Color Fashion Design, Textiles & Merchandising

Color What things are more interesting with color?  Food  Television  ??? The human eye can see six to seven million colors

Color and Clothing One of the elements of design  Often noticed first (line, shape, space, texture) Learning about colors  Look your best  Draw attention  Emphasize special features  Create illusions

The Language of Color What is color  Hues – specific color names Ex: Red, Blue, Green, etc  Sir Isaac Newton determined that light is the source of all color – mid-1600s  By passing light through a prism he produced a rainbow of colors from bending the light rays

The Language of Color  Pigments – Substances that absorb some light rays and reflect others When light strikes an object you see only the colors that bounce back to your eyes You do not see the colors that are absorbed Ex: Blue Shirt – Blue pigments bounce back and all the rest are absorbed

The Language of Color Neutral Colors  Black and white are not true colors because they don’t have pigments – they are a result of light  When all light rays are absorbed by a surface you see black  Black, white and gray are neutrals  Tints and shades of beige are often considered neutrals but are not true neutrals because they have a yellow or green base

The Language of Color The Color Wheel

The Language of Color The Color Wheel

The Language of Color The Color Wheel

Value  Describes the lightness or darkness of a hue  Every color has a wide range of values Ex: Very pale pink or very deep burgundy  Value is created by adding white or black to pure colors  Tints – colors with white added to them Ex: baby blue  Shades – Colors with black added to them Ex: navy blue

The Language of Color Value  Tints and Shades  Tint Color + White  Shade Color + Black

The Language of Color Intensity  Brightness or Dullness  Determined by the amount of pigment  You can add pigment to make the color more intense  Add grey or compliment to reduce intensity  Colors with similar intensity are “tiring” to look at Vibration Hard To Read

The Impact of Color Colors as Symbols  Traffic light Red, Yellow, Green – what do they mean?  Holidays Valentine’s Day  Ceremonies and Celebrations Funeral  Groups, Countries Niskayuna, USA  Language Feeling blue

The Impact of Color

Color and Temperature  Associations with nature  Warm colors Red Yellow Orange  Cool Colors Blue Green Violet  What do you wear in the spring and summer?  What do you wear in the fall and winter?

The Impact of Color

Emotional Impact of Colors Warm colors  Seem larger, closer  Attract attention  Excite taste buds (eat faster – good turn around for restaurants) Cool Colors  Appear set back and less noticeable  Surgeons wear soft green to calm patients

The Impact of Color Colors and Movement  What colors stand out?  Warm colors are more noticeable - advance  Cool colors recede

The Impact of Color Color and Movement  Which circle appears larger?

The Impact of Color Colors and Mood  Cool colors – subduing effect When would you wear?  Warm colors – express excitement When would you wear?  Examples outside of clothing Doctors office – cool colors