What is color theory? Color theory is an essential tool for communicating ideas and emotions through the use of colors. Instead of being only an artistic technique, it is a guide that helps designers and artists to combine colours so that the transmission of messages clear and evocative.
From the graphic design, to the cinematography, to apply the theory of the color allows you to create images that not only attract attention, but also generate an emotional impact on the viewer. In essence, to understand and make good use of this theory can transform any visual project in an experience more effective and engaging.
So, what is color theory?
Well, it works to acclimate properly a scene in a film for example, a bustling scene or any deep feeling that the artist or production, you want to convey to the audience. This helps it all makes sense and coherence.
Application of the Theory of Colour
Color theory helps that everything in the art and design you see harmonious and communicate what they want to express. Here we tell you how to use it in different areas:
- Graphic Design:
- Brand identity: The colours help a brand to stand out and be easily recognized.
- Visual hierarchy: The colors guide the eye to the most important elements.
- Art:
- Emotion and Atmosphere: artists use colors to convey feelings and create the desired atmosphere.
- Contrast and Depth: The colors help give depth and highlight details in a work.
- Cinematography:
- Environment: The colours set the tone and the atmosphere of a scene.
- Characterization: The colors in the locker room and decorated to reflect the characteristics of the characters and their environment.
- Advertising:
- Attraction: attractive colors capture the attention of the public.
- Persuasion: Different colors can influence purchasing decisions and the perception of products.
A practical example of how to use it
One of the examples I like to use color theory is a scene inspired by the medieval era, with characters vikings, where the colors make the scene come to life in a spectacular way and are present at every decision in a constant manner.
Used colors based on color theory
Dark blue: Cold, sadness, hardness. Gray: Neutrality, hardness, coldness. Dark green: Nature, mystery, hardness. Brown: Earth, hardiness, stability. Dark red: Intensity, danger, or passion. Off-white: Coldness, purity, despair.
Implemented in the scene
Then, you have in which objects in a scene viking apply these colors to highlight and convey that atmosphere.
- Dark blue: night Skies or winter landscapes to convey cold and sadness.
- Gray: Rocks, buildings or armor to reflect hardness and coldness.Dark green: Forest or garments of characters to evoke nature and mystery.
- Brown: Floors, houses, or clothes of the characters to denote hardiness and stability.
- Dark red: Banners, decorations, or wounds to show intensity and danger.
- Off-white: Snow, fields, waste places or clothes to suggest coldness and desolation.
Authors of color theory
Aristotle (384-322 a.C.):
- Contribution: Although not developed a theory of color formal, Aristotle made observations about the perception of colour and light in his work ‘On the colors.’
Isaac Newton (1643-1727):
- Contribution: Newton is one of the pioneers in the theory of color. In 1666, he made experiments with prisms and discovered that white light decomposes into a spectrum of colors. His work ‘Opticks’ (1704) is critical for understanding moderna color.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832):
- Contribution: Goethe offered an alternative vision to the theory of Newton, with his ‘Theory of colours’ (1810), focusing on the perception of color and its emotional effects in place of the optical system.
Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810):
- Contribution: In 1810, Runge published his ‘Theory of colors’, which introduced the model of the circle of colors, a precursor of the modern chromatic circle.
Moses Harris (1730-1788):
- Contribution: Harris, in his ‘The Natural System of Colours’ (1766), has developed a first-structured model of the circle of colors, influencing the systematic study of color.
Josef Albers (1888-1976):
- Contribution: Albers was an important theorist of the color of the TWENTIETH century. His book ‘Interaction of Color’ (1963) explores how the colors interact with each other and how their perception changes in different contexts.