Some of us are definately challenged when it comes to selecting colors and color schemes. We tend to have the idea that we'll know if we like it when we see it. But that leaves others in the drivers seat. So with that in mind, here are the basic concepts behind colors that some of us never learned.
The "color wheel" is used to identify different color families and how they relate to each other.
All colors, except white, are derived from the "primary colors" blue, yellow and red. Combinations of these three colors produce all the other colors. For example, mix all three together in equal amounts and you produce brown.
If you mix equal amounts of two of the primary colors together, you create "secondary colors". There are three of these made from red and blue (for violet), red and yellow (for orange), and blue and yellow (for green). Remember, this is with EQUAL amounts mixed together.
But if you mix one primary color with larger amounts of another primary color, you create "tertiary colors". For example, mix one part blue with two parts red to make red-violet.
To add to the challenge of color, the lingo that is used can also lead many of us to get glazed eyes. So to remedy this, here is a crash course in terms that are essential to color use.Tone is a term used to describe a particular color's density and reflective quality. Tone is important when choosing a color scheme. The term hue is used to describe the basic color within a particular rendition of color. For example, red is the hue in the color pink as well as the color fire engine red. The value of a color describes the amount of white or black in the color. The value ranges from light (for a large amount of white) to dark (for a large amount of black). And lastly, the saturation of a color refers to the pureness and boldness of it, or the degree to which it is not changed from it's basic color.
Hopefully this should take some of the mystery out of color and the language of color.
