Colour in Interior Design

Colour in Interior Design

 Colour is one of the most
powerful elements of interior
design and has tremendous
expressive qualities
 Colour is a property of light
 Every color is due to colored
light
 Objects do not possess color,
they reflect wavelengths of light
that are seen as color by the
human brain
 The word colour applies to the
whole spectrum - red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, violet, black
and white
 Reflection and absorption of light
 When light hits an object – say,
a banana – the object absorbs
some of the light and reflects
the rest of it. Which
wavelengths are reflected or
absorbed depends on the
properties of the object
 When light from the banana
hits the cones, it stimulates
them to varying degrees. The
resulting signal is zapped along
the optic nerve to the visual
cortex of the brain, which
processes the information and
returns with a color: yellow.
 Colour Properties or Dimensions
 Three properties of colour are Hue, Chroma and Value
 Hue is the attribute by which a colour is recognized by its actual
colour e.g. Red, Yellow, Blue. It is the purest form of a colour. The
hue of a color can be changed by mixing it with other hues
 Value is the lightness or darkness of a colour. Addition of white to
a colour will brighten it while addition of black will darken it. The
value of a color can be raised by adding white and lowered by
adding black
 Intensity or chroma is the purity of a colour i.e how bright or
dull. The intensity of a color can be strengthened by adding more
of the dominant hue. It can be lowered by mixing gray with the
color or by adding to the color its complementary hue
Colour Properties or Dimensions
Colour Properties or Dimensions
Tint
A tint is the colour (hue) mixed with white.
The tint may be mixed with just a touch of
white or with so much white that the hue is
very faint

Shade
A shade is a hue mixed with black. The hue
may be mixed with just a tinge of black or with
much black

Tone
A tone is the hue mixed with any amount of
gray
 Colour Classification
 Primary Colours – Red, Yellow,
Blue are classified as primary
colours
 Secondary Colours – Orange,
Green, Purple obtained by
mixing two primary colours
together
 Tertiary Colours – There are 6
tertiary colours, red-orange,
Yellow-orange Yellow-green,
Blue-green, Blue-purple, and
red-purple. These are obtained
when primary and secondary
colours are mixed together
 Yellow
Yellow-orange Green-yellow

Orange Green

Red-Orange Blue-Green

Red Blue

Red-Violet Blue-Violet
Violet
 Colour Classification
 Colours are sometimes classified based on Colour temperature
 Cool colors — such as blue, green, and purple (violet); evoke a cool feeling
because they remind us of things like water or grass. cool colors retreat
 Colour Classification
 Colours are sometimes classified based on Colour temperature
 Warm colors — such as red, yellow, and orange; evoke warmth because they
remind us of things like the sun or fire. Warm colors are said to advance
 Colour Classification
 Colours are sometimes classified based on Colour temperature
 Neutral colours - In the context of interior design, neutral means without color.
Neutrals such as beige, ivory, taupe, black, gray and shades of white appear to be
without colour. White, black and gray are considered to be neutral colours ( along
with browns and beige)
Colour Psychology
 Different psychological effects are experienced in the
presence of colours which may affect behaviour.
 Colour is not objective but subjective and so its effects
differ from one person to another
 As the eye sees colours, it sends the impulses to the brain
which translates to various psychological sensations
which include the following:
 Colour affects moods and affect performance by affecting
emotions - Cool colours have a quieting influence while
warm colours can cause excitement and activity
 Colour Psychology
 Colour can cause illusions – colour has dimensions, it can cause an object to
appear larger or smaller. Light coloured objects appear larger and farther
than dark coloured object which appear smaller or nearer
Colour Psychology
 Colour has weight – it can make an object appear lighter or heavier. Dark
colours appear heavier than light colours.
 Colour Psychology
COLOUR POSITIVE NEGATIVE
WHITE Clean, innocent, fresh, pure, Emptiness, pristine,
 Colour Associations soft, goodness isolation
– Different cultures RED Power, strength, love, energy, Warning, danger, anger
have associated warmth, desire
certain symbols to GREEN Growth, heal, natural, Jealousy, guilt. envy
specific colours e.g. freshness, environment
White-purity, Red- BLUE Professional, security, integrity, Coldness, masculinity, fear
Fire and danger, loyalty, trust
Blue-Truth (heaven), BLACK Luxury, sophistication, prestige, Mystery, evil, death
Green-Nature (Life), elegance, classy
Purple-Suffering, ORANGE Social, fun, confidence, Sluggishness, ignorance
Black-death success, courage, optimism
YELLOW Creativity, light, motivation, Unstable, irresponsible
happy, intellectual
PINK Tranquil, nurture, sensitive, Immaturity, weak, feminity
love, happy, happy
Colour Schemes
 Colour schemes are the various ways we combine colours to form a unified whole
which creates a mood or sets a tone. The most common colour schemes are :
1. Monochromatic colour schemes - When one colors, evenly spaced from one another,
are used
Colour Schemes
2. Analogous colour schemes - Uses a color and the two colors adjacent to its
complementary
Colour Schemes
3. Complementary colour schemes - Built by combining hues opposite each other on the color wheel

38-color-red-green.jpg
Colour Schemes
4. Split complimentary colour schemes - Uses a color and the two colors adjacent to its
complementary
Colour Schemes
5. Triadic colour schemes - When three colors, evenly spaced from one another, are used
Colour Schemes
6. Tetradic colour schemes – Uses four colours across the colour wheel arranged into two
complementary colour schemes
Colour Schemes
7. Neutral colour schemes - Uses no hue Neutral colors like white, grey, and black are
achromatic. Utilizes only value variations, without intensity Usually requires an accent
color