Color slides

Color

Color matters!

Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.!

Source: CCICOLOR - Institute for Color Research

Powerful tool for communication

But color is subjective!

People respond differently to the same color due to:

Personal preference

Cultural background

Color memory/associations

Example: Red

FIRE/DEVIL BLOOD/WARFARE ANGER

LOVE/CUPID IMPORTANCE PROSPERITY/ HAPPINESS

DEFIANCE/COMMUNISM

DANGER

In general...• Red: Passion, Love, Anger• Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality• Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Deceit• Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature• Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness• Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth• Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil• Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality• White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue• Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability• Tan or Beige: Conservative, Piety, Dull• Cream or Ivory: Calm, Elegant, Purity

Color WheelPrimary Colors: Red, yellow and blue Primary colors are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues. 

Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purpleThese are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green

These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green.

Color is a general term

Hue

Saturation

Shade

Tint

COLOR TERMINOLOGY:

HueAn object’s color

Blue, green, red, etc.

Saturation

How pure a color is

High saturation = purest color. No white or black added

HIGH SATURATION

LOW SATURATION

GREEN & RED HUES

HIGH SATURATION

ShadeCreated by adding black to a hue, making the hue darker

TintCreated by adding white to a hue, making the hue lighter

Shade vs. Tint

Color schemes/palettesImportant to define your color palette/scheme before starting on a project

Use your color wheel!

Traditional schemesMonochromatic

Analogous

Complementary

Triad

MonochromaticMade up of different tones, shades, and tints within a specific hue.

SHADETINT

TONE

HUE

Analogous

Created by using three colors that are next to each other on the 12-spoke color wheel

Ex: Blue, blue-green, and green

V

Analogous Cont’dAnalogous schemes are good, but sometimes they don’t provide enough contrast to the design

Use shades, tints, and tones of colors to give more contrast

Complementary

Created by combining colors from opposite sides of the color wheel

Again, use shades, tints, and tones of complementary hues to give more contrast

TriadCreated by using three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel.