The Design Essentials of Color

Abstract

Every color can be defined by the following criteria:

• Hue is the quality or characteristic by which one color is distinguished from another. The elementary hues that we differentiate are based on the spectral hues red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. All colors are judged to be similar to one hue or a proportion of two of the spectral hues. Thus crimson, vermillion, and pink are close in hue, although they are different colors. Physically, hue is determined in wavelength. White, gray, and black are perceived as being colorless, not reddish, yellowish, greenish or bluish. They are therefore termed achromatic.

• Saturation is the second attribute by which a color is distinguished. Also referred to as strength, intensity or chroma, it designates the purity of a given color, the quality that distinguishes it from a grayed-down color (less chromatic or intense). Two colors may be the same in hue (for instance two greens), and one lighter or darker than the other, yet still appear different in color strength.

• Lightness, or its synonymic value, is the third dimension in the description of color, differentiating dark colors from light ones. The lightness of a pigment is the measure of how much light is reflected from its surface. Sometimes brightness is used as a synonym for lightness — which may be confusing. Brightness means the intensity of a light source or a luminous sensation when describing light, and it means highly saturated when describing color.

• Nuance describes the intensity of a hue, that is its brightness, darkness, or proportion in color mixtures.