating subtractive colour

Talking About Colour

  • Hue: The name of the colour
  • Saturation: How intense is the colour
  • Lightness: The lightness or darkness.
The photoshop colour picker

Nothing Talks Like a Swatch

Colour Harmonies

Types of harmonies

  • Monochromatic: One colour's tint, tone and shade
  • Analogous: Colours next to one another
  • Complementary: Colours opposite one another
  • Triadic: Colours evenly spaced 3-ways
The colour wheel

Making Colour Harmonies

Types of harmonies

  • Monochromatic: One colour's tint, tone and shade
  • Analogous: Colours next to one another
  • Complementary: Colours opposite one another
  • Triadic: Colours evenly spaced 3-ways

Please make each of the colour harmonies listed above from objects around you.

The colour wheel

Colour Relationships

Colour Relationships

How does the relationship change our views of the colours?

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Colour Relationships

How does the relationship change our views of the colours?

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Colour Contrasts

Contrast of hue.

Contrast of lightness.

Contrast of saturation.

Colour Contrasts

Contrast of hue.

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Contrast of lightness.

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Contrast of saturation.

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Why Harmonize?

Colour harmonies allow you to easily build visual relationships. Remember that not all colours are meant to be dominant in a harmony; you should focus on a key colour, and let the others highlight or support.

An example of a magazine spread using colour heavily

Care of Hieu Nguyen Design

Applying Colour

I spy with my little eye...

How is colour being used in this room?

Meaning of Colour

Colour can help to provide both cultural and informational meaning to a viewer.

A caution sign

Informational Colour

We frequently use colour to convey information, which can run into problems on occassion.

While resolving some of the colour-dependency issues of a light standard, why might the 'uni-signal' have other concerns?

The uni-signal, an attempt to alleviate colour blind traffic signal problemsTraffic light as redesigned for the color blind (Autoblog)

Colour Blindness

more common protanopia (red cones missing) and deuteranopia (green cones missing) which effect approximately 7% of all males.

Common colour vision

Demonstrating common colour vision

Protanopia

Demonstrating protanopia

Deuteranopia

Demonstrating deuteranopia

Common vision

A light standard

Protanopia

A light standard

Deuteranopia

A light standard

Common vision

A light standard

Tritanopia

A light standard

Achromatopsia

A light standard
Colour Tester

Applying Meaning

We also use colour to imply or add meaning. Be careful to pay attention to what colours mean.

An illustration including the Soviet hammer and sickle beside cupid

Why meaning matters

How is meaning being applied to suggest 'cultural' meaning?

An advertisement for Dasani's new thinner and 'greener' bottle

Colour Interactions

Beware when colour interactions go bad.

Overthinking Meaning

By making this slide blue, I have not magically calmed you all down and made you think of freedom.

Gradients

Gradients

What kind of meaning do these gradients provide us with?

An example of gradient use on the web
An example of gradient use on the web

Drop Shadows

They can make things visually confusing when inconsistently applied.

Subtle treatments

Often subtle treatments of gradients and drop-shadows can be used effectively to connote depth without confusing the viewer.

COLOUR! sketch
P3: Presenting
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