Joseph's
eJournal
Thursday February 8, 2007
COLOR THEORY
Before I explore the theory of color, I thought it would be practical to illustrate the meaning of different colors as complied by the Sessions School of Design. I have created a simple color interactive wheel for this purpose. Click on your favorite color to find out its meaning.
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Two concepts I have learned about color harmonies and the importance of of their use in design principle are:
- Understanding color theory will help us to understand how color works, and one of the first places to start learning color theory is with the color wheel. Sir Isaac Newton first put together a circular diagram of colors in 1666. This color wheel allows you to see groupings of colors that are harmonious together and other colors that might clash. Jennifer Kyrnin, a Graphics Designer in her article about color harmony suggests that certain colors look good together, while other colors look so awful. And while you might recognize these combinations when you see them, there is a theory based on the color wheel as to which colors will look nicest together. Analogous colors (which are the colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel. For example: green, yellow-green, and yellow; or red, red-orange, and orange) and complementary colors ( colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel) can help create color schemes that have high contrast and so are brighter and more vivid. Some contrasting colors are: red and green or blue and orange. These colors can enable one to create a harmonious color scheme. The best place to start is looking at nature, for example a field of grass, animal fur or the brilliance of a sunset. In desgin, anologous and also complementary colors make apleasing combination.
- The second principle I've learned was from the book User-Centered Web Development by McCraken and Wolfe according to page 164, there are studies that give strong indication of what colors are less effective in design principle. "In particular avoid text and background colors that differ only in blue. For example people have great difficulty in reading bright yellow text on a white background, since these colors are identical in their red and green components and differ only in blue." In otherwords, properly used color harmonies, enhance both the usability and appeal of a design. Also According to Chris Jackson of Sessions School of Design, "Color creates audience responses by stimulating emotions and communicating on levels other than reason and intellect. It can excite, impress, entertain and persuade, but color can also create instant negative associations. It’s a good idea to be aware of how the majority of people respond to color and use this information in your choice of colors." In closing, the color wheel is a very important tool in helping one select colors that work well together.
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