ColoR wheel ColoR wheel ColoR wheel ColoR wheel T H E C O L O R W H E E L A ONE-DERFUL CONCEPT If you surround a pure color with tints, tones and shades of that color, the pure color loses brilliance, while the tints, tones and shades gain visual vitality. This is the power of monochro- matic design. Skeptics should check out the work of Jasper Johns. WEIGHT WATCHING Darker colors have more visual weight (a color’s visual weight is determined by its value). So placing darker colors lower in the design adds visual stability. But if creativity should lead you to do otherwise, by all means— go for it! The traditional color wheel has three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. In technical terms, it organizes colors by the length of their light wave (red is the longest, violet is the shortest). But for those of us who aren’t astrophysicists, it’s easier to think of the color wheel as a slice of the rainbow stretched into a circle. Or maybe just a cool device that allows people to see the relationship between colors. Black, white and gray are called achromatic colors— but don’t dismiss them as chroma-deprived serfs in the kingdom of color—they add a powerful sense of dimension when used with the basic colors. C H R O M A The brightness or dullness of a color. The chroma decreases as you move in either direction from the pure color. Translation: lighter doesn’t always mean brighter. This comparative chromatic scale (Oh no, another scale! Drop that mum and run for your life!) shows the relation of the pure colors to the gray scale. Take the pure colors from the color wheel and make a set of playing cards. Arrange them like a game of solitaire. Squint your eyes as you find a color’s match on the gray scale. When you have played your hand of 12 cards, chances are it will look like our scale. Not surprising, yellow has more chroma than violet. But red, red-orange and green all share the same degree of chroma. Hey, it’s an equal opportunity scale. Check it out. Play a game of chromatic solitaire with assorted paint chips, scraps of ribbon or even flower petals. H U E The descriptive name of a color. Hue defines a specific spot on the color wheel. Red/violet is a hue. “Passionate purple,” on the other hand, is not a hue. The terms Color and Hue are interchangeable. V A L U E The lightness or darkness of a color. The value of a color is altered by adding white, gray or black (your trusty trio of achromatic buddies). These combinations are called tints, tones and shades. The Value Scale for a color is similar to a Gray Scale. The value scale goes from white to black. P R I M A R Y C O L O R S RE D, Y E LLO W, BL UE The three colors from which all other colors are made and which cannot be made from any other colors. S E C O N D A R Y C O L O R S O RAN GE , GRE E N, VI OL ET Obtained when two primary colors are mixed together. I N T E R M E D I A T E C O L O R S * RE D-O RAN GE , YEL L OW-OR A NG E, YEL L OW- GR E E N, BLU E - GRE E N , BL UE-VIOL ET, R ED-VI OL ET These colors occur when an adjoining primary and secondary color are mixed. * also called “tertiary” colors, especially when attempting to confuse someone you don’t like or impress a hot date. Design Master Just For Flowers® sprays are great tools to shift the color influence of a hue. If only that pink were peach, a light mist of Lemon will do the trick! 112 International Floral Distributors, Inc.
