A Brief History
Cherry (n.d.) talks on the discovery of color in 1666. English scientist Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into all of the visible colors. Newton also found that each color is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further into other colors. He further experimented and demonstrated that light could be combined to form other colors. For example, red light mixed with yellow light creates an orange color. Some colors, such as yellow and purple, cancel each other out when mixed and result in a white light (What is Color section, para. 1).
So What is Color?
The definition of color according to Long (2011) is the “aspect of object appearance distinct form, shape, size, position, or gloss that depends on spectral composition of incident light, the spectral reflectance or transmission of the object, and the spectral response of the observer, as well as the illuminating and viewing geometry” (p.136).
According to Long (2011) in the Munsell color system there are ten basic hue families, which include red, yellow-red (orange), yellow, green-yellow, green, blue-green, blue, purple-blue, purple, and red-purple. Each of the basic hue families contain ten hues, which are further subdivided into as many hues as can be perceived as unique and created with paints (p.6).
“Color is perceived when our visual system responds to the stimulation of energy in the form of light. The eye and optic nerve respond differently to blue, blue-green and green wavelengths of energy than they do to red, orange and yellow wavelengths. One result of the difference is that the longer wavelengths of visible light seem warm and stimulating and those in the shorter wavelengths seem cool and calm" (Long, 2011, p. 22). The different responses of the eye and optic nerve then translate into a different array of emotions. Cherry (n.d.) explains that warm colors can evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to anger and hostility and cool colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.
According to Long (2011) in the Munsell color system there are ten basic hue families, which include red, yellow-red (orange), yellow, green-yellow, green, blue-green, blue, purple-blue, purple, and red-purple. Each of the basic hue families contain ten hues, which are further subdivided into as many hues as can be perceived as unique and created with paints (p.6).
“Color is perceived when our visual system responds to the stimulation of energy in the form of light. The eye and optic nerve respond differently to blue, blue-green and green wavelengths of energy than they do to red, orange and yellow wavelengths. One result of the difference is that the longer wavelengths of visible light seem warm and stimulating and those in the shorter wavelengths seem cool and calm" (Long, 2011, p. 22). The different responses of the eye and optic nerve then translate into a different array of emotions. Cherry (n.d.) explains that warm colors can evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to anger and hostility and cool colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.
Color breakdown:
In the Munsell system, colors are broken down into three attributes; hue, value and chroma (Long, 2011, p. 4).
HUE
"Hue is the dimension that distinguishes one color family from another, as in red from yellow, and green from blue. Hue is considered the “emotional” dimension because it holds the most psychological associations. “It is critical to recognize that the terms hue and color aren’t synonyms. Hue has only one dimension—color family—whereas a single color has three dimensions” (Long, 2011, p. 5).
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Value
Value is the color dimension that distinguishes a deep or dark color from a pale or light one. Long states that "of the three dimensions, value is the most important in understanding what we see. This is because visual perception is most sensitive to changes in lightness and darkness, and initially interprets any scene by reading the value changes." Value changes show highlight, shadow and define shape, form and proximity (Long, 2011, p. 7).
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Chroma
Long (2011) explains that chroma is the color dimension that distinguishes a vivid or intense color from a week or grayish one. If a hue carries most of the emotional content of color, and value carries most of the informational content, then chroma is attracting quality. A vivid color catches a persons attention immediately. A scrap of pure red, blue or green stands out vividly against the grayed color of a sidewalk or street. Chroma can also be considered the intensity or saturation of a color, although to a painter saturation means density of pigment and not necessarily vividness" (p. 9).
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