Identifying Colour Theories in Day-to-Day Life

To further understand the principles of colour theories, research was carried out into how colour had been used in day-to-day life: on the streets, in shop windows, in public places and by people in their choice of outfit.

Within the shopping centre environment, colour is used as a powerful tool to attract consumers into the store. The shop window and the ways in which it is dressed is one of the vital factors in drawing the customers in and maximising sales opportunities. Shown below are two good examples of how effective use of colour can make ordinary items such as bags come to life to the consumer. This method uses the Principle of Novelty which explains that harmony in colours would be tedious so as a result, new or unexpected colour combinations evolve to draw the consumers' attention to the product. However for this example the Emphasis of Colour principle can also be applied where each colour is of equal chroma, hue and value level to highlght the relationship between the colours - in this example all neon colours.




For the next example of an advertisement for a clothing store a range of colours have been used that have a Harmony of Colours principle where the blue, purple and pinks are all vibrant and relatively close on the colour wheel, rendering them Analogous, but this manages to avoid boredom or conflict. The Principle of Resemblence can also be applied here where the colours harmonise to a greater extent when the diffeences between them are less. Also the imagery used here in a street-style, cartoon effect appearance fits in well with the imagery and matches the colour scheme of the clothes the model in wearing rather than constrasts it. It is this uniform use of colour that makes the advert visually strong and eye-cathcing - immediately the style and colur scheme can be identified, an Avoidance of Ambiguity.




This example of a cosmetics company shopfront has a clear theme of calming and tranquil colours including light blues and greens. These colours have been used due to the Principles of Familiarity rule where the concept that, due to the natural association of blues and greens with nature; water and trees, consumers will find this appealing and readily accepted. This group of colours also use the Principle of Resemblence - the blues and greens harmonise well as the differences between them are less. The use of this Colour Family and the repitition of the colours used in the shopfront onto the packaging creates a very uniform branded look for the company.




This example of shopfront advertising employs the Contrast of Colour principle where the advancing and receeding hues counter each other, the light areas of yellow, pink and white are contrasted by the darker areas of purple, black and red. This case also uses the Principle of Novelty where unusual colour combinations are used to draw attention to the shop in order to avoid harmonious colour schemes and keep the viewer interested in the subject matter.

Burberry: colour analysis

Burberry is used as an example to analyse and implement the terminology of colour theories. The iconic check was first used in the 1920s as lining for the inside of the brand's trenchcoats. The tradtional checked pattern is world-famous for its use of the red, black and beige colour combination, which is loosely related to an analogous colour sceme, with the three different colours in the same third of the colour-wheel. Other different colour combinations are shown below:






For the Burberry check pattern the colours appear quite muted, even then red, a primary colour is a darker shade with a low chroma and high value. The neutral beige is a tint of a tertiary brown with medium to high values and low chroma levels. When combined with the black gives a monocromatic feel to the the traditional check, of which connotations are made including wealth and sophistication projected by the brand and pattern.



By keeping the same ratio of hue, chroma and value, different effect can be created by manipulating the Burberry check...



The traditional Burberry check at normal levels










Chroma levels altered from medium to high to give a more vibrant appearance.












The chroma is reduced from its maximun to minimum to give a dull appearance








Here the hue has been altered to green to change the colour of the sample.











When adjusting the colour, altering the value only makes the sample lighter and darker - a maximum value sample will be black, a low value sample white.


Other checked patterns can be found where using an unusual combination of colours can create dramatic effects. The traditional Scottish tartan is based on the idea of family clans, that each surname (or mother's maiden name) will have an associated tartan pattern the family wear to identify themselves. These can each have colour theories applied to illustrate the thories:















1) Uses a triad colour scheme with green as a complimentary
2) Uses complinmentary colours of red and green
3) Uses analogous colours of brown, green and yellow

Introduction

As an introduction to the brief of analysing a specific brand or style's use of colour, initial research was carried out into a few current brands and designers that have employed colour in an unusual or visually exciting way. As an initial point of research I wanted to explore acidic but warm colours that were attention grabbing so I started by developing a collage of designers' work that matched this criteria. I then applied the theories and deifintions taught in week 2 to the examples to analyse their hue, value and chroma correctly:



Tasty tomato by Costello Tagliapietra
Hue: the tomato colour is tertiary, the result of mixing red (primary) with orange (secondary) to
make an agressuve 'red-orange' hue
Chroma: the tomato colour has a very high level of chroma and so appears vivid and bright
Value: due to the high chroma nature of the colour, it is also medium in value.




Canary cardigan by Melissa Coker
Hue: the cardigan is a primary colour of yellow
Chroma: the levels of chroma are also very high as the hue is extremely bright and pure
Value: due to the high chroma level, the cardigan has medium to slightly lower value. There is also a stark contrast of value between the cardigan itself and the hue of the rest of the outfit, which are made up of a tint and a shade of blue at the two opposite ends of the colour spectrum.





Tutti Fruiti combo by Alexander Wang
Hue: the pink colour is a tertiary tint of 'purple-red', where as the orange sherbet hue is a secondary colour orange, also a tint as it is lighter in appearance than traditional orange.
Chroma: both the jacket and shorts have a medium to slightly higher chroma.
Value: the pink and the orange hues are medium to low value tints, small amounts of white added to the pure colours.



Flower inspired Michael Angel dress
Hue: the sections of both black and white fabric are not classified at as a hue but a neutral, the dress also includes a spectrum of tints of pink (tertiary) and orange-yellow (tertiary), with some shades of blue-green.
Chroma: The levels of chroma varied from high for the bright yellows to low for the pastel pinks
Value: In some parts of the dress such as the blue-green shading the value is high with black added, where as for some parts of the light pinks and yellows, white has been added to tint a higher value colour

Acidic pink dress by Cushnie et Ochs;
Hue: the bright pink is a tertiary colour derived from the blue side of red-purple
Chroma: the chroma is extremely high giving an acidic and almost neon appearance
Value: the pink colour here is a shade of pink with a hint of black added but still medium in value

Colour clash by Jonathan Saunders:
Hue: the bright blue skirt includes a hint of green which compliments the yellow-green hue of the jacket and ties the two together
Chroma: the chroma of both colours is very high as they are vivid and bright
Value: the skirt has a tint of white added to a slightly lower value colour whereas the jacket has a shade of black to a slightly higher value colour.

Tibi bouffant blouse;
Hue: this acidic orange hue is a secondary colour from red and yellow
Chroma: the chroma levels are high as the blouse is very vivid and bright
Value: the blouse has black added to create a medium to high value shade

BCBG Max Azria's floaty colour pop:
Hue: the colour of this dress is a slightly acidic and agressive tertiary red-orange
Chroma: chroma levels are medium to high
Value: the value of the dress is high as black has been added to create a shade of the colour and is a little darker than others

All these examples show how effective use of colour in terms of hue, chroma and value in fashion can secure the attention of the audience. Whether incorporated into a bag or a dress, acidic brights are a good way of getting some "look at me" wow-factor, especially if you can clash well!