dorosz
Color and Design
Designing with Color helps
readers develop an understand-
ing of color and the principles
of design through guided obser-
vation and engaging activities.
The visual approach of this text/
workbook provides a system
of eye training for students who
aspire to become designers or
artists. Part One of this two-part
text presents color, the most
immediately noticeable element
of design. Part Two follows with
the elements and principles of
design and demonstrates how
color and other design elements
are combined in nature and
the visual arts. Students have
opportunities to apply their
learning in each chapter by com-
pleting four types of activities—
warm-up, style, interest, and
satellite—resulting in finished
projects they can record with
photos preserved in their books
for future reference.
watson
F e at u r e s
■■ With more than 700 full-
color photos and illustrations,
designing color
examples in each chapter
demonstrate how color is used
in a variety of media including
advertising, animation, fashion,
fine arts, graphic design,
illustration, industrial design,
interior design and architec-
ture, and photography.
■■ The appendix to Part One,
Some Historical Background
with
on the Theory and Practice of
Color and Design, highlights
key points in the understand-
ing and application of color
from ancient to modern times.
■■ Key terms and concepts
designing
introduced in each chapter are
defined in a comprehensive
glossary.
color
ISBN: 978-1-56367-859-2
chris dorosz
™xHSLFQDy678592zv*:+:!:+:!
jr watson
with
concepts and applications
 designing with color

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 designing with color
concepts and applications

Chris Dorosz | JR Watson

Academy of Art University

Fairchild Books | New York

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 Vice President & General Cop yeditor: Copyright © 2010 Fairchild
Manager, Fairchild Education & Nancy Reinhardt Books, a Division of Condé Nast
Con ference Di vision: Publications.
Ancill aries Editor:
Elizabeth Tighe
Noah Schwartzberg
All rights reserved. No part of this
Executive Editor:
Cover Design: book covered by the copyright
Olga T. Kontzias
Carolyn Eckert hereon may be reproduced or
Assistant Acquisitions Editor: used in any form or by any means—
Cover Art: graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
Amanda Breccia
© Beverly Au, VA-Photography including photocopying, recording,
Editorial D evelopment D irector: taping, or information storage and
Text Design:
Jennifer Crane retrieval systems—without written
Carolyn Eckert
permission of the publisher.
Development Editor:
Text Comp osition:
Sylvia L. Weber
Barbara Barg Medley Library of Congress Catalog Card
Creative Director: Number: 2008940707
Director, Sales & Mar ketin g: ISBN: 978-1-56367-859-2
Carolyn Eckert
Brian Normoyle GST R 133004424
Photo Researcher: Printed in China
Avital Aronowitz Unless otherwise credited, TP15
all illustrations are courtesy of
Production Director:
JR Watson and Chris Dorosz.
Ginger Hillman

Senior Production Editor:

Elizabeth Marotta

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 For M J , L P, and G J W | JR W For Cliff, Ruth, and Mike | CD

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 contents

Preface | xi
Acknowledgments | xii

Introduction |1

Pa r t O n e C o l o r Pa r t T w o D e s i g n

1 Local Color vs. Symbolic Color | 6 8 Two-Dimensional Space | 138

2 The Color Wheel | 22
3 Value, Saturation, and Temperature | 38
4 Analogous Colors | 64
5 Complementary Colors | 78
6 Color Proportion | 96
7 Light Temperature | 110
App e n d i x t o P a r t O n e :
Some Historical Background on the Theory
and Practice of Color and Design | 124
9 Three-Dimensional Illusion | 152
10 Three-Dimensional Form | 168
11 Unity and Variety | 184
12 Emphasis | 196
13 Balance | 208
14 Movement | 222
15 Rhythm | 234
16 Non–Focal Point Design | 250
17 Message of Color and Shape | 266

Glossary | 285
Index | 293

vii

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 extended contents
Preface | xi 26 Tertiary Colors
Acknowledgments | xii 27 The Structure of the Color Wheel
35 Activities
3 Value, Saturation, and Temperature | 38
Introduction | 1
38 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
1 The Purpose of This Book
39 Value
1 How to Use This Book
42 Value Creates Form
2 Learning through Activities
45 Value Creates Composition
2 Gathering Supplies
and Focal Point
3 Taking Photos
46 Value Creates Mood
3 Creating Your Own Color and
47 Saturation
Design Resource
50 Temperature
51 Mixing Colors
Pa r t O n e C o l o r
61 Activities
1 Local Color vs. Symbolic Color | 6
4 Analogous Colors | 64
6 Vocabul ary and Key Concepts
64 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
7 Objective and Subjective Uses of Color
75 Activities
10 How the Eye Sees Color
5 Complementary Colors | 78
19 Activities
78 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
2 The Color Wheel | 22
78 Vibrating Boundaries
22 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
80 Desaturation
22 Primary Colors
82 Simultaneous Contrast
24 Subtractive Color
84 Optical Mixing
24 Additive Color
93 Activities
25 Secondary Colors

viii

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 6 Color Proportion | 96 9 Three-Dimensional Illusion | 152
  96 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 152 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
  96 Dominant Colors 152 Ways to Create the Illusion of
  97 Accent Colors Deep Space
  98 Analogous Split-Complementary Palette 154 Position on the Picture Plane
107 Activities 154 Perspective: Diminishing Scale and
7 Light Temperature | 110 Overlapping
110 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 154 Use of Diagonals
121 Activities 154 Atmospheric Perspective
155 Dividing the Picture Plane into
App e n d i x t o P a r t O n e : Three Zones
Some Historical Background on the Theory and 156 Applying the Method of Creating Three-
Practice of Color and Design | 124 Dimensional Space
124 Ancient Greece 165 Activities
125 Rome and the Middle Ages 10 Three-Dimensional Form | 168
126 The Renaissance 168 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
129 The Science of Color 168 Volume and Mass
129 Sir Isaac Newton 170 Texture and Surface Quality
129 J. C. Maxwell 170 Designer’s Use of Texture and
130 Michel Eugène Chevreul Surface Quality
131 A Break with the Past 170 Varieties of Surface Quality
132 Color-Matching Systems 181 Activities
132 Albert Munsell 11 Unity and Variety | 184
133 Pantone 184 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
193 Activities
Pa r t T w o D e s i g n 12 Emphasis | 196
8 Two-Dimensional Space | 138 196 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
138 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 196 Contrasts

Extended Contents
139 Figure and Ground and the Picture Plane 198 Optical Center
140 Cropping 204 Areas of Emphasis
149 Activities 205 Activities

ix

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 13 Balance | 208 16 Non–Focal Point Design | 250
208 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 250 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
208 Balance and Symmetry 250 Ways to Create a Non–Focal Point Design
209 Symmetry 252 Repitition
209 Near-Symmetry 252 Motif
209 Radial Symmetry 252 Tessellation
210 Asymmetry 252 Ambiguity
210 The Focal Point 253 Approaches to Positive and
210 Central Focal Point Negative Space
210 Law of Thirds 253 Clear-cut Positive/Negative
211 Golden Ratio 253 Positive/Negative Reversal
219 Activities 253 Interspace
14 Movement | 222 263 Activities
222 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 17 Message of Color and Shape | 266
231 Activities 266 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s
15 Rhythm | 234 268 Creating Associations
234 V o c a b u l a r y a n d K e y C o n c e p t s 281 Activities
234 Visual Rhythm
234 Line Quality Glossary | 285
247 Activities Index | 293
Extended Contents

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 preface
It happens every semester: after a few weeks of
school, just before midterm usually, students will
come to class and excitedly report that they’ve started
dreaming in color.
Almost everyone eagerly testifies to developing a
visual awareness and sensitivity to seeing color
beyond the classroom—in formal designs on a cereal
box, the latest Lady Gaga video, or in serendipitous
street scenes like a woman in a red coat walking in
front of a green billboard.
Why not take things a step further, then, and create
a textbook with activities that develop this excitement
and awareness of the everyday world with the study of
color and design?
What makes this book unique is that, from the
very start, it focuses on color, with the intention of
stimulating the reader and demystifying the initially
intimidating theory behind it. The foundation color
and design course continues to be the basis of
a student’s knowledge of color in all succeeding
classes. We hope to continue this tradition but also
to expand upon it by making it relevant and exciting to
today’s student by consistently presenting examples
from a wide range of visual- and applied-arts majors.
DW.FM.indd 11
Unlike other books and curriculums on color and
design, the first seven chapters comprising Part One
focus on the basics of color and color schemes.
Starting with color intention in design, moving on to
the color wheel and the three components of color
(value, saturation, and temperature), we then continue
with color schemes and color proportion, ending Part
One with a look at light temperature. The appendix to
Part One briefly surveys the historical development
of color theory and systems of color identification.
After this introduction to color, Part Two begins with
three chapters that discuss color in two- and three-
dimensional space. Next, this part presents the five
principles of design—unity and variety, emphasis,
balance, movement, and rhythm—with a chapter for
each, along with a chapter on nonfocal point design.
The final chapter summarizes color theory and design
principles, exploring the expressive power of shape
and color.
Even though we envision this book as providing a
complete course that any color and design teacher
could adopt, it could also supplement an already-
existing curriculum or simply serve as a fun, informative,
and valuable resource for the casual reader.
xi
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 acknowledgments
First, thanks to the team
at Fairchild Books for their
expertise: Bria Duane, Olga
Kontzias, Sylvia Weber, Erin
Fitzsimmons, Carolyn Eckert,
Barbara Barg Medley, Avital
Aronowitz, Elizabeth Marotta,
Ginger Hillman, and Noah
Schwartzberg. Thank you for
seeing the potential in our concept
for this book and supporting our
vision along the way.
We also appreciate the
recommendations of the following
reviewers of our proposal and
manuscript, selected by the
publisher: Wendy Beckwith,
LaRoche College; Catherine
Darlington, IADT-Chicago;
xii
DW.FM.indd 12
Linda Davisson, Art Institute of
Washington; Betsy Gabb,
University of Nebraska; Elizabeth
Hart, Savannah College of Art
and Design; Sally S. Hawthorne,
Art Institute of York; and Carolyn
Rotertson, FIDM-Los Angeles.
Thanks to the following, who
test drove the assignments,
the results of which appear
on the workbook pages: Paule
Dubois-Dupuis, Christine Kirouac,
Gary Markle, Val Nelson, Katje
Richstatter, Scott Saraceno, Thom
Sevalrud and Kevin Taylor. Also
thanks to Cliff Edwards and Katje
Richstatter for proofreading and
editorial assistance.
9/13/10 7:57:20 PM
 designing with color

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 7 light temperature

How a color is lit can drastically affect how it looks.
Have you ever had to hold your socks up to a light
to see whether the colors match? Without the clarity
of sunlight, the local or true nature of a color can be
deceiving. Even with the light from the sun, a color
might look warmer than it actually is. A house painted
light pink might work well in a clear sunny climate like
the south of France but may not make sense in the
cool light of a prolonged winter in central Canada.
With this in mind, we can further enhance the mood
already established by a design’s color palette or
completely change it by dramatizing temperature
through warm light effects and cool light effects.
Here is a simple formula to help understand how to
observe the influence of light temperature on color:

+ +
Local color Light temperature or its Value identity: highlight?
complement: warm? cool? midtone? shadow?

Vocabul ary and Key Concepts

• cool light effects • local color • simultaneous contrast • warm light effects
• desaturate • saturate • value identity

110

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 1 1

2 2
3 3

table table
shadow shadow

1= + + 1= + +

2= + + 2= + +

3= + + 3= + +

table = + + table = + +

shadow = + + shadow = + +

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 Light Temperature Influence
neutral yellow orange red violet blue green

white

yellow

orange

red

violet

blue

green

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 Thinking about warm and cool is
the key to understanding the
effect of light temperature. Even though
local colors are not evident in this 1960s
travel poster, the use of different color
palettes and values for the two halves of
day and night sell the qualities of the light
Las Vegas is best known for . . . warm
sunny days and the cool neon lights of
evening.
[left] TWA Las Vegas poster, 1960s. Illustrator David Klein, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. [right] Virgin America.

Virgin America has introduced mood lighting on its planes. The windows are tinted to
minimize strong daylight in the cabin, and in flight, the lighting also shifts and changes.
Here, cool light is used to relax and soothe passengers.

L i g h t T e m p e r at u r e
113

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 In her installation,
Glow House, artist
Kelly Mark has placed 50
televisions throughout a
house all set to the same
channel. Reflected light from
the flickering televisions gives
the impression that the house
has been gutted to create a
vast illuminated space. The
color of light changes
depending on the program
playing. For instance, horror
movies pulse a blue light
whereas adult movies pulse
pink. Commercials produce
the effect of fireworks!

Glow House © Kelly Mark,

www.kellymark.com
color

114

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 Consideration in lighting
fashion and clothing not
only applies to advertising like this
store window, runway shows and
print ads, but is also a basic
consideration in choosing fabrics
for a garment. Understanding light
temperatures informs these
choices, as a textile looks different
under the different lighting
conditions where the garment may
be worn.

For instance, a gown will most

likely be seen in the evening,
usually under indirect and artificial
light, while a bathing suit will
probably be worn in the direct,
warm light of the sun. What kinds
of fabrics and colors are usually
found in garments made for
dancing or wearing to nightclubs?
© Saks Fifth Avenue New York, December of 2008.

How does this relate to light

temperature?

In this window display, the

influence of warm light is clearly
seen on the environment, while
a cooler violet light accentuates
the mannequin and dress, also
enhancing the mood.

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Lighting is the finishing touch to any room, and sometimes may
be the starting point. Under the influence of natural light, the
traditional surfaces of wood and oil paintings come to life in this Madrid
industrial club.
color
[this page] imagebroker /Alamy. [opposite page] Paul Prescott /Alamy.
In the Madrid Airport [opposite page], artificial lighting enhances the
textures and materials, giving dimension to a modern arrangement of
polished marble, glass, and steel.

116

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 L i g h t T e m p e r at u r e
117

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 activities
Try on sunglasses. Try
lenses with different
tints—warms like oranges, browns,
and pinks, and cools like blues
and greens.
How does the world look?
Which temperature do you prefer?
With the different glasses on,
look at your color wheel. What
happens to the warm and cool
colors when viewed through the
[top right and left] Photos: Christine Kirouac.
different lenses?
DW.Ch.7.indd 121
Purchase a colored
light bulb at your local
hardware store. Think of the
psychological associations of
color in making your choice. Take
a picture of your room, desk, or
other area in your home. Then,
at a time of day without strong
sunlight, or at night, try the colored
bulb in the same area where you
took the picture before. Use the
colored light bulb as your only
light source. What has happened
in terms of VST? Take a picture.
Which of these lighting
conditions might apply
to your (potential) major—sunlight,
moonlight, TV light, digital display
light, fluorescent light, headlights,
fridge light, streetlight, flashlight,
spotlight, stage light, nightlight,
theatrical/nightclub lights,
candlelight, firelight, sunrise, or
sunset? Take pictures of how
at least four of these examples
influence local color.
Find an object in your
neighborhood like a tree
or mailbox that is surrounded by
the light-colored pavement of a
sidewalk or road (even better, if
it is winter, surrounded by snow).
Take a picture including the
object, cast shadow, and ground
at sunrise, midday, sunset, and
dusk. What color would you
assign to the light for each of
these times? How do the local
colors change? Describe the
effects of simultaneous contrast.
Are they captured in your
L i g h t T e m p e r at u r e
pictures?
121
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 your projects attach your snapshots here

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DW.Ch.7.indd 123 9/13/10 2:16:05 PM
 12 emphasis

There are always “colorful” characters riding the Contrasts

bus or subway. You may have even taken public Here are some common examples of
transportation today to get to class or work and contrast (see chart on facing page):
have a story to tell: a woman with a pink Mohawk large—small
or a man talking extremely loudly. These people flat—3D
would have caught your attention because they thick—thin
were in contrast to the less-colorful and quieter many—few
people around them. soft—hard
smooth—rough
Similarly, we use contrast in design to draw the light—heavy
viewer’s attention to a particular place, called the motion—rest
focal point or area of emphasis, which catches value: high—low
the eye and engages the viewer. It is possible to saturation: bright—muted
have more than one area of emphasis, although temperature: warm—cool
they usually vary with diminishing contrast as will translucent—opaque
be discussed in the next few chapters. shape: organic—geometric
chromatic—achromatic
On this page is another way to create a focal line
point or area of emphasis, by breaking a pattern. direction

Vocabul ary and Key Concepts

• area of emphasis • contrast • focal point • optical center

196

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 large–small flat–3D thick–thin many–few

soft–hard smooth–rough light–heavy motion–rest

value: high–low saturation: bright–muted temperature: warm–cool translucent–opaque

shape: organic–geometric chromatic–achromatic line direction

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 Optical Center

A viewer will naturally

look first in the center of
a design or of any picture plane,
like a blank piece of paper or
television or movie screen. Painter
Tomma Abts places the focal point
equidistant from the vertical and

Courtesy the artist, greengrassi, London and Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne and “Boros Collection, Berlin” Ert, Tomma Abts, 2003.
horizontal edges, with converging
lines leading to the optical center.
design

198

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 As a chip in a tiled floor
is immediately obvious,
breaking a pattern is another way
to create an area of emphasis.
© Photos 12/Alamy.

Animation artist Michel Ocelot

draws the viewer’s attention to
particular areas of a scene with

Emphasis
simple figures on complex
patterned backgrounds.
199

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 [below] Quick recognition of
location, roads, and
movement are crucial in developing
a clear GPS system (especially one
to use while driving).

A driver’s location and path are

usually represented in bright red
as this color will advance, whereas
secondary road systems are denoted
[above] In this with cool colors to recede visually.
photograph, all
components of color, value,
saturation, and temperature are
contrasted in the area of
emphasis. In addition to size and
shape contrasts, we as viewers
tend to look at a human presence
in an image before that of an
inanimate object—even though
this is a doll!
design

200

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 [opposite page, top] Courtesy Jean-Pierre Khazem Llama 5 from Llama project, 2000. [opposite page, bottom] SIRIUS Travel Link™ Navigation
system in the 2010 Lincoln MKZ. [this page] Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), designed by Daniel Libeskind. Photo © Oleksiy Maksymeno, 2007.

DW.Ch.12.indd 201

Toronto. How many contrasts between the two styles can you name?
meet in this postmodern addition to the Royal Ontario Museum in
Old and new collide, creating a strong line of emphasis where they

201

Emphasis
9/13/10 6:52:40 PM
 Linda Florence, detail of Morphus Damask from the Scratchcard Collection, 2005. © www.lindaflorence.co.uk.
Wall coverings and fabric patterns generally don’t have a focal point. They are meant to create
visual interest and harmony, but they also often serve to allow certain features of a room, such
as a fireplace, painting, or accent color, to be the focal point.
design

260

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 Photographs by Richard Champion. © 1977 Condé Nast Publications.

In the living room [left] Billy Baldwin designed for legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland (she referred to it as her “Garden in Hell”), the non–focal
impulse is extended from the pattern of the walls and fabric into the mementos and clutter of the room to create a lived-in, slightly disorienting
experience. The use of vibrant red on nearly every surface does not provide a resting place for the eye. Though there is great variety in the types of
elements in the room, they are of similar size. There are areas of equal value contrast, but they repeat often enough to become a motif in this non–focal

Non–Focal Point Design

point interior.

In Vreeland’s bedroom [right], the fabric and wallpaper pattern is the same as in the living room, but in blue. Similar displays of mementos and small
objects follow the style of the living room.

261

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[left] All-over non–focal
point balance is used to
varying degrees in the animation of
Lars Arrhenius, where he explores
ideas of navigation through city
systems. In this animated short,
non–focal point balance is well
suited to some scenes as the
multiple narratives of residents
from an apartment block overlap.
design
262
DW.Ch.16.indd 262
[left] © Lars Arrhenius still 2 of 13 from Habitat 2003. [right] Bark Eyes, Charley Harper, 1985.
[top] The mid-century
modern style of illustrator
Charley Harper frequently uses
the concepts of motif and
repetition to set up rhythm and a
strong graphic quality. Notice here
how he creates a positive/negative
reversal with equally weighted
light and dark trees to play with
and de-emphasize the hidden owl.
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