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Colour Theory |
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Colour theory has been around for many hundreds of years and there are numerous different takes on the subject. Here is my summary of the useful bits! |
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Colour Wheels |
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Divide a circle into 3 equal segments and fill with each of the 3 primary colours. These are colours which cannot be made from any other colour. |
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Primary Colour Wheel |
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Further divide the circle, giving a total of 6 equal segments and add the secondary colours; green, orange and purple. These are produced by mixing together the two primary colours either side. I.E. blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple etc. |
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Secondary Colour Wheel |
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Finally, repeat the above process by adding another 6 equal segments and mixing the secondary and primary colour together to produce the 6 tertiary colours. |
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Tertiary Colour Wheel |
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Right now you might be thinking "ok, i've made a pretty wheel...so what!". Well this is where the theory starts...... |
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Analagous Colours |
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These are regarded as any two or three colours which sit side-by-side on the tertiary colour wheel. |
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Three adjacent colours extracted from the tertiary colour wheel |
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Complementary Colours |
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Complementary colours are any two colours which are opposite each other in the wheel. These combinations create maximum contrast. |
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Two opposing colours extracted from the tertiary colour wheel |
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Colour Moods |
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It is generally accepted that colours can affect our moods and there is varying degrees of scientific evidence to back this up. Colours also hold specific meanings in different cultures, so what does this all mean? |
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RED: Red is an extreme colour; emotionally intense, it can stimulate a faster heartbeat. It is the colour of love as well as danger and hate. Red is best used as an accent colour, the term 'less is more' very much applies to red. In China red means good luck, in India it signifies purity. |
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BLUE: A very popular colour (and my personal favourite); blue is a tranquil colour , has a calming influence and can reduce the pusle rate. Blue images appear cold. There are no naturally occurring blue food products, hence food handlers wear blue plasters and plastic gloves (if dropped they can be easily found). Signifies peace, harmony, confidence. |
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GREEN: A calming and refreshing colour and the most relaxing on the human eye. Generally used to denote nature but also inexperience, envy, youth and vigor. |
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YELLOW: Considered an optimistic colour, yet the most difficult for the human eye to resolve and therefore best used in moderation. Increases concentration and speeds up metabolism. Yellow is considered sacred in Asia. |
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ORANGE: Overwhelmingly used as a warm colour. Orange can improve the appetite and enhance social interaction. |
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PURPLE: Very rare in nature, as a result can appear false. The colour of wealth and royalty since originally purple pigments were very difficult and expensive to make. |
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BLACK: Signifies power, authority, sexuality and death. Corporate suits are very often black or charcoal (dark grey). Bad guys in the movies always wear black. Ironically, also considered to be a submissive colour. |
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WHITE: Purity and innocence. Angels and good guys wear white, as do doctors, nurses and brides. |
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