Definition
There are two kinds of primary colors that are often confused. They can be called “physical primaries” and “visual primaries.” Sets of three “physical primaries” in the form of lights, paints, or inks can be mixed to produce a comprehensive range of other colors. These sets are “primary” because they have been found to deliver the most extensive and useful range of other colors. Colors are also recognized as “primary” by virtue of their appearance. These are the “visual primaries.”
Introduction
Much of the confusion that surrounds the topic of color can be exposed in a discussion about primary colors. Primary colors, for some people, are just colors that are particularly vivid. For those who work with color, there are two kinds of primary colors that are often confused. They can be called “physical primaries” and “visual primaries.”
Sets...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Green-Armytage, P.: Seven kinds of colour. In: Porter, T., Mikellides, B. (eds.) Colour for Architecture Today. Taylor and Francis, Abingdon (2009)
Thompson, D.E.: The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1995)
Hope, A., Walch, M.: The Color Compendium. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1990)
Beare, J.: Greek Theories of Elementary Cognition. The Clarendon Press, Oxford (1906)
Aristotle: Sense and Sensibilia. In: Barnes, J. (ed.) The Complete Works of Aristotle. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1984 [4th c. BC])
da Vinci, L.: Leonardo on Painting. Yale University Press, New Haven (1989 [1518])
Boyle, R.: Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours. Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York (1964 [1664])
Le Blon, J.C.: Coloritto. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1980 [1756])
Newton, I.: Opticks, 3rd edn. Bell & Sons, London (1931 [1730])
McLaren, K.: Newton’s indigo. Color Res. Appl. 10(4), 225–229 (1985)
Young, T.: On the theory of light and colours. In: Peacock, G. (ed.) Miscellaneous Works of the Late Thomas Young. John Murray, London (1972 [1801])
Kemp, M.: The Science of Art. Yale University Press, New Haven (1990)
Hård, A., Sivik, L.: NCS – Natural Color System: a Swedish standard for color notation. Color Res. Appl. 6(3), 129–138 (1981)
Hering, E.: Outlines of a Theory of the Light Sense, transl. L. M. Hurvich, D. Jameson. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1964 [1905])
Berns, R.: Billmeyer and Saltzman’s Principles of Color Technology, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York (2000)
Green-Armytage, P.: Primary confusion. In: Arnkil, H., Hämäläinen, E. (eds.) Aspects of Colour. The University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH, Helsinki (1995)
Itten, J.: The Art of Color. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1961)
Itten, J.: The Elements of Color. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1970)
Green-Armytage, P.: Paints as ‘magnets’ to guide the mixing process. In: Hansuebsai, A. (ed.) Proceedings AIC 2003 Bangkok Color Communication and Management, pp. 309–311. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Green-Armytage, P. (2016). Primary Colors. In: Luo, M.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8071-7_233
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8071-7_233
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-8070-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8071-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics