MARK PEPPERBrought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing LabIntroduction to Color Theory: Color & Rhetorical Purpose

Color Theory is a system of rules and guidance for mixing various colors in order to:

Create Aesthetically Pleasing Blends Produce Maximum Readability and Clarity Draw on Cultural Associations to Effect Meaning

Many people choose not to consult color theory. They think, Well, Ive got a good eye for these things.

The good eye for color may or may not be true based on whos thinking it

but in order to justify your choices it is good to have some theory to fall back on.

At its core, color is light.

Light is composed of many different colors and the various mixtures of light compose the colors that we can see.

Colors that can not be created by mixing other colors)

Colors made by mixing primary colors

Colors that mix primary and secondary colors

Colors are arranged on the wheel in such a way that purposeful color choices can be made.

Choices of color combination depend on what you are trying to accomplish.

Such as: Contrast Blending Affect

Complementary Colors are the colors opposite from one another on the wheel.

These colors provide the most visual contrast.

Contrast is the noticeable level of difference between two colors.

The more a color contrasts with the colors around it, the more easily visible that color will appear. This fact is extremely important when using different colored texts and backgrounds

But be careful, even though colors may contrast they may not always work well for text and background pairing.

Simultaneous Contrast occurs when a color like red is fore grounded on blue. Note how the text appears to slightly vibrate. This would get annoying really quickly.But simultaneously be aware of extreme lack of contrast in your text and background choices.

Honestly, this is just painful. Do not make your readers struggle with this!

Contrast draws attention to the item that is most contrasting (or different) among a number of other design elements.

Therefore, you can use color contrast to draw attention to an element of your design that is more important, relevant, or immediately pressing.

Neither of these flyers is completely ineffective and both provide shape contrast with the text box.

But the orange box above provides a nice contrast with the blues and grays of the clothes rack.

The blue box here, however, is too similar to the clothes color palette.

Analogous Colors are colors positioned next to each other on the color wheel.

These colors have very little contrast; therefore, they will provide harmonious blends.

Nature offers an excellentlook at analogous colors in action.

Question: what color offlower could be added tothis photo to provide astrong and attentiondrawing contrast?

Colors often come with feelings, moods, and associations that you can draw on.For example, the color Red is largely associated with danger, aggression, stimulation, and excitement.

Red stop signs signify danger if you dont stop, and stimulate your senses with excitement if you dont see one coming up!

Its an important to remember that these color associations do not come from the color itself. Without us to interpret it, red is simply light without any meaning laden characteristics.

Because these associations depend on us, they can differ from culture to culture, and they can also change over time.

For example, purple use to be associated with solely belonging to royalty. This PowerPoint could now be beheaded if it werent made by a King or Queen!

There are a number of sources that list and suggest color associations commonly agreed upon by many people.

Color in Motion: A particularly interesting and useful one, contains a number of fun Flash videos that illustrate these associations with music and animation.

Purdue University Writing LabHeavilon 226

Web: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Phone: (765) 494-3723Email: owl@owl.english.purdue.edu

The EndIntroduction to Color TheoryBrought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab

Rationale: Welcome to Introduction to Color Theory. This presentation is designed to introduce your students to color theory, which will help them make color choices that are more than appeals to aesthetics. The nineteen slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of color theory. This presentation may be supplemented with other OWL resources on visual literacy, visual rhetoric, and design.

Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page

Writer and Designer: Mark PepperUpdated by Arielle McKee, 2014Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing LabGrant funding courtesy of the Multimedia Instructional Development Center at Purdue University Copyright Purdue University, 2007*Color Theory will help your students create aesthetically pleasing color blends, produce communication with maximum readability, and use cultural association to effect meaning. The facilitator may want to ask students to discuss why they think certain colors work well together before moving on with the slides.

*their own senses of what looks good. Sometimes that students eye may indeed make good choices. However, there are times when we need to justify our choices, and in those cases, its good to have theory supporting our decisions.

Dealing with this problem is the whole reason a theory of color has developed.

*To illustrate this point, the facilitator may want to discuss the differences in colors when viewed on a computer monitor versus colors viewed in print documents. *Primary colors are a good way to introduce the categorizations for the various color types. First, as the name suggests, they are the building blocks for all the other colors. Additionally, thinking about red, blue, and yellow as the primary colors predates current color theory and is therefore an important historical aspect of the topic. Finally, many of us have been introduced to (and likely retained) this concept from basic art courses.

The primary colors are: red, blue, and yellow.

*Secondary colors are created by mixing primaries. The secondary colors are purple, green, and orange.Tertiary colors are created by mixing primary and secondary colors.This is only one way of representing the color wheel visually. There are a number of different visual interpretations of the color wheel that may be more effective for different people. More complex color wheels show even more colors and set up a way to read them that highlight even more complex relationships. These can easily be found through a Google search; however, this basic color wheel should effectively introduce the concept.*The facilitator may want to revisit the question on which colors work well together after discussing the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Designer can use the color wheel to determine color schemes for a number of media: documents (brochures, reports, etc.), websites, and slide presentations.Black text on a white background is a convention that many of us simply write-off as a it just is. In other words, we are so accustomed to it that the rhetorical reasoning behind the contrast becomes invisible. In fact, the black/white combination is a purposeful choice based on maximum readability.

*Depending on the resolution of the computer on which this slide is displayed, and depending on how far away the audience is from the screen, the red/orange text box may be completely unreadable. This is one of those rare cases where that is actually all right. The impossibility will only further make the point that choosing contrasting colors is a medium and context specific decision.

*Beyond aesthetic concerns, the decision to contrast an element of a design should be intimately tied with the communicative purpose of the document. If an item contrasts, it will stand out and draw attention. For what reason do you as the designer want that element to stand out? What is communicated?

*This presentation is specifically about color; therefore, color contrast is the primary focus. However, contrast is obviously a more complex idea that this and involves a number of variables. Contrast can come in the form of colors, shapes, movements, fonts, sizes, and more. Learning to use different kinds of contrast together is another important technique in effective visual composing.

*Analogous colors work well together in blends.

*This slide provides an opportunity to go back and actually use the color wheel the way it is intended. If we look at where these colors are on the wheel, and if we use the theory of analogous colors, the color wheel will suggest that a flower in a purple shade will provide the most contrast.

*Although most people would agree with these associations that come with the color red, it is important to stress that these associations do not HAVE to go with this color. In other words, they are ultimately arbitrary connections that have developed through a history of social meaning making.

*When designing, its important to consider your audience. The people viewing your composition may not share your same cultural values. In Western cultures, red means Stop! or Attention! In Asian cultures, red means good luck or good fortune.

*Color in Motion is an interactive, Flash-based movie tutorial composed by Maria Claudia Cortes. The video was her RIT MFA thesis project in computer graphics design (2003). She currently works for Eastman Kodak Company.

*Purdue students in West Lafayette, IN may visit the Writing Lab in Heavilon 226. Worldwide users may call the grammar hotline with short questions. Worldwide users may also visit the Purdue OWL to access a large library of writing resources.

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