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Colour Theory

Color theory is the study of how humans perceive color and how colors can be organized and related. It has its roots in ancient times but developed into a more formalized practice starting in the 18th century. Key aspects of color theory include Newton's color wheel which categorizes colors into primary, secondary, and tertiary groups based on how they can be produced by mixing other colors. The application of color theory ranges widely from art to design to psychology.

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163 views4 pages

Colour Theory

Color theory is the study of how humans perceive color and how colors can be organized and related. It has its roots in ancient times but developed into a more formalized practice starting in the 18th century. Key aspects of color theory include Newton's color wheel which categorizes colors into primary, secondary, and tertiary groups based on how they can be produced by mixing other colors. The application of color theory ranges widely from art to design to psychology.

Uploaded by

Anjali Srivastva
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COLOUR THEORY

Color theory is both the science and art of using color. It explains how humans
perceive color; and the visual effects of how colors mix, match or contrast with
each other. Color theory also involves the messages colors communicate; and
the methods used to replicate color. Color theory is the collection of rules and
guidelines which designers use to communicate with users through appealing
color schemes in visual interfaces. To pick the best colors every time, designers
use a color wheel and refer to extensive collected knowledge about human
optical ability, psychology, culture and more. The application of color theory
ranges from Renaissance fine art to modern commercial advertising. Colors
affect our mood and perception. Color theories create a logical structure for
color. For example, if we have an assortment of fruits and vegetables, we can
organize them by color and place them on a circle that shows the colors in
relation to each other.

Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design


applications. However, there are three basic categories of color theory that are
logical and useful:

 The color wheel

 color harmony

 Context of how colors are used.


In color theory, colors are organized on a color wheel and grouped into 3
categories:

 Primary colors

 Secondary colors

 Tertiary colors.

HISTORY OF COLOUR THEORY

Color theory has a history that goes back all the way to Antiquity. Aristotle (d.
322 BCE) and Claudius Ptolemy (d. 168 CE) already discussed which and how
colors can be produced by mixing other colors. The influence of light on color
was investigated and revealed further by al-Kindi (d. 873) and Ibn al-Haytham
(d.1039). Ibn Sina (d. 1037), Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (d. 1274) and Robert
Grosseteste (d. 1253) discovered that contrary to the teachings of Aristotle,
there are multiple color paths to get from black to white. More modern
approaches to color theory principles can be found in the writings of Leone
Battista Alberti (c. 1435) and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1490). A
tradition of "color theory" began in the 18th century, initially with Isaac
Newton's theory of color and the nature of primary colors. From there it
developed as an independent artistic tradition with only superficial reference
to colorimeter and vision science.

 Issac Newton’s THEORY


Sir Isaac Newton established color theory when he invented the color wheel in
1666. Newton understood colors as human perceptions—not absolute qualities
—of wavelengths of light. By systematically categorizing colors, he defined
three groups:

1. Primary (red, blue, yellow)


2. Secondary (mixes of primary colors)
3. Tertiary (or intermediate – mixes of primary and secondary colors)
Following Newton’s findings, the study of color advanced to cover the
properties of color in its two forms—i.e., print/paint and screen/light—and in a
variety of fields, from art to astronomy. A color’s properties are:
 Hue – How it appears (e.g., “is green”).
 Chroma – How pure it is: i.e., if it has shades (black added), tints (white
added) or tones (grey added).
 Lighting – How pale or saturated it appears.

Newton’s Color Wheel.

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