Genevieve's Graphic Design

COLOR THEORY

• LIGHT GENERATED PRIMARY COLORS: computer uses red, green, and blue to create all colors
• pure white has all three colors set to 255 (the max) and black has all three colors set to 0
• ROYGBIV-- the visible color spectrum
• red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
• PIGMENT PRIMARY COLORS: red, yellow, blue
• additive color gives white light
• secondary colors come from mixing the primary colors
• tertiary colors come from the secondary colors

• color wheel shows cool (blue/green) and warm (red/yellow) colors
• Color Mixing: some colors will not appear in print
• printer generally uses CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black)
• Color Modes:
• Monochrome (tints of single hue ex: white and blue)
• Grey Scale (black and white only)
• Web Safe RGB (hexadecimal compatible)
• Color Modification
• Tints: add white to a pure hue
• Shades: add black to a pure hue
• Tones: add grey to a pure hue
• Color Harmony
• complimentary: opposite of one another on the color wheel
• split complimentary: Y shape on color wheel
• analogous: neighbors on the color wheel (next to each other; duo/tri chromatic)
• triad (draw a triangle on wheel)
• quadrilateral (draw square)
• Color palettes: can invoke a mood, location, emotion
• Saturated (bright) and desaturated (dull) colors
• Color Intensity
• perception of color changes based on its surrounding color
• make sure your work has contrast! 
• Color Intensity Illusion
• Color Associations: types of color associations are universal to all people
• some associations are generated from cultural and psychological sources and may not be universally recognizable 
• Color Matters!!! It catches the customers eye and conveys a certain sense or lifestyle
• it increases brand recognition
• color can affect appetite
• pink drains energy and is tranquilizing (used in holding cells, opposing team locker rooms)

• Space: negative or positive space; foreground, mid, or background
• Line: continuous movement of a point along a surface
• Balance: symmetrical or asymmetrical, location of objects and textures used
• Color: Primary Colors or Complimentary Colors; evoke emotion
• Shape: organic or geometric; give objects a definition
• Texture: perceived surface quality
• Value: light vs dark-- shading; gives depth perception