Color

 The visual response of the eye to reflected rays of light  Element of floral design  3 dimensions of color  Hue  Value  Chroma

Hue  The descriptive name of a color  Pure color without black, white, or gray added  Defines a specific spot on the color wheel  There are 12 hues on the color wheel

Value  The lightness or darkness of a hue  Relative to the gray scale  Achieved by the addition of black, white, or gray  Shade  Tint  Tone

Gray Scale  A visual aid which represents the transitional graduations of value from white to black, encompassing all the varying degrees of gray

Shade  A hue which has been darkened by the addition of black  Deeper in appearance  Examples-  navy is a shade of blue  burgundy is a shade of red

Tint  A hue which has been lightened by the addition of white  Pastel in appearance  Examples-  Light blue is a tint of blue  Pink is a tint of red

Tone  A hue which has been muted by the addition of gray  Dusty in appearance  Examples-  wedge wood blue is a tone of blue  mauve is a tone of red

Chroma  The degree of strength, intensity, saturation, or purity of a color  A fully saturated hue is a color of the highest chroma or intensity  More pigment would make a color brighter; less would make the color more dull

Pigment  substance used to provide color to paints, dyes, plastics, and other materials

Intensity  reflects the maximum amount of light back to the viewer’s eye  is not mixed with black, white, or gray

Saturation  the measure of the intensity or brightness of a color, describing the amount of light reflecting from it  The greater the saturation of color, the higher the chroma

Color wheel  Diagrammatic representation of all the hues in a color system presented in their proper spectral order.  Twelve hour color system which was developed by Louis Prang, an American Printer in 1876.

Color Wheel

Primary colors  Red, yellow, & blue, forming the basis of the color wheel, from which all other colors are created  Spaced equidistantly apart on the color wheel  Cannot be created by mixing any other colors together

Primary Colors

Secondary colors  Orange, green, & violet  The three hues resulting from the blending of two primary colors  Placed in between primary colors

Secondary Colors

Tertiary colors  Six colors resulting from the blending of a primary color and an adjacent secondary color on the color wheel, mixing primary and secondary colors  Red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, & yellow-orange  Mixing primary & secondary colors  Primary color is always listed first with a hyphen in the center of the word

Tertiary Colors

Chromatic colors  Colors derived from the visible spectrum  characterized by the presence of both hue and chroma  all colors other than black, white or gray

Advancing (warm) colors-  Aggressive or warm  Predominantly composed of red or yellow  Visually move forward toward the viewer

Warm colors  Advancing colors, such as red, orange, yellow  Association with fire and sunshine  Energizing or stimulating effect on the viewer  Active, cheery, evoking warm and happy feelings  Dominating colors, look larger and advance  Irritating if too much

Receding (cool) colors  Predominantly composed of blues or greens  Visually pull back from the viewer  Passive or cool

Cool Colors  Receding colors  Blues, green, and violets  Generally associated with water or foliage, cool things  Have a calming effect on the viewer

Color harmony  Groupings of specific hues and/or different values of one hue  Resulting in a pleasing or useful combination  Color harmonies may display different values of the given hue and still be considered complementary color harmony. (example: peach and baby blue)  Achromatic/neutral colors can be included in any color harmony

Monochromatic color harmony  A grouping of different values of one hue  May include achromatic colors  An example would be blue and tints, tones, shades of blue.  Example: blue, navy, wedge wood blue, and light blue

Analogous color harmony  A grouping of 3 adjacent hues on the color wheel  No more than one primary color  One color dominates  Example – red-orange, orange, with red dominating

Complementary color harmony  A pair of hues directly opposite each other on the color wheel  Examples: red & green, violet & yellow, or blue & orange

Split complementary color harmony  A trio of hues, consisting of a hue and the two hues on either side of its direct complement  Example - violet, yellow-orange, & yellow-green

Triadic color harmony  A grouping of three hues which are equidistant on the color wheel  Example - primary colors; red, blue & yellow  Tints of primaries-pink, baby blue, & soft yellow

Color Psychology - Colors are known evoke moods and feelings and appeal to our emotions

Colors can set the mood of an arrangement and create emotional impressions.

Identify color schemes in floral designs 11

22

33

44

55

66

77

88

99

 10