The color Wheel

A color wheel (also referred to as a color circle) is a visual representation of colors arranged according to their chromatic relationship. Begin a color wheel by positioning primary hues equidistant from one another, then create a bridge between primaries using secondary and tertiary colors.

These terms refer to color groups or types:

Primary Colors: Colors at their basic essence; those colors that cannot be created by mixing others.

Secondary Colors: Those colors achieved by a mixture of two primaries.

Tertiary Colors: Those colors achieved by a mixture of primary and secondary hues.

Complementary Colors: Those colors located opposite each other on a color wheel.

Analogous Colors: Those colors located close together on a color wheel.

The color wheel can be divided into ranges that are visually active or passive. Active colors will appear to advance when placed against passive hues. Passive colors appear to recede when positioned against active hues.

• Advancing hues are most often thought to have less visual weight than the receding hues.
• Most often warm, saturated, light value hues are "active" and visually advance.
• Cool, low saturated, dark value hues are "passive" and visually recede.
• Tints or hues with a low saturation appear lighter than shades or highly saturated colors.
• Some colors remain visually neutral or indifferent.

Color system

Every time a designer or painter uses a color, the colors are achieved with the additive color method

Subtractive Color. When we mix colors using paint, or through the printing process, we are using the subtractive color method. Subtractive color mixing means that one begins with white and ends with black; as one adds color, the result gets darker and tends to black. The CMYK color system is the color system used for printing. Those colors used in painting—an example of the subtractive color method.

colors used in printing

colors used in painting

Additive Color. If we are working on a computer, the colors we see on the screen are created with light using the additive color method. Additive color mixing begins with black and ends with white as more color is added. The result is lighter and ends up being white. The RGB colors are light primaries and colors are created with light. Percentages of red, green, & blue light are used to generate color on a computer screen.

The RGB colors (light primaries)

colors generate on a computer screen.

Working With Systems

The Visible spectrum consists of billions of colors, a monitor can display millions, a high quality printer is only capable of producing thousands, and older computer systems may be limited to 216 cross-platform colors.

Reproducing color can be problematic with regard to printed, digital media, because what we see is not what is possible to get. Although a monitor may be able to display 'true color' (16,000,000 colors), millions of these colors are outside of the spectrum available to printers. Since digital designs are generated using the RGB color system, colors used in those designs must be part of the CMYK spectrum or they will not be reproduced with proper color rendering. Working within the CMYK color system, or choosing colors from Pantone palettes insures proper color rendering.

Color Basics

color pallette

• color is light
• light is composed of many colors
• We can only see the colors of the visual spectrum
• Visual spectrum= Red,orange,yellow,green,blue,violet
• colors are unique because of their wave lengths
• different wavelengths of light are colors
• The hue of each color is different
• The hue is designated by chroma, saturation, intensity and value/luminance

• • Chroma: How pure a hue is in relation to gray
    Saturation: The degree of purity of a hue.
    Intensity: The brightness or dullness of a hue. One may lower the intensity by adding white or black.
    Luminance / Value: A measure of the amount of light reflected from a hue. Those hues with a high content of white have a higher luminance or value.
  • Shade and tint are terms that refer to a variation of a hue.
  • Shade: A hue produced by the addition of black.
  • Tint: A hue produced by the addition of white.

Jordan Olympian Basketball Shoes

These basketball shoes have the same format and similar design to the Air Jordan X which was a very popular pair of basketball shoes. These shoes were used by the US olympic basketball team in the olympics, because of their ultimate performance. The materials used for these shoes are specially chosen to give maximum performance and durability. The shoe is made of rich leathers, suede and foam-backed internal booty construction system to provide a snug performance fit. The full-length Phylon™ midsole houses on the heel and forefoot Zoom Air™ units offer superior cushioning that provides a good competitive advantage. The rubber outsole and flex grooves also provide excellent traction and grip on the court. Aswell as all these high performance features these Jordans are very good looking and apealing. The designers of this shoe should be very happy with their product.

Alan Fletcher Rationale FINAL

Background: The background is a light grey/blue color which fits with the blue title and picture. All the objects on the page stand out perfectly and are easy to read. This same background color was also used by Alan Fletcher in some of his designs.

Picture of Alan: The picture of Alan Fletcher has a blue hue to make it fit with the background. He is in a thinking pose which is why there are words coming out of him. In many of Alan’s designs he has a picture of a person in the picture showing them either talking or thinking.

Title (Alan Fletcher): The font of the title is a modern font because Alan was a modernist; he liked the clean look of modern fonts. The title is a blue color matching it with the picture and background while still being clearly visible. In one of Alan’s designs he used a similar font in a similar place on the page. The title is place in the middle of the page relating to Alan’s other designs.

Different people quote: This quote is directly from Alan Fletcher’s interview. It is coming out of Alan at an angle showing he is thinking it. This is written in a smaller font showing this is the initial part of the process your mind goes through when seeing design. Your mind interprets the work in its own way.

Visuals are for quote: This is also a direct quote from Alan Fletcher’s interview. As the other quotes it is being thought of by Alan. The quote means that it takes a smart person to think about design instead of just glancing at it. How does it make you feel and how does it relate to other things? The font of this quote is a little larger to show this is the second process of thinking.

Any one visual quote: This like the other two is also a quote made by Alan in the interview. This means that visual design is limitless and always continues to express new ideas. This is an important part to Alan’s work to make sure it makes people think and continues to make people think.

Does it make you think quote: The quote “Does it make you think outside the box?” is directly from Alan Fletcher. He believes design should relate to something and make you think outside the box; design in his opinion is for smart intellectuals. Alan likes to make words come out of pictures to show that that person is thinking or saying the things that are stated. In this case the words are being thought of since Alan is standing in a thinking pose. The font is big and bold and your mind puts the words together, this is thinking outside the box, to make the key point of the poster.

Alan Fletcher poster FINAL

Alan Fletcher Poster Rationale (2nd draft)

Alan Fletcher Rationale

Background: The background is a light blue color which fits with the blue title and picture. All the objects on the page stand out perfectly and are easy to read. This same background color was also used by Alan Fletcher in some of his designs.

Picture of Alan: The picture of Alan Fletcher has a blue hue to make it fit with the background. He is in a thinking pose which is why there are words coming out of him. In many of Alan’s designs he has a picture of a person in the picture showing them either talking or thinking.

Title (Alan Fletcher): The font of the title is a modern font because Alan was a modernist; he liked the clean look of modern fonts. The title is a blue color matching it with the picture and background while still being clearly visible. In one of Alan’s designs he used a similar font in a similar place on the page. The title is place in the middle of the page relating to Alan’s other designs.

Does it make you think quotes: The quote “Does it make you think outside the box?” is directly from Alan Fletcher. He believes design should relate to something and make you think outside the box; design in his opinion is for smart intellectuals. Alan likes to make words come out of pictures to show that that person is thinking or saying the things that are stated. In this case the words are being thought of since Alan is standing in a thinking pose. The 3 sentences that go from small font to larger symbolize the stages of thinking outside the box. First you see what’s in the box which is a small idea symbolized by the small font. Then you get more of an idea but you are most likely confused or not sure if this thought is related to the design, which is symbolized by a slightly bigger font but written upside-down to symbolize confusion. The final sentence is the biggest and is centered. This shows the final thought being related to the design and the key point of the poster. Alan has many posters with angled phrases coming out of the picture, the different fonts and styles of the phrases should make the observer think of the purpose of the style.