Module 1 Overview
Color exists in and is as much a component of the function of the brain
as it is the eye. This module will explain the biology and physiology of
vision, how a person sees and perceives color. The first topic will
present an overview of the various modes of perception.
Understanding how color is perceived is as important as how it can be
used.
The second topic will teach you how to make sense of color. The
theories that evolved have shaped our ideas and use of color.
Topic 1 Understanding Color
Color changes, fluctuates and is transitory by its very nature. Why
do we study color?
Why is it important? More has been written on imagery than color,
because it is the most elusive and enigmatic of all of the elements of
design. There are no absolutes. A work of art can be about color alone
without having any specific imagery, as in the work of Katharina
Grosse, Ohne Titel, 2008, acrylic and soil on aluminium honeycomb
panel, 227 × 94 cm. (see image below).
Using acrylic, soil, and aluminum on a honeycomb panel, Grosse
creates an array of textures that captivate the viewer with their rich,
intense hues.
Philosophers have said that the world is colorless and that our
perceptions of hues are nothing more than illusions.
Topic 1 UNDERSTANDING COLOR
Do animals see color?
• Relatively few animals have the ability to see color in the same way
we can. Most pets cannot see color but only shades of gray.
Color Perception
• We must understand how we see color before we can use it
effectively.
• Perceive rather than see, because we do more than just observe
color.
The first step in sight and color perception is the response to the visual
stimulus of light.
• This response or reaction to a stimulus is known as sensation – to the
activation of light receptors that are the basic foundations of
perception. • Perception is the attempt to understand and make sense
of the stimuli received.
• The scientific term for the minimum amount of stimulus energy
needed for perception is absolute threshold.
• In terms of sight, the minimum amount of light required to produce a
visual entity is a candle flame at 30miles on a clear night.
Light and Color
• Without light, there would be no vision of color, because light and
color are inseparable. Light is considered visible energy.
• What we are really seeing when we look at color is the action and
reaction of light.
• White light, or the visible spectrum, is composed of wavelength,
amplitude and saturation, referred to as visual stimulus.
• Wavelengths, the length of light waves, are measured in nanometers.
• The shorter wavelengths include X-rays and the visual spectrum of
color and white light.
• The longer wavelengths include infrared.
A diagram illustrating the electromagnetic spectrum which we can only
see a small portion of. Some animals and insects can see infrared and
color wavelengths.
Different wavelengths are also associated with different hues. Shorter
wavelengths indicate violet and blue, longer wavelengths indicate
yellows, oranges and reds.
Newton’s Theory of Color
Sir Isaac Newton- one of the first to understand the modern concept of
the relationship of light and color.
• When white light enters a prism, it is refracted and comes out the
other side and displayed in the spectrum of light.
• Newton devised that the spectrum was composed of 7 separate,
discernible hues (ROYGBIV)
SOURCES OF LIGHT
• There are 2 parts that make up a reflection or the bouncing of light
waves form a given surface. The incident beam comes from the light
source hitting the object. The reflected beam bounces off the object
and allows us to see a particular hue.
– Smooth surface -light waves bounce off or are reflected in an even
manner
– Rough surface -reflected beams bounce off and are scattered in
many directions
Another factor in determining color is the light source used to view any
given object.
• Different light sources will affect the color perceived: – The best light
source is sunlight – the most accurate in color reproduction.
• Light bulbs can equal the brightness and intensity of sunlight, only for
a few hours but they’re very expensive, burn very hot and can cause
injury.
• Traditional light bulbs are more correctly referred to as lamps
• A light fixture is actually called a luminaire.
There are several types of lamps
• Neon, tungsten, fluorescent and halogen – Halogen – most
commonly used in automobile headlights – Fluorescent and tungsten –
most widely used lamps
• All bulbs or lamps are sources of radiant light, meaning all light is
directly emitted from an energy source.
• Reflected light is the light cast back and is caused by light waves
bouncing off an object.
METAMERISM
• a psychophysical phenomenon commonly defined incorrectly as "two
samples which match when illuminated by a particular light source and
then do not match when illuminated by a different light source. “
• Since there are so many different types of lamps and light sources,
understanding their effect on color perception is essential.

THE HUMAN EYE
• The other major factor in perceiving color is the eye. It is a very
complex receptor that sends its information as electrical impulses to
the brain, actually a receptor for light.
• Light passes through the cornea, then through the aqueous humor,
continues through the lens, finally striking the retina, it has several
layers of cells that are specialized to interpret different aspects of
incoming data. These visual receptors make up the photoreceptor’s
layers, which includes the rods and cones.
RODS and CONES
• They are aptly named due to their shapes. Their sole purpose is to
read lights and darks. They cannot perceive color.
• This is why something comes into your field of vision; you make out
its shape before you can make out its color.
AFTERIMAGES
• Color afterimage is the perception of a color that isn’t really there
and is seen as the complement of the color being viewed. Seeing an
afterimage can make many people dizzy and sick.
• The opponent-process theory accounts for color processing in the
bipolar cells and thalamus, which may be responsible for color
afterimages
COLOR PERCEPTION DEFICIENCIES
• There are many things that can affect color perception like accidents,
injuries, aging, disease, drug use or even heredity. One not so easily
remedied is color blindness called monochromatic. These people
have only one type of cone. The most common color deficiency is
dichromatic, or the inability to see one of the three primary colors.
SYNESTHESIA
• Another form of color perception, people who have this perceive their
environment by using a peculiar combination of two or more senses to
understand and relate to the world around them. For them, sounds
have color, shapes may have flavors and scents may have color
counterparts. This is not a metaphoric relation, but a true and real way
of experiencing the world.
CHROMATHERAPY
• Another use of color, the science of healing with colors
• Eight colors used in Chroma therapy:
– White-used to relax and soothe
– Red-enhances energy and stimulates the production of red blood
cells – Orange-increases sexual stimulation and increases pleasure,
also represents youth and curiosity
– Yellow-have antibacterial quality, associated with wisdom and clarity
– Green- used to treat bacterial infection and in healing ulcers,
considered calming and brings balance to a person
– Blue –decreases toxins in the body and promote knowledge and
self-assurance
– Indigo- aids in intuition, inspiring the individual, also has a sedative
effect
– Violet-used for calming the nervous system and promotes creativity
and spiritual awakening
LUMINOTHERAPY
• Even white light can have a therapeutic effect. Seasonal affective
disorder, or SAD, produces anxiety and depression in some people
who live in areas with little natural sunlight during the winter months.
• Luminotherapy, or the use of lights with the same photosensitivity as
sunlight (about 55,000K) has proven to be an effective treatment.
• The patient is required to sit in front of the special lamps for 30
minutes or more, usually on a daily basis. The light stimulates the
pineal gland and increases the production of melatonin, a hormone
involved in regulating the body’s internal clock.
The Feng Shui compass
• The hues of the compass shows the 8 types of “chi”-the subtle flow
of electromagnetic energy, which exist in everything and link the
universe. The colors of the compass correspond to the time of day,
season of the year and birth order, as well as parts of the body.
In summary, light is the basis for all color.
• For this reason, color and light is inseparable. The amount and
quality of the light will determine the strength and brightness of the
color we perceive.
Topic 2 Color Theory - Making Sense of Color
MAKING SENSE OF COLOR
Mankind has been trying to make sense of color and its use since the
dawn of time. As far as we can tell, there was little thought as to how
the various hues cave painters used related to each other and to their
primitive world. Throughout time, each culture and tribal group have
had their own various symbolic uses of color. The one thing that can be
said about color theory is that it is ever changing. As digital and other
new technological applications are invented, our conception and
thoughts about color will change with them. Many early theories were
highly subjective, with moral overtones. Others showed the personal
bias of the author. They speculated on how and why we see the
various hues around us.
• Color theories assist the artist and designer in finding a logical and
reliable method of dealing with color.
• These theories were developed to help communicate ideas about
color to other artists, designers and manufacturers.
• It is important to know where we have been and how we arrived at
our contemporary understanding of color
NAMING COLOR
• After the primary/secondary colors, there has been little agreement
about the names for any given color, it has more to do with language
and culture than hue or chroma.
• Names were descriptive of the minerals ,plants, and other things that
made up the colorants or pigments.
– 18th century-hues had simple direct names (sky blue)
– 19th century, there was a shift that gave the hues romantic sounding
names (canary yellow)
– 1950s-hues took on descriptive names (bubble gum pink, fire engine
red)
–1960/1970s-colors became synonymous with
commercialism/consumerism (harvest gold or avocado
– kitchen appliances like ref)
NAMING COLOR
• Color names are developed by an industry to fit their particular need
• There is no uniformity or convention.
• Hue names keep changing with the times to reflect the culture and
society and fads of the day.
THE COLOR CIRCLE
• Most color theories are based on a circular arrangement of the hues
in a chromatic order or sequence. They may be viewed in a circle,
sphere or wheel.
• This format allows relationships between each hue to be expressed in
a concise visual manner, which can be individually or in relation to one
another.
• Philosophically, the circle represents a continuum: we don’t think of
color as ending but ongoing.
ARISTOTLE
• Considered the father of color theory (having written the first book on
color, De Coloribus).
• Wrote that all colors were derived from different mixtures of sunlight,
firelight, air and water.
• Blacks, and darker hues, were a result of the lack of one or more of
these elements.
• He developed these concepts based on observation and experience
(on why we see fiery reds at dawn and dusk)
Da VINCI
• From Treatise on Painting (published posthumously in 1651, more
than a hundred years after his death), he proposed a basic set of 6
hues.
• Each color held a direct relationship to the natural world. In his set,
white relates to light, yellow to earth, green for water, blue for air, red
for fire and black for night or darkness.
• As a highly religious person, these association of hues to the natural
world were a spiritual manifestation in paint of his devout convictions.
NEWTON
• Considered the founding father of color theory. In his 1701 book,
Opticks, he experimented with defraction of light through a prism to
devise a spectral color range of hues.
• Realized that the prism broke down the white light , showing the
seven hues that make up the spectrum
• The first to place hues in a circular arrangement (still in use today)
www.dlsl.edu.ph
• His color circle or wheel is based on light and not pigment so that the
center is white and indicates the combination or mixing of all colors.
• Newton laid the groundwork for all who followed where theorists
either rail against or base their work on his experiments
A reproduction of Newton’s color wheel, containing seven hues of the
colors of the spectrum. Notice that all of the color spaces are not equal
in size.
LE BLON AND HARRIS
• In 1703, J. C. Le Blon developed the theory of the primary color
system. His concept – 3 hues (yellow, red and blue)- could not be
reduced or broken down any further and therefore were the primary or
basic hues.
• Stated that thes hues could be mixed or blended to make up all of
the other colors. He developed the first 4-color printing process, or
subtractive color process (cyan, magenta, yellow & black, still in use
today)
• More than 50 years later (1766), Moses Harris, an English engraver,
in his book, The Natural System of Color, he developed one of the first
full -color circles, which spaced primaries at equal distances from one
another.
• He placed the primaries or primitives at the heart of the circle and
shades of each hue on the inner part and tints moving off from pure
hue to the outer edge of the circle with a total 18 hues in all.
Goethe and Impressionism
• As a poet and not a scientist, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was
more concerned with the subjective interpretation of color than an
objective impartial examination of the subject. www.dlsl.edu.ph Goethe
and Impressionism
• As a poet and not a scientist, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was
more concerned with the subjective interpretation of color than an
objective impartial examination of the subject.
• He tried to replicate Newton ’ s prism experiment, but was shocked
and very disappointed with results. Instead of multicolored rainbow of
lights, he was angered to find only a thin strip of spectral color and
decided Newton was a fraud. All of his future work was the antithesis of
Newton ’s and denigrate the scientist ’s work. www.dlsl.edu.ph Goethe
and Impressionism
• He felt that color was really the function of the eye and not the sole
property of light, not broken down but viewed as a whole and studied
not in the lab but in the natural world. www.dlsl.edu.ph Goethe and
Impressionism
• Goethe’s major contribution was the examination of light hitting an
object and the discovery that shadows were not always dark or gray,
but contained color.
• They were comprised of color complements and most often produced
when the main light source was not pure bright white or when a
secondary light source was involved.
An example of Goethe’s color wheel. All of the color spaces are equal
in size. One of the first to show the relationships of hues to their
complements.
Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh was especially influenced by Goethe’
s concept of colored shadows and applied it in his paintings.
• Unfortunately for Goethe, his writings are biased and show his
personal and subjective view of color (he had a strong preference for
warm hues over cool).
Night (after Millet), 1889. The blues in the shadow of the man is
complementary to the oranges used in the figure

Chevreul
• Michel Eugene Chevreul, a French chemist and head of one of the
leading dye houses in Paris. He verified much of Harris’work. He
distinguished and described 3 main elements or attributes to color;
purity (saturation, value (luminosity, and hue.
Chevreul’s basic concept of hue, purity and value. Center circle
represents hue of green. Verticl axis represents purity or saturation and
horizontal axis represents value.
• His major contribution was in developing color harmonies or color
schemes. He wrote that 2 or more hues next to each other on the color
wheel will optically blend and work with each other, and that strong
contrasting hues were placed opposite each other on the color wheel.
• This concept was embraced by French painter, Georges Seurat.
Rood and Pointillism
• Ogden Rood, both an artist and scientist, using spinning disk, he
proved that pigments could be optically and visually combined as the
disks turned to stimulate the effect of the mixing or blending lights.
• On a still plate or picture, the same effect could be achieved if dots or
points of paint were very small placed next to each other. If there were
any space between them, the eye would not visually mix the hues.
• Rood was not flattered by painters’ adoption of his theories and could
never come to terms with the way his concepts had been applied by
artists of his day.
Georges Seurat, the Seine at Bourbevoic, 1885. Oil on Canvas. Seurat
used the leading scientific theory of his day to develop his pointillist
style of visual color mixing.
Albers, Itten and the Bauhaus
• Bauhaus-probably the most influential of all the various groups on
contemporary art.
• Johannes Itten and Joseph Albers (former student) taught at the
school. Itten developed his color sphere and star, a flattened version of
the sphere.
• He favored rectilinear design in a grid format because he believed
that the most evident reaction of hues was at their edges where colors
meet. These academic color studies were at the heart of the
Bauhausian tradition.
• Shortcoming of the Bauhaus research- looks at color in a vacuum, as
an independent element without any relation to imagery, function or
psychology.
Expanding out from the pure white center are tints of the various hues
leading to the points of the star where the purest, most intense form of
the hue is located.
• Albers refined Itten’s work and continued these formal investigations
of how colors interact with one another.
• He studied the optical illusions of color, making it appear like 2
different colors, depending upon which color ground it was placed.
Experiments were done in simple geometric shapes (squares and
rectangle).
• Albers narrowed the scope of his work to very academic studies of
the interaction of colors to one another. The radiance of the center
square is created by the pale desaturated shades of the two outer
squares. This creates a frame that intensifies the center square and
makes it appear more luminous and brilliant.
Joseph Albers, Study for Homage to the Square, 1963. He dedicated
his life to creating these studies. Format is always the same, only the
hues change.
MUNSELL
• Albert H. Munsell might be considered the father of modern color
classification. He was frustrated with the myriad of names for hues and
the lack of ability to standardize color. There were no formulas for
mixing and matching colors. No standards for color naming, mixing or
classification existed.
• Based on Roods’ concept of color attributes, Munsell assigned a
numerical notation system to these elements so that hues and
variations could be organize and classified. He developed a 3-
dimensional color wheel that placed value on the vertical axis.
Munsell created a color 3-D solid , which allowed him to better express
the relationship of a hue to its components of value and saturation.
• Moving up the central axis, the value moves up from black at the
bottom through the range of grays to white at the top.
• 10 hues were placed on the horizontal plane or spokes. Each spoke
was a specific hue.
• The saturation for each hue went from dull gray at the center and
moves to a pure, more saturated hue as they progress out from the
center.
• Munsell’s system starts to mark a departure from a purely theoretical
approach to a more practical and technical approach.
Chroma is not uniform for every hue at every value. Munsell saw that
full chroma for individual hues might be achieved at very different
places in the color sphere. For example, the fullest chroma for hue
5RP (red-purple) is achieved at 5/26:
Commission International D’Eclairage (CIE)
• CIE, in 1931, introduced their standardized color trade, developing a
precise color model for use in both scientific as well as artistic
applications. This would allow for accurate color matching using
mathematical algorithms and mechanics, where previously color
matching was based on subjective visual identification.
• The CIE devised its color concept based on the additive process
using the primaries; red, green, blue. The values also related to the
short, medium and long wavelengths of the cones or color receptors
found in the human eye.
The CIE Color Matching Functions chart displays the three
corresponding color matching functions of the lens or filter based upon
the selected illuminant. The three-color matching functions represent
the relative quantity of each CIE primary color (red, blue or green)
necessary for a 'standard' observer to match a given wavelength in the
visible spectrum when viewed through the lens or filter.
• The initial exact color matching was achieved using a device called a
colorimeter, which measures hue, luminance (light intensity) and
saturation.
• These determine the “chromaticity” of a color.
• The CIE LAB color model was developed for the growing computer
industry, and it is a device-independent color system.
In CIELAB, one axis (a*) plots values between red and green; another
between blue and yellow (b*); while the third axis plots the lightness or
luminance (L*) from white to black. This is difficult to represent on the
page, but the drawing below is an attempt.
 • Wrote that black and white was masculine and color was feminine.
He looked at films that use black white and color to tell their stories.
Reality is always shown in black and white and dreams and fantasy in
color.

International Color Consortium (ICC) and Inter-Society
Color Council (ISCC)
• These two organizations are primarily concerned with digital color and
consistency. Adobe was one of the founding members of the ICC along
with 7 other computer companies.
• Their intent was to translate color data created on one device into
another device’s native color space, for users to move easily from one
equipment to another.
• It allowed tremendous flexibility for both users and vendors to
translate the imbedded color profiles between different software
packages and operating platforms.
DIGITAL COLOR
• Computer technology proliferated in the late 1980s and signaled the
arrival of personal computers. It led to the mass marketing of computer
technology for home and office which opened the door for a new theory
of color to emerge: digital color theory.
• Adobe and other software companies began developing imaging and
illustration software, color modes and devices to select color were part
of the packages (like the Adobe color picker).
• The color space was created to be device dependent and to relate to
the monitors and printers required to display the work created.
Adobe Color Picker
A. Picked color
• Batchelor also speaks about the difference of color in the tube and
the can. Artists abandoned the traditional tube of paint and turned to
the premixed cans of house paint.
• No great hierarchies exist, only random selections of color. The color
circle is analogical and the color chart is digital; therefore it refers
directly to contemporary modernity.
• With current printing technology, digital color is apt to be flat, shiny
and intense, it also lacks any true physical texture. The simulation of
texture can be created only within the virtual confines of the software
package or computer.
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) Movie Still
Pleasantville
COLOR FORECASTING
• It is another form of color theorizing., although it is not intended for
classification and categorization. It is purely for aesthetic use by
designers and artists.
• A group of experts from both the design and manufacturing areas
meet to discuss all aspects of product sales and development.
• Based on these factors, color forecasters make their predictions or
develop themes for the coming seasons. They may develop specific
palettes for different industries or economic groups. They represent
trends that may come to the market in the next 18-24 months. • Color
forecasting services always make their predictions several seasons in
advance to allow for manufacturing time.

B. Original color

C. Adjusted color

D. Out-of-gamut alert icon

E. Not a web-safe color alert icon

F. Displays only web-safe colors

G. Color field

H. Color slider

I. Color values

NADIN

• Mihai Nadin, a major voice in computational philosophy, writes in his

new book, Anticipation-The End is where We Start From, everything
we’re currently doing or are engaged in is in anticipation of what we will
do next, we are always living in future tense.

• In this mode of thinking, we see color because we expect to see

color.

• Even color blind people will perceive and see grass as green
because of cultural conditioning and education. But this aspect of color
deficiency reinforces the fact that color information is processes in 2
distinct ways. First, processed by the brain, a physiological function
and second, there is the personal contribution, previous experiences,
cultural upbringing and other interactions.

CHROMOPHOBIA

• David Batchelor, one of the pioneers of contemporary color theory,

coined the term chromophobia, the fear of color and of the use of color.