Tone & Colour in Design

Tone & ColourIn Design

By Naomi Smart211067113

Tone and Colours in DesignBasic Information about colours and tones.

There are three sets/groups of colours:•Primary (Red, Yellow, Blue)•Secondary (Orange, Green, Purple)•Tertiary (Mixed colours consisting of at least 3 colours)

Then you have yourNeutral/Earth colours(browns, beiges etc)

Your Tones and Tints care not classified as Colours. These are broken down into:•Black (Shade, absorbs light, makes items recede)•White (Tint, reflects light, brings items forward)•Grey (Combination of Black and White)

Tone and Colours in DesignComplimentary Colour’sComplimentary colours are when a colour scheme is made of two colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel

In this study, the artist has cleverly used complimentary colours to make certain parts of the picture stand forward or out from the rest. I also love the combination of a warm and cool colour….

It happens in nature too!

Its hard to miss!!

Mono-chromatic Colours:Mono-chromatic colour schemes are derived from a single base colour, and extended using its shades, tones and tints (that is, a colour modified by the addition of black, grey and white)

Tone and Colours in Design

These two rooms have been designed in a single colour then different tones have been created by adding shade of tint.

I like the way in which a colour can show someone's tastes, likes, dislikes. These colours are bold and exciting and work very well.

Triadic Colours:A triadic colour scheme uses three colours that are equally spaced from each other on the colour wheel. This is a very easy colour scheme to implement because the colours naturally look good together and provide a comfortable amount of visual contrast)


The image to the left shows how by using three equally spaced colours from the colour wheel can somehow be so appealing. There is a sense of confusion, but at the same time it somehow works…

In the example of the Burgerking logo, The use of three distinct contrasting colours is a bold statement and very eye catching, which is exactly what its been designed for…

Saturation & Transparency in Colour:Saturation doesn’t just mean the weakening of colour in a such basic terms, its reducing the overall amount of pigmentation, reducing its brightness without adding tints such as white. Transparency relates to being able to see through an object as well as still seeing the colour. Even though these two words have a similar meaning, they are in fact very different.


In this room, purple has been saturated with white tint to give different hues of the same colour, BUT its not transparent. I find it amazing how by adding nothing more than white to a given colour you can change the mood in design, show a certain mood or energy.

These images are good examples of transparencyin design. It’s a fascinating way to use colour in design, but still being able to let light through, this in its self means the design is always changing. It also allows designers to use colour without surrounding people in it and making a space look small.

Saturation and transparency shown together

Pastel Colour:The outer ring in the Pastel Wheel depicts the same colour families as in the Saturated Wheel, but white has been added - reducing the saturation (less pure) and increasing the value (lighter). These unsaturated colours are peaceful and serene in comparison to the vibrancy of a saturated palette.


This paper collage done by an artist named Beverly Ash Gilbert who truly understands colour, and it shows in her work. She says she loves to use colours that evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort without being pure colours, and I think in this image she does it very well.

The kitchen design uses pastel yellow beautifully. I think being a pure yellow would be almost cold, and uninviting, yet bold and modern. This muted pastel colour still gives you your flush of colour without it being too much of a statement.

Movement illusion with Colour:Through all the elements of colour that I have looked at during this study, I found some amazing examples of how simple use of colour in its purest and saturated forms can illustrate movement.


This artist has used both solid pure colours with opaque and translucent colours to give the illusion of something reflected on rippled water….really beautiful use of warm colours against the black too!

Each one of these images through its use of colour and line show the illusion of movement, and each in there own individual way…

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

RED. PhysicalPositive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement. Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain

BLUE. Intellectual.Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness

YELLOW. EmotionalPositive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity. Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety

GREEN. BalancePositive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace. Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation

VIOLET. SpiritualPositive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality. Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority

ORANGE.Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun. Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.

PINK.Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species. Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation

Emotions In

Colour..

Neutral/Natural/Earth Colours:Earth tones are mostly considered to be your browns, beiges etc and can normally be made mixing three primary colours together and can be further altered by adding black or white. These colours are simple and warm, and more than often in art used as an under colour which gently reveals its self.


This room has been designed around brown and gives a wonderful sense of warmth and comfort, this is accentuated by adding in secondary colours which pop against the neutral.

In this example, it shows how our eyes perceive colour. When looking at the two circles we see two different colours, but in actual fact there both identical. Our mind perceives it differently as we bring in the colour around it….fascinating.

Tones: (Black & Grey)Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light reaches the eye. Although black is sometimes described as an "achromatic", or hueless, colour, in practice it can be considered a colour, as in expressions like "black cat" or "black paint". Black is actually a shade, and when saturated or when white is added gives you grey. These can be used to alter tones of colours, but at the same time create some beautiful designs all on there own.


This image, I think is simply beautiful!! The artist fully understands the process of using black, white and grey and has given this image such a wonderful sense of dark and light. The light coming from between the shelves and reflecting off of the little girls head looks so soft…

This graphic print of a woman uses the tones and tints brilliantly, the white being the background and defining colour, the black being the main body of work, and the grey acting as the shadow giving depth to the work.

Tones/Tint: (White & Grey)

Tone and Colours in DesignSince white is the extreme end of the visual spectrum (in terms of both hue and shade), and since white objects - such as clouds, snow and flowers - appear often in nature, it has a wide variety of symbolic meaning. Human culture has many references to white, often related to purity and cleanness, whilst contrast between white and black is often used to represent opposite extremes.

The white in this image brings the design forward whilst the grey feels behind.

Even though white is not strictly a colour, its use in design enhances others, especially in a design with few colours of used with black. As it reflects light, items seem to lift of the page against a dark colour or shade. Like this logo, and ring, The designs pop forward from the black, making them more prominent.

This design, using black white and grey is a nice example of how if used properly you can almost make things feel layered without much effort.