Colour Theory, Colour Selection and Colour Palettes

Colour Theory

Pigment Elements and Variants

Hue

This is the quality that we call the colour, to distinguish it from another.  HUE is the name of the colour e.g., blue, red, green

Value

This is the lightness or darkness of the colour

Chroma (chromatics)

This is the intensity of the colour, its brightness and purity, or dullness and impurity.

Tints

Hues with white added are called tints

Shades

Hues with black added are called tints

Tones

Hues with grey added are called tints

Colour Type

Primary Colours: Red/Blue/Yellow

Secondary Colours:  Blue-Green/Yellow-Green/Red-Purple/Blue-Purple/Yellow-Orange         -       /Red-Orange

                 

Tertiary Colours are obtained by mixing all three primaries of a primary with a secondary colour  for example: Orange + Blue/Green + Red/Purple + Yellow

Behaviour type

Harmonious Colours are those which lie next to each other on the colour wheel.  They sit easily together and graduate gently.

Contrasting Colours are those which lie far apart from each other on the colour wheel.  They sit uncomfortably together and clash against each other.

Complementary Colours are those which lie opposite each other on the colour wheel.  When

placed together each colour intensifies the other.  Adding a very small amount of

complementary colour to another subdues the intensity by dulling the colour domain.

Discordant Colours are created by reversing the natural order of colours e.g. red is naturally

darker than orange.  If white is added to create pink, then the pink becomes discordant with the

orange.

Colour Selection

Defining the particular use of colour in any project is important.  When starting from literally millions of options the process becomes initially one of reducing and editing towards a limited palette of colours.

These choices are based on many factors and are all based on the power of colour to deliver specific messages:-

Cultural - gender, age, politically, geographically etc.

Historical - era, association, provenance etc.

Social - life style, mood, attitude etc.

Working in any design discipline fashion graphics, interiors etc requires the skillful handling of colour.  A strip palette can help focus ideas, test feasibility and application theories.

1. Number and Selection

A selected colour palette means just that.  There is a limit of how many colours can exist in a legible combination.  As a result most palettes keep to between 2-10, 5 being a good starting point from which to add and subtract.

Apart from the obvious considerations of choosing colours to communicate your theme/story, it can be useful to deliberately try and incorporate different colours from different groups and avoiding choosing a monstrous range from a predictable category:-

- neutrals - fluorescent

- pastels - foil

- primary - pale tones

- secondary - deep tones

2. Sequence and relationship

Secondly the placement and alignment of the colours, which colour sit next to which colour ? No colour reads in isolation. Judge the colour when it is placed in the sequence , not on its own.Each neighbour’s effect on each other plays a vital part on how the strip reads.

2. Proportion and Composition

Thirdly, having chosen an initial range of colours, and their relationship to each other, consider the proportion of the colours, from the entire range of colours all  being equal to extremes of one colour being dominant other very minor. Remember that often the smallest volume of colour (the spot colour or accent colour) often has the biggest impact.

3. Flexibility and Range

Each palette needs to be considered not just as a combination of all the colours selected but looking at the choices in small groups, trios and parts.  By sub-dividing the range it is possible to demonstrate the full flexibility inherent in the selection to derive drastically different moods from one palette.

By involving the range of tones, tones and shades of each colour into the mix, you can also demonstrate how to further extend the range of colours/possibilities while still adhering to the carefully limited selection.

All this thought and analysis should provide a story and identifiable basis for selection.  Resulting in a colour palette that is:-

Communicative

- through use of colour/tone

- through use of relationship/placement

- through use of volume/proportion

- through use of editing/selecting

Flexible

- through consideration of number – 2 colour, 3 colour

- through consideration of tint – 100%, 50%, 10%

- through consideration of application – material, media, scale