Color

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Color
Modified by Georgia Agricultural Education
Curriculum Office September 2005
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Why study color?

• It is the most important element of a design
• It is one of the few visual design elements that
  people notice

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Properties of Color

• Hue property that gives a color a name (ex
  red)
• Value measurement of the amount of light
  reflected from an object
• Intensity brightness or concentration of a color

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The Color Wheel

• Contains three categories of colors
• Primary Colors red, yellow, and blue all other
  colors can be mixed from the primary colors
• Secondary Colors orange, green, violet mixture
  of equal amounts of two primary colors
• Tertiary (Intermediate) colors made by mixing a
  primary color with the adjacent secondary color
  (ex red-orange). When naming, the primary color
  is always named first.

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Red
Orange
Purple
Yellow
Blue
Green
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Changing the Value of a Color

• Value can be changed by adding black or white to
  a color
• Adding black produces a shade
• Adding white produces a tint

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Changing the Intensity of a Color

• Colors can be dulled or neutralized to produce a
  tone
• Adding gray to a color will create a tone
• Mixing a color with its complement will also
  create a tone
• Placing complementary colors next to each other
  will increase intensity

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Psychological Effects of Color

• Warm Colors red, orange, yellow
• associated with sun, heat, and fire
• evoke warm and happy feelings
• warm colors will dominate when in an arrangement
• Cool Colors blue, green, violet
• associated with grass, water, ice
• create restful, soothing feelings
• fade into background of a design

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White

• Blends easily with other colors
• Adds brightness and contrast
• Portrays elegance and sophistication

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Red

• Embodies strength and dominance
• Can often become overpowering if used too much

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Pink

• Combines well with other colors
• Light pink portrays romance and femininity
• Bright and deep colored pinks draw more attention
  than pastel tints

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Orange

• Radiant color
• Often used for autumn and Halloween designs
• Tints or shades of orange (such as peach or rust)
  blend well with other colors

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Yellow

• Vibrant and highly visible color
• Cheery and sunny
• Combines well in a design but if used alone can
  become monotonous

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Green

• Serves as a natural background color
• Green containers dont attract attention and are
  very common
• Natural color for foliage plants in a design

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Blue

• Peaceful, quiet, and cool
• Recedes into the background of a design
• Large quantities of dark blue can be depressing

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Purple (Violet)

• Color of royalty
• Can be seen as either a warm or cool color
  depending on the accompanying colors
• when mixed with reds, the blueness of purple is
  evident and it becomes cool
• when mixed with blues, the redness of purple is
  evident and it becomes warm

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Balance

• Dark colors are heavier than light colors
• Putting darker colors at the base of a design
  will add balance

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Depth

• Using a combination of warm and cool colors will
  maximize depth
• This combination causes warm colors to advance
  forward and cool colors to recede into the
  background

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Focal Point

• Bright colors immediately attract attention
• Focal points can be created by simply using
  contrasting colors

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Rhythm

• Using similar colors throughout a bouquet or
  design creates rhythm
• If the same or corresponding colors are used as a
  focal point and again throughout an arrangement,
  eye movement is increased

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Harmony Unity

• Achieved by the repetition of colors throughout a
  design
• Using similar colors pulls the design together

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Monochromatic

• Uses variations of a single hue
• To avoid boredom, make sure to include various
  tints, tones, and shades of the hue

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Analogous

• Color scheme incorporating three or more colors
  that are next to each other on the color wheel
• Can include the hue as well as tints and tones of
  the hue

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Complementary

• Two hues that are directly opposite of each other
  on the color wheel
• Complementary colors intensify each other

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Split-Complementary

• Composed of a hue and the two colors adjacent to
  its complement
• Ex yellow paired with blue-violet and red-violet

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Triadic

• Use of three colors equidistant on the color
  wheel
• Can often be difficult to use in a design
• Ex red, blue, and yellow

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Double-Complement

• Uses a total of four colors (two pairs of
  complements)
• This scheme can offer a variety of visual effects

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Alternate Complement

• Use of a triad plus the complement of one of the
  colors in the triad
• Ex yellow, red, blue, and violet

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Tetrad

• 4 colors equidistant on the color wheel
• Ex yellow, violet, blue-green, and red-orange

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What influences color selection?

• Seasons or holidays
• Special Occasions (ex weddings)
• Symbolism
• Favorite Colors
• Existing Colors