OUGD404: Colour theory part 4.

To begin the session we presented our colour experiments we had created in pairs to a small group of students. 

We were then asked individually to make a list of 10 questions, which we would search to find the answers to as an ongoing research journey into colour theory. My questions were:

1. What is the difference between tone and hue?

2. What is additive colour?

3. How do you use a pantone swatch?

4. In what light is a colour, its original colour?

5. How do you tell if a colour on the borderline is for example yellow or orange?

6. When can complementary colours be used successfully?

7. How do you swatch a colour in RGB mode?

8. What is the rule of using pure black against white on screen?

9. Is grey classed as a colour or a shade of black/white?

10. How many colours is the limit to use for a good piece of Graphic design?

We then came up with a set of questions in a small groups. Once we had written a list of 5-10 questions, we rotated lists clockwise around the groups so we were left with a different set of questions. Each group must work over the week to answer these questions in preparation for the next session. Myself and Sophie Abell decided to take 5 of our groups 10 questions each to cover them all between us. I answered questions 6-10. 

6. Does Tone effect the temperature of a colour?
The experiment I have done below also answers this question, when the colours below have been desaturated, orange the warmest colour on the colour wheel and blue, the coolest have equal amount of warmth. I have also desaturated blue, in different tones, one dark and one light and when desaturated they both have the same amount of warmth. Therefore there is not affect on temperature. 

It is infact hue that would have an effect on the temperature of a colour when altered. 

7. Is it possible for a colour to be warm if it is desaturated?

When I first thought about this question I would have assumed that when the warmest colour on Johannes Itten's colour wheel, Orange, was compared with its opposite shade of blue, the coolest, that even when the colours were desaturated the orange would still appear warmer and the blue, cooler. However I found that when I did an experiment in photoshop that I had different results. 

Here I have created an Orange square, the warm colour, and two blues, which I would use to distinguish whether tone affected the warmth of a colour. I have then taken a fourth square which i have filled with a mid grey. 

I added an adjustable layer to the orange and blue boxes which I turned the saturation down to 0. 

I left the grey box unsaturated so i had something I could compare the warmth to.

It appears that when the colours are desaturated they all have the same amount of warmth, however they differ because of their contrast of tone and contrast of extension. The pale blue appears to have taken on more warmth when it is desaturated.

I would say that it is possible for colours to be warm when they are desaturated, however I would also say that there is a constant warmth to all colours when desaturated, and this does not change from colour to colour. 

8. Can complementary colours be balanced (Contrast of extension)?

I did not understand this question and so I will suggest it in class. 

9. How would simultaneous contrast be used?

'Two colors, side by side, interact with one another and change our perception accordingly. The effect of this interaction is called simultaneous contrast. Since we rarely see colors in isolation, simultaneous contrast affects our sense of the color that we see. For example, red and blue flowerbeds in a garden are modified where they border each other: the blue appears green and the red, orange. (This is explained below.) The real colors are not altered; only our perception of them changes. This effect has a simple scientific explanation that we will uncover.'

quote

This website also give a great example of how simultaneous contrast could be used in relationship to evoking emotion.  Below is an image of Van Goghs 'Night cafe in Arles'

Image

On the website Van Gogh deems this painting his ugliest. He has used these two complementary colours against each other as 'Our sensation is the most intense where two extremes are juxtaposed.'

'I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green.'
'Gogh exploits the psychological capacities of colors to arouse emotions, here intentionally creating a jarring unpleasant sensation for the viewer.'

10. How do you make gold and silver?

To get gold and silver colour for print you would quote/use a swatch from the Coated Metallic formulae pantone guide. 

The code to get gold is Pantone 871c and the code for silver is 877c, these are both with aqueous coating.

To continue the session we looked into colour theory and printing.
We were asked to bring in 5 pieces of printed graphic design, for example, leaflets, labels, carrier bags and posters. 

We then put these pieces of graphic design into piles that defined how many colours had been used during printing. 

We then looked into 4 colour process CMYK printing.

We were asked to then seperate the plies of graphic design material into two piles, the first an optical mixing pile and the second physical mixing. 

We were to use a linen tester to discover if the pieces of graphic design were printed via:

- optical mixing: Layering colours (CMYK) to create a desired colour.

- Physical mixing: flat colour. 

We then looked through the linen tester at the four colour process pantone swatches. 

Here I discovered that the colours in these swatches had been created by a set of small dots one colour.
In order to create a lighter or darker version of the colour, the dots would be moved further apart, infusing more white space and creating a lighter shade. and then minimising the white space in-between the dots to create a darker shade.  

when colours are dense we cannot see the dots, in less dense colours the dots are further apart. 

In YCMB/K optical printing  each of the 4 plates are rotated out of sync so they are offset and you can see the existence of each plate. 

We then looked through the linen tester at the solid coated pantone book.
We found that the colours were physically mixed and flat. 

Although you may find swatches that are similar in colour in both the 4 colour process and solid coated books, they are different due to their process. 

When paying for 4colour process printing we are paying for the set up and the plates, these create most of the expense. 

1 plate makes 25% of the cost. 

using the linen tester and the tint book we also realised that this pantone book optically creates a series of tints through the use of formulae colour printing.