Context of Practice Lecture: Colour Theory

White light is made up of a spectrum of colours. Spectral colour, is colour exhibited by a single wavelength of light within a visible spectrum. Every wavelength of light is perceived as a spectral colour in a continuous spectrum. Colours of similar or sufficiently close wavelengths are often indistinguishable to the human eye. Our perception of any colour is based on the eye receiving light that has been reflected from a surface or an object.

Colour is contextual. As white light is refracted it has different effects on the receptors in our eyes. The Rods, receptors that convey black and grey determine the luminance and tone, while the cones, which allow the brain to see colour, determine the hue. These factors, when combined together are how we perceive spectral light.  There are three types of cones, Type 1 which allows you to see Red and Orange, Type 2 which allow us to see Green and Blue, and Type 3, which allows us to see Violet. When a single cone is stimulated, the brain perceives the corresponding colour, though light must be present in order to perceive colour.

When it comes to Systematic Colour there are three aspects of colour to consider. The Physical, Physiological and Psychological. Perception of colour is physiological, meaning we can never be entirely sure everyone is seeing the same colours.

The Principles of Colour:

• Systematic understanding of colour dates back to Josef Albers (1888-1976) and Johannes Itten (1888-1967).
• Colours can be categorised as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. 
• By mixing complimentary colours, we create neutral tones/tertiary colours. (Grays, Browns etc…) This is why complimentary colours are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
• Because perception of spectral light is a physiological response, the eye can be fooled into seeing this wide spectrum of colour through stimulation of three primary colours, Red, Blue and Green, not Yellow.
• Yellow is a combination of Red and Green. The eye cannot differentiate between spectral yellow and some combinations of red and green.
• Theoretically, Primary colours cannot be created by combining colours.

Colour Modes:

Additive Colour System: 

• RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
• Used for screens, RGB Primaries CRT Monitors.

Subtractive Colour System: 

• CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
• CMY Primaries, Film Stock, Print Media

The Primaries for one colour system are the secondaries for the other and vice-versa. 

Dimensions of Colour: 

• Colour has dimension, a range of values.
• Chromatic Value (Colour) = Hue + Tone + Saturation

Today's lecture on colour theory should prove useful, especially in regards to my own work, as I typically opt to work in neutral tones or black and white for my animations as to emphasise line work. As somebody interested in the visual language and communicating things through visuals, today's lecture on colour has proved useful and will hopefully inform work produced in the future. I do wish we had gone more into the semiotics of colour, however I imagine the subject will be touched upon in the lecture on Semiotics coming up.