Colour Theory

Ambiguity can be both positive and negative.

  Positivity in design being ambiguous is that the work is open to interpretation by the viewer. This allows people to connect with the work in a personal way and take from it what ever they please.

  We were shown a music video that exploited the power colour has on our eyes and how our perception of colour can be played with using absence of colour.

  Our eyes have the ability to compensate for strong colours by seeing opposite colours when our eyes are resting.

  Colour combinations can affect readability and accessibility. For example, a lot of signage uses the combination of Black & Yellow. These colour are proven to work well together in enabling the viewer to read the info displayed clearly from a distance. Whereas the combination of Green and Red is proven to be hard to read and distinguish therefor is rarely used in design.

Receptors

The diagram above shows the sequence of how humans perceive colour.

Rods - This perceives Black & White

Cones - Perceive colour

- There are 3 types of cones that each perceive a different primary colour

- These cones then work together to allow us to see all colours of the spectrum as each of the cones will see differentiating amounts of the colour they perceive.

Halftone printing

This diagram explain how colours are printed. All colours are a combination of other colours. What determines the colour is the intensity of each colour involved.

Studio Task.

In groups of 4 we have been asked to pick two film genres and explore the pantone colour range. We then have to pick two pantone shades that we think:

a) represents a typical cover colour choice

b) a less conformist yet still interesting opinion

Our first genre choice is Fairy Tail.

  Fairy tales are known for being bright, happy and colourful. Most animated fairy tail stories involve a range of pinks, blues, yellows and greens. These colours are easy to read and make for a generally positive, mystical image.

  Therefore we have chosen Pantone 'Pink 237 M' as our first choice. This colour is a saturated yet soft shade of pink commonly associated with princess dresses.

   

  Our second, less obvious choice is Pantone Blue/Green 317 M. This is light turquoise colour that we feel is closely related to the pink we chose. It is a soft, subtle colour that can be associated with an overwhelming blue sky or a princess dress.

Our second genre of choice is Science Fiction

  Science fiction is generally quite a masculine genre of films therefore the colours used for the set and costumes are usually dark blues, greens and blacks. 

  The first colour we chose as a typical cover colour is Pantone Blue 2955 M. This blue we thought is associated with the dark sky and space. It is generally a masculine colour and is intense and ominous.

  The second colour is Pantone Grey 414 M. This colour can be recognised as the colour of martial and other walks of life. It is also quite mechanical and metallic, resembles spaceships and UFOs.