WEEK 6:

COLOUR THEORY

Department of Culture and Media Studies

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MAAC2101 – Graphic Design I
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CLASS OBJECTIVES
• Explore and discuss colour
theory and its applications in
design
• Hue, saturation,
lightness
• Colour systems
• Colour psychology
• Colour Schemes
COLOUR THEORY
• Colour theory is a discipline that stretches back to at least
to the 15th century
• Sir Isaac Newton established color theory when he
invented the color wheel in 1666. By systematically
categorizing colors, he defined three groups:
• Primary (red, blue, yellow)
• Secondary (mixes of primary colors)
• Tertiary (or intermediate—mixes of
primary and secondary colors)
• Color theory is the study of how colors work together
and how they affect our emotions and perceptions
COLOUR
• Colour is loaded with information and symbolic meaning
• Convey emotions
• Communicate meanings
• Show similarities or differences
• Attracts attention
• Create aesthetic appeal
• Changes the apparent size of an object
• Colors may seem to mean certain things, but keep in mind
that these are often specific to a particular country or
culture
 COLOUR
1. Hue: is the colour itself
• Shade = hue + black
• Tint = hue + white
2. Saturation (chroma): relative purity and
vividness/richness of the colour from saturated to gray
• The less saturated colours appear neutral or restful
• The more saturated appear charged/vibrant
3. Lightness/Brightness (value): how bright a colour
is, light or dark a colour is (creates contrast) (0-100%)
• Colour, value, and saturation all affect feeling of the
image
© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0
COLOUR CONSIDERATIONS
• Attributes like substrate (paper, cardboard, metal, fabric,
etc.) all have different textures and whiteness colours are
adjusted to accommodate different substrates
• Lighting plays a huge role in how we perceive colour in
different light colours appear differently
COLOUR SYSTEMS
• A colour system is a method by which colour is reproduced
• There are two primary colour systems: additive and
subtractive (also known as reflective)
• In simple terms, anything that emits light (such as the sun, a
screen, a projector, and so on) uses additive colour, while
everything else (which instead reflects light) uses subtractive
colour
RGB
• Additive colour works with anything that
emits or radiates light
• In additive colour the three primary colours
are red, green and blue (RGB)
• When these three colors of light are added together they
create white
• In additive colour, white is the combination of colour, while
black is the absence of colour
CMYK
• Subtractive colour works on the basis of
reflected light
• Subtractive colour uses pigment on substrate;
the ink reduces the light that would otherwise be reflected
• The more colour materials you mix, the darker the colour gets
• It’s called ‘subtractive’ because of the absorption or subtraction of
certain wavelengths from white light.
• Printers use cyan, yellow, and magenta (CYM) = black
• To get true black, printers use black ink (K), resulting in CYMK
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
 WHY DOES IT
MATTER?
• Using RGB in print is
unpredictable because the gamuts
of each system are completely
different

[Link]
PANTONE IN PRINTING
• Because of the limitations of
the gamut available in printing
we can use Pantone colours to
mix a specific hue for printing
• You frequently see Pantones be
used to ensure colour
consistency for brands (some
brands even have personal
mixes)
[Link]
EMOTIONS OF COLOUR
• Colour can play a vital role in how people feel when they see
an image since certain colours tend to be associated with
certain emotions
• There are many complex reasons why a colour creates a
psychological reaction in a viewer, and it depends on context,
societal influences and interactions with other colours rather
than the colour’s inherent properties alone
ACTIVITY: COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY
• Working in pairs each group will be assigned a colour
ACTIVITY: COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY
• Use your experience and the Internet to:
1. Compile a list of emotions/reactions an audience might have
to that particular colour. (It might be helpful to search
“Colour psychology”)
2. See if you can find one colour trait that is different from how
our culture perceives colour, for example red means luck in
China
3. Think of a company that uses your colour in their logo
• When you apply colour psychology what does it say
about the company?
COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY
COLOUR SCHEMES
• Interesting media is created when unique colour pairings are
used; these colour pairings are usually based on the
relationship between colours on the colour wheel
• In the design process, you can consider different color
schemes to create more attractive and interesting media
• [Link]
COLOUR SCHEMES
• There are warm and cool colours

• Warm Colors include red,

orange and yellow. They are
energizing, passionate and
positive
• Cool Colors include green,
blue and purple. They are
associated with calmness and
relaxing
COLOUR SCHEMES - MONOCHROMATIC
• Choose one hue and all other elements are
different shades and tints of it
COLOUR SCHEMES - ANALOGOUS
• Use three colors located beside one
another on the color wheel
• They have less colour contrast and
therefore harmonise easily

© Bernhard Lang
COLOUR SCHEMES - COMPLEMENTARY
• Complementary colours sit opposite each
other on the colour wheel
• These pairs have the highest colour
contrast, so they often look very intense
when placed next to each other

© Ivan Letokhin
COLOUR SCHEMES - TRIADIC
• Three equally spaced colors on the color
wheel
• These colors may not be vibrant, but the
scheme can be as it maintains harmony and
high contrast
 • Colour is a huge way we communication
information in design
• It can be described using hue,
saturation, and lightness/brightness
• When printing use CMYK and on web
KEY use RGB
POINTS • Colour schemes help create effective
photography
• Monochromatic, analogous,
complementary, triadic, etc.