History of Color

• Colors are often symbolic.

• Let’s talk about what role color has played in different times in history.

In China…

• Yellow has religious significance and is still the Imperial color today!

In Greece and Rome…

• Red was believed to have protective powers.

• Purple was restricted to use by nobility.

The Egyptians

• Adorned walls of tombs and temples with brilliant colors of blue, tangerine, and green.

In the Italian Renaissance…

• Colors were vibrant reds, greens, golds and blues.

In the Rococo period…

• Tastes became very feminine, colors became less vibrant.

In 18th Century England…

• There was great elegance. Colors were rich, showing a strong Chinese influence in the use of red and gold.

During the Victorian era…

• There was great Eclecticism known for it’s abundance of “things”.

• Colors were mostly dull reds, greens, browns, and mauves.

In the Early 20th Century…

• Colors were Monochromatic. There were sleek surfaces and strong contrasts with black, gray, silver, brown, beige and white.

In the 1920’s…

• All-white interiors became popular which gave way to delicate pastels with bright accents.

In the 1950’s..

• Light colors were preferred.

• However, American interest turned to Mexico and a shift to bright colors with bright contrasts.

And in the 1990’s…

• Regal gold, blue, and red were used. Southwestern remained popular and Victorian was being revived.

• Ivy league also becomes popular with forest greens and cranberry reds.

Where does color come from?

• A ray of light is the source of all color.

• Without light, color does not exist.

• Light is broken down into colors of the spectrum. You can often see a variety of colors in a bright beam when you look at something like a rainbow.

Color

• Color can alter the appearance of form and space.

• Color can affect our performance abilities and change our moods.

Pigments

• Pigments are substances that can be ground into fine powder and used for adding color to dyes and paints.

• Pigments were originally derives from animal, mineral, and vegetable sources.

• Examples:– Purple from shellfish– Red dye from the dried bodies

of scale insects

• To create our own color wheel, we will be mixing different pigments together to create all the colors in the color wheel.

The Color Wheel• The color wheel is a basic tool we

use when working with colors. • It is based on the standard color

theory known as Brewster/Prang. • In addition to the traditional color

wheel, there are two color systems that are useful when more detailed colors are required.– The Munsell system:

• Has 5 principles hues and 5 intermediate hues. A numbering system helps designers identify the exact hue they need.

– The Ostwald system:• Made from pairs of complementary

colors. The color circle has twenty-four hues.

The Color Wheel

• There are 12 hues in the spectrum of color.

• They are divided into three categories…

R ed-vio le t

V io le t

B lue-vio le tB lue

B lue-green

G reen

Yellow -green

Yellow

Yellow -orange O range

R ed-orange

R ed

The Primary Colors

• Red, Yellow, and Blue

• These colors cannot be combined from mixing any colors together.

R ed-vio le t

V io let

B lue-vio letB lue

B lue-green

G reen

Yellow -green

Yellow

Yellow -orange O range

R ed-orange

R ed

The Secondary Colors

• Green, violet, and orange

• Made by combining the Primary colors together.

R ed-vio le t

V io let

B lue-vio letB lue

B lue-green

G reen

Yellow -green

Yellow

Yellow -orange O range

R ed-orange

R ed

The Tertiary Colors

• Yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange.

• Made by combining a primary and a secondary hue.

• Named by the Primary color first.

R ed-vio le t

V io let

B lue-vio letB lue

B lue-green

G reen

Yellow -green

Yellow

Yellow -orange O range

R ed-orange

R ed

Color Wheel Assignment• Now it’s your turn to create

your own color wheel! • You decide whether you

want to earn full credit by completing the assignment as shown here…

• Or you can earn extra credit, by creating another picture with your color wheel…– A rainbow, a tire, a flower,

etc.• Make sure to label all twelve

colors correctly, and label your assignment in architectural writing with your name, assignment name and period.