Colour Essay

Introduction

I have been researching into the theory of colours, which colours look harmonious together, which colours contrast, and why? I’ve also looked at the psychology of colour, where colours are specifically used and how colours effect our moods. I’ve produced a series of experiments to demonstrate my knowledge of colour theory arranging colour compositions produced using photoshop, I’ve also collected sixteen different colours and produced a mood board for each one, with thought storms and an explanation about the psychology and my personal response to the colour. (look at colour diary on blog)

Colour Theory.
Colour theory Is all about how colours are mixed and used with each other in complimentary or contrasting pictures Colour theory is a set of principles to create harmonious colour relations. To produce new colours using methods like the colour wheel, the colour wheel is a visual representation of colour theory, The first Colour Wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton. The current colour wheel we use with colour theory was developed By Johannes Itten.There are so many different colours if you include all the tones as one colour merges into others, most are similar to the original primary colours.
The three primary colours are Red, Blue and Yellow, colours like Aqua Marine Blue is a different colour but also has a similar tone/ shade of blue on the colour wheel.
The Secondary colours are Orange, Green and Purple these colours can be mixed where as the primary colours can not.
The Tertiary colours are produced when you mix Secondary colours with the primary colours, e.g yellow - Orange, Red - orange, Blue - Green, Blue - Purple


Complimentary colours, These are the colours that are actually opposites on the colour wheel like blue and orange, red green and purple and yellow. When these colours are put together in compositions in the right balance they compliment each other, making both colours bolder and stand out more.

Colour Harmony is similar to the theory of complimentary colours, It’s complimentary colours that look harmonious when places together in compositions. Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side in a twelve part colour wheel, It’s these colours that are harmonious together, normally one of the three colours predominate over the others.You can see colour harmony best when relating the theory to Nature. When you see green images of tree’s e.t.c look for the different shades of green and yellow’s, the colours will blend together looking pleasing to the eye.

Contrasting colours, Colours like pink and brown look bad together, even worst would be green and pink which really doesn’t go together, they distract each other so you cant focus on the image.


Colour Psychology
Colours act upon the body as well as the mind.
Bright bold colours like Red, Orange and Yellow stimulate the mind and can make rooms feel warmer, Red being the boldest and most aggressive. where as the cooler colours like Green, Blue and Purple are more relaxing and can make rooms feel cooler, Green being the most natural and harmonious. If you notice Red the boldest and Green the most harmonious are opposites on the colour wheel.

Blue:
Sadness, depression, wisdom, trust and loyalty

Yellow:
Eye factuating, Cheerful, warmth, danger

Red:
Heat, fire, blood, passion, love power, excitement, aggression

Green;
Wealth, nature, life, renewal, hope, relaxing

Orange:
Warmth, fruitfulness, wholesomeness,

Purple:
Royalty colour, Luxury, wealth, sophistication, artificial.

Stimulating colours,
Red has been shown to stimulate the senses and raise the blood pressure.
Yellow alerts the brain enhancing concentration, It’s considered an optimist's colour, but people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms.
Orange is colour most associated with appetite, it can also make expensive products appear more affordable, also orange products seem suitable for everyone, like orange handled appliances.

Relaxing colours
Blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so people often paint there bedrooms this colour. Fashion consultants recommended wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty.
Green symbolizes nature, it’s the easiest colour on the eye and can improve eyesight. It’s a calming refreshing colour.
Purple is a feminine colour, it’s not found very often in nature so i can appear very artificial. It represents sophistication
wealth luxury, It’s a royal colour.

Conclusion

What have I learned?
From researching the colour wheel and creating colour compositions on photoshop I’ve learned how to make pieces look pleasing to the eye better.
I’m happy with my relaxing colour compositions, I think the green composition demonstrates colour harmony in Nature quite well. My blue composition experiments with colour balance, using
complimentary colour orange with the blue.
I produced two bold compositions demonstrating more the colour psychology, I created a red composition representing the aggression and bold passion the colour procieves. The yellow composition demonstrates how yellow is used for distracting signs, like danger / diversions. With the yellow and red compositions I used black in contrast with the two bright colours to make them stand out more, and become more infatuating to the eye.