Lecture 11 Reflections: Colour Theory

After the completion of Project 1A and B this week, we learned about colour theory, which I believe would come in extremely handy for Project 2. It helped to put into perspective why some previous experimentations of mine worked and some didn’t. Our learning for this week would be divided up into 4 main sections: Munsell Colour Theory, Functional Colours, Natural Colour System and Colour Combination and Others/Other Thoughts.

Munsell Colour Theory

In the lecture video we first learnt about American painter Albert Henry Munsell, and how he was generally considered the most successful in attempts at constructing a colour system to provide standard samples according to a logically organised plan as well as catering for the perceived affinity of colours.

Colour Components (as defined by Albert Munsell), included

•       Hue (The quality by which you distinguish between diff colours e.g how blue is a separate or different hue from yellow)
•       Value (Whether a colour is black or white)
•       Chroma (Measurement of how pure a colour is in relation to grey)
•       And Saturation (Degree of purity of a hue)

Functional Colours

Next, we touched on functional colours. Functional colours support and improve the product’s physical and communicative functions. They Attract, Create atmosphere, Inform (e.g. in hospitals green means sterile), and provide Structure. Non-functional colours are perhaps only a cosmetic addition, and in effective visual communication there is only room for functional colours.

Natural Colour System

We also learned about Natural Colour Theory (Based on use of colour in the environment and how humans perceive colour) and the derived Natural Colour System, which included Colour Space, Colour Triangle, Colour Circle, which the Pantone Matching System is based on too. From the Natural Colour System, we are able to see

•       Elementary Colours: Chromatic (Hue) vs Achromatic (No Hue) colours
•       Cool colours
•       Warm colours

While cool colours had a calming, cosy effect and were thought to be both cold and impersonal and yet nurturing at the same time, warm colours were thought to signify excitement and anger. The neutral colours of black and brown were also thought to contain a bit of warm colour too. I think there was a most intuitive, simple, yet greatly effective use of colour theory in Disney Pixar’s (2015) film, also one of my favourite animations, Inside Out. In the movie, the characters Joy, Fear, Anger, Sadness and Disgust were represented using the colours yellow, purple, red, blue and green respectively. The colour choices played well to the feelings evoked by cool and warm colours, with Joy being yellow because it reminded people of a spark or star, golden and illuminated, and Sadness being a literal wordplay on the verbal idiom “I’m feeling blue”.

The Disney Pixar movie Inside Out shows great application of colour theory, especially with regards to using colour to show emotions. Image Reference: HD Wallpapers. (2015).Retrieved from: https://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/inside_out_2015_movie-wide.jpg

Besides the use of colour, the character designs also incorporated the use of contrast by shapes. Sadness depicted as a teardrop, Fear like a raw nerve, and Anger like a brick, immovable (Alexander, 2015) (I think lines come into play here too – the teardrop shape of Sadness has smooth contours that hints at vulnerability, whilst the harsh lines and edges of Anger signifies tension and the rigidity of emotions). Even though it must have been challenging developing the visual language of the film without an image for the animators to work with like a fish for Finding Nemo or a car for Cars, both shape and colour theory worked well together to personify the emotions in Inside Out to an extremely effective outcome.

We also come to learn that besides eliciting emotions and a psychological response, cool and warm colours can also give the illusion of distance:

Advance vs Recede

•       Cool colours appear more distant while warm colours appear nearer. Therefore cool colours should be placed behind warm colours but rule can always be broken depending on the context and effect you want to achieve
•       I am reminded again of the relationship between science and art again as in Lecture 3. I wonder if the effect of cool colours like blue being far could be a physiological reaction, since the sky and mountains are naturally of cooler colours and hence we associate these colours with depth and eternity. Of course this is just a wild conjecture on my part!
•       Warm colours are said to grow outwards and cool colours grow inwards

Usually the case is more common for using linear perspective, light, shadow and focus to create depth, but this is the first time I’ve heard of using colour to create depth and distance. Upon further research on my own, I found that while warm colours appear closer to the viewer and cool colours appear further, this is mainly only true for a black background. The reverse is true for a white background, although the author acknowledges that there are differing theories and opinions when it comes to the colour depth chart (Rikard, 2011). My guess is that colour combination comes into play here, with warm colours such as yellow being less contrasted to white than a cool colour would be, and hence gives the impression of receding in the white background, although further research needs to be done to confirm this.

Here is an example of colour depth against a black background:

Image Reference: Rikard. (2011). Retrieved from: https://zevendesign.com/creating-depth-art-photography/

Here is an example of colour depth against a white background:

Image Reference: Rikard. (2011). Retrieved from: https://zevendesign.com/creating-depth-art-photography/

Colour Combination

In the same vein, colours can have very different effects according to context, and when used in conjunction with different colours:

Whispering Colours

•       Chosen from colours within a quadrant (of the Colour Circle)
•       Form a harmonious whole and these colours whisper to one another

Speaking Colours

•       Two or more colours chosen from 2 quadrants that are close to each other
•       Give lively impression as colours speak to each other

Shouting Colours

•       Chosen from colours that are opposite each other
•       Rough up to each other

Having been poring through magazines and articles for the magazine research process in Project 1A, I am reminded of how editors make use of colour combination to create an effective “theme” for each magazine. Lifestyle and décor magazines for instance, often make use of whispering and speaking colours, as well as warm colours, especially in their interior design layouts, to create a warm and soothing ambience that draws the viewer into the comforting illusion created by the interior designer, photographer and editor. However, magazines and pictorials that deal mainly with fashion tend to use shouting colours to effectively draw the viewers’ attention to the product – showing how colour combinations, in different contexts, can be used to convey the intended message of the communicator.

The frontpage of an Ikea catalogue showing Scandinavian furniture design and warm, muted colours to create the image of an inviting home. Image Reference: Pinterest. (2006). Retrieved from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/15/9d/67/159d67b77c2cf7bc068c353e4d626b45.jpg

Colour Combination in practice in a layout from Rookie Magazine, a fashion magazine aimed at teens. Image Reference: Pinterest (2017). Retrieved from: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/85/ab/ca85abe3cd83614bfbe2cdc2fb1ff72b--fashion-illustration-collage-magazine-illustration.jpg

I also noticed that colour theory and combination is also employed very frequently in makeup. For concealing of eyebags, which have bluish undertones, makeup artists often use colours directly opposite the colour wheel (shouting colours) and would use a concealer with orange or peachy undertones to correct the original colour (Guglielmo, 2014). Same for acne, makeup artists typically pick a shade directly opposite of red (again, shouting colours), so a green-based concealer would be ideal in that case. Having been to Korea just this summer, I realised popular Korean makeup brand Etude House has a range of concealers in a wide spectrum of colours to suit the colour correcting and concealing of all skin problems.

Applying the earlier concept of Advance vs Recede, dark and light colours are often used in makeup contouring too to define the features of the face (see above). For instance, dark colours are used to create depth and the impression of a shadow, such that the area specifically coloured in a darker shade would appear further from the viewer. Light colours on the other hand make the area appear nearer to the viewer as it gives the illusion of being illuminated by light, and is often used by makeup artists to draw attention to prominent features of the face such as the nose bridge, cheekbones and browbones/temples. Jointly used, both dark and light colours in contouring can drastically change the shape and contours of the face such as having a much taller and defined nose bridge that is consistent with Western beauty standards, and a chiselled look without the need to go under the knife.

Others

While not categorised in any of the other 4 main categories as listed above, I think these points I have picked out from the lecture video are still relevant learning points and worthy of rumination.

Colour and Contrast

•       RGB (Screen-based media, additive colour system)
•       CYM (Print-based media, subtractive colour system)
•       RYB (Used when mixing paints)

We also covered how right colour choice can create space. Light colours for example, can make stairways look large. Usually for horror movies, cinematographers and directors make use of dark, and cold lighting to create the illusion of being closed-in and to signify danger. Thus, audiences will intuitively know when an impending scare is coming. However, Stanley Kubrick, in one of the most classic scenes in The Shining as shown in the video, made use of bright lighting to create the impression of large corridor and to challenge the preconceptions of the viewing audience.

The iconic scene of the twins in the hallway in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Image Reference: Warner Bros. (1980). Retrieved from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E48ri9sh0u0/maxresdefault.jpg

Colour Perception & Visibility

•       Yellow is most visible colour. Free of aberration and of focus to the eye
•       Followed by vermillion red used in rescue work, and intense yellow green
•       It was pointed out that yellow is the most visible colour, yet vermillion red was the one most often used in rescue work. Later on, I realised that as counterintuitive as that sounded on first listening, I made a mistake by not considering colour in context. Under bright lighting like the sun for instance, yellow would probably not be as prominent as red and colour choice as well as human processing time is extremely important given the time-sensitive issue of rescue work.
•       High Visibility Burqa Art alongside ‘The Tainted Veil’ screenings

Recognition

•       Red is easier to identify, followed by green, yellow then white

In Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel, Mendl's pastries, including the packaging, were painted in pastel hues to give the illusion of a sweet-smelling pastry even though the viewers were unable to taste it. This is a tactic employed by many other patisseries too. Image Reference: Russell. (2014). Retrieved from: http://media.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_dining/photo/grandbudapestjpg-53e21a8716468acf.jpg

In addition, we covered Good Smelling Colours (Pink, Lilac, Orchid, Cool Green and Aqua Blue) as well as Good Tasting Colours (Vermilion, Orange, Warm Yellow, Pale Cool Green, Tan, Yellow Green and Gray). Flowers as well as desserts are often coloured in good-smelling colours, and I’m spurred to think if it appears to be good smelling because we associate these pastel colours with flowers and sweets, or because pastry chefs and patisseries deliberately made their creations in pastel hues knowing that they smell good? Haha, this is a rather chicken-and-egg sort of question, but it’s fascinating to see how visual perception of colours can affect our other senses too. Visual communication is really interdisciplinary in nature because it transcends just our sights but also involves our other senses, and as displayed repeatedly throughout the semester is often applied in many other fields such as science, math and architecture as well.

Concluding Remarks

Colour theory is extremely important – and I would say the icing on the cake – for any design because even if a piece of work is extremely proficient and competent given all other design principles, a change in colour can drastically change the course of the intended message. Back in the stencil tutorial, the original Guy Fawkes mask from the V for Vendetta image had a sinister and foreboding feel to it but once I spray painted it with orange paint, which is a warm colour associated with liveliness and vibrancy, the entire image was radically changed and had a comical feel with only just a tweak in the colour only. That being said, it is important to first realise that colour must be viewed in context, that even the same colour can have a different impression upon prolonged viewing (green is said to be most restful colour, but even over time can be worrisome) and second, to remember to provide rationale of choice of colour starting from projects now.

Wow! Looking back at my journal entries especially for Lecture Reviews, I have seen how far I have come. I think my proficiency and sensitivity to visual principles have certainly increased – being able to simultaneously consider, apply, evaluate and analyse various different visual principles in today’s entry, even though it was largely about colour theory – which is one of the fundamental steps to being a proficient visual communicator. I hope I never stop progressing in this learning process moving on to future works.

References

Alexander, B. (2015). How Pixar worked emotions 'Inside Out'. USA Today. Retrieved from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2015/06/18/pixar-inside-out-making-the-emotions-characters/28648779/

Guglielmo, A. D. (2014). Mastering the Colour Wheel Will Change How You Apply Your Makeup. Stylecaster. Retrieved from: http://stylecaster.com/beauty/how-to-figure-out-your-skin-tone/

Rikard. (2011). Creating Depth in Art and Photography. Zeven Design. Retrieved from: http://zevendesign.com/creating-depth-art-photography/