OUGD404 - Question Research

10 questions about colour theory I want to know the answer to:
1. Which colours go well together?

2. Which pair of complementary colours work best?
The use of complementary colors is an important aspect of aesthetically pleasing art and graphic design. This also extends to other fields such as contrasting colours in logos and retail display. When placed next to each other, complements make each other appear brighter. 

3. Is there a situation when complementary colours work together?

4. Are black & white considered colours?

5. How do you know which type of Pantone to use? Solid, Matt, Coated etc.

The type of paper used, will affect the appearance of colors. In separate swatch or chip books, Pantone shows you how their colors look on coated, uncoated, and matte paper. Therefore you have the number of the color (for example, PANTONE Red 032) followed by a suffix, which indicates on what stock your PANTONE Color is meant to be printed. If you want PANTONE Red 032 on shiny paper, then you would specify the color in this manner: PANTONE 032 C, where C stands for "coated". You then have U, which stands for "uncoated", and then M, which stands for "matte". These three are the most important PANTONE Library abbreviations.

C = coated      U = uncoated      M = matte

6. Which colours are best to make headings stand out?
Like colouring body text, the heading colours are dependant on the colour of the background or stock used. Contrasting colours are best, especially as headings need to stand out. Red and yellow are considered to be the colours that stand out the most to the human eye, but for text, red would be the one to use.

7. What emotions are associated with colours?
Red is the color of love and passion. Boxes of candies are red on valentines day. Some are pink, which is a tint of red. Red is also the color of anger and blood. Red, orange and yellow are all found in fire. Red can also mean danger. Stop signs are red, which get our attention and tell us to be careful and look before we proceed. Red is dominant, and when combined with colors such as black, can create a very masculine look. Red commands attention and can set a serious tone.

Orange represents warmth, but isn’t aggressive like red is. Orange can portray a fun atmosphere because it is energetic and creates a sense of warmth without associated connotations of danger and blood, as with the color red. Orange can be associated with health, such as vitamin C, which is commonly found in oranges.

Yellow is associated with the sun and warmth. When used with orange, it creates a sense of summer fun. Yellow can be associated with thirst, and can be found on the walls of many refreshment shops. Yellow can also be associated with cowardice and fear, which comes from the old expression of someone being “yellow.” When combined with black, it can gain a lot of attention. A good example outside of design would be a taxi. The combination gets a lot of attention.

Green is the color of money, so in our culture it is associated with wealth. Since most plants are green, it is also associated with growth and health. It is used to show that products are natural and healthy, it also connotes profit and gain. Combined with blue, green further perpetuates health, cleanliness, life, and nature.

Depending on the tint and shade of blue, it can represent different feelings, thoughts, and emotions. In imagery, dark shades of blue can give a sense of sadness. An expression that goes along with this is “singing the blues” when someone is sad. Light blue is the color of the sky and of water, which can be refreshing, free, and calm. Blue skies are calming and tranquil. Water washes away dirt and cleans wounds. Blue can represent freshness and renewal, such as when rain washes away dirt and dust. The calmness of blue promotes relaxation.

Associated from the color of the robes of royalty, purple relates to royalty. Purples with more red can be associated with romances, intimacy, softness, and comfort. Purple can give a sense of mystique as well as luxury. A good example would be the wine website shown below.

White can be associated with sterility, due to doctors wearing white and most hospitals being white. Because most artistic depictions of religious figures are completely colorless, white represents “good” and holiness. White can represent cleanliness, such as clean linens and clean laundry. It can represent softness due to cotton and clouds. It can reference mental health due to the white coats and uniforms, white walls, etc. White is great for connoting health and cleanliness, as shown in the optical website shown below.
Black is mostly associated with death, especially in the United States. It can represent decay — due to rot — based on how food breaks down and turns black. Black can represent evil, because it is the opposite of white, which often represents good. It can represent anxiety due to darkness and the unknown. A lot of black in an image can suggest depression and despair, as well as loneliness. However, despite all of the negative connotations, when combined with other colors, such as gold, it can represent luxury. Combined with silver or grey, it can represent sophistication, such as in the timepiece website shown below.

8. Which colours are best to make body text readable?
How to make body text stand out and readable is dependant on the colour of the background. Body text needs to be a contrasting colour otherwise it will fade into the background and won't be easy to read at all. If the background is white, the text colour could be any colour as long as it wasn't too light, but on coloured stock, the text will have to be in a colour which is contrasting.

9. Is it best to look at colour in natural or artificial light?
Natural light changes throughout the day, whereas artificial light stays the same. Depending on the required outcome, looking at colour in artificial light is the best thing to do. When creating something which will be placed outside, it would be wise to look at the design in the natural light to see how the colours change and how the design as a whole is perceived.

10. What is contrast of hue?
The greatest possible contrast of hues comes with the selection of a palette consisting of red, yellow and blue. As the colours selected become further removed from these three primary colours, the contrast of hue decreases. Therefore, the us of secondary colours renders less contrast, and tertiary colours provide even less. Also, when white is employed along side of a chromatic palette, the brightness and luminence of neighbouring hues is decreased. Likewise, when using black, adjacent colors appear lighter.