Synopses & Reviews
From theory to practice—enhance your skills in working with colorNow in an updated Third Edition, Understanding Color helps you connect the dots between your emotional, intuitive responses to color and the theories that explain them. Through authoritative, easy-to-follow instruction, you'll learn how to use color more comfortably, creatively, and effectively than ever before.
Take your work to the next level by exploring how different light sources affect color rendition, how placement changes colors, how to avoid costly color mistakes, and how to resolve the color problems that frequently confront design professionals. This Third Edition is full of powerful new features that reflect the latest issues in color and design, including:
- Updated material for successfully designing with color in a digital environment
- Innovative coverage of color marketing issues
- Dozens of new illustrations
- Helpful tips for using color in the working environment
- Valuable exercises to reinforce color concepts
Understanding Color, Third Edition is an unparalleled source of authoritative information and practical solutions for students and professionals in graphic design, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and industrial and textile design.
Synopsis
From theory to practice-enhance your skills in working with color!
- Connect the dots between your emotional, intuitive responses to color and the theories that explain them.
- Learn how to use color more comfortably, creatively, and effectively than ever before.
- Take your work to the next level by exploring how different light sources affect color rendition, how placement changes colors, how to avoid costly color mistakes, and how to resolve the color problems that frequently confront design professionals.
Order your copy today!
Synopsis
From theory to practice-enhance your skills in working with color! Connect the dots between your emotional, intuitive responses to color and the theories that explain them. Learn how to use color more comfortably, creatively, and effectively than ever before. Take your work to the next level by exploring how different light sources affect color rendition, how placement changes colors, how to avoid costly color mistakes, and how to resolve the color problems that frequently confront design professionals.
Order your copy today!
About the Author
Linda Holtzschue is principal of Linda Holtzschue and Associates, an interior design firm based in New York City. She has taught color theory and related courses at Parsons School of Design, where she also served as an assistant dean, and at the Fashion Institute of Technology and The School of Visual Arts. Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
PREFACE.
CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO COLOR STUDY.
The Experience of Color.
Color Awareness.
The Uses of Color.
Color-Order Systems.
Color Study.
CHAPTER 2: A LITTLE LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT.
Light.
Mixing Light: Additive Color.
Lamps.
Lighting Level.
Vision.
The Illuminant Mode of Vision.
The Object Mode of Vision.
Modifying Light: Colorants.
Modifying Light: Surface.
Transparent, Opaque, and Translucent.
Lamps and Color Rendition.
Metamerism and Matching.
Luminosity.
Indirect Light, Indirect Color.
Modifying Light: Filters.
CHAPTER 3: THE HUMAN ELEMENT.
The Sensation of Color.
Visual Acuity for Color.
Threshold.
Intervals.
The Perception of Color.
Physiology: Responding to Light.
Healing and Color.
Synaesthesia.
Psychology: Responding to Light.
Color and Meaning.
Naming Colors.
CHAPTER 4: THE VOCABULARY OF COLOR: HUE.
Hue.
The Artists’ Spectrum.
Primary and Secondary Colors.
Saturated Color.
Other Spectrums, Other Primaries.
Chromatic Scales.
Cool and Warm Colors.
Analogous Colors.
Complementary Colors.
Equilibrium.
Simultaneous Contrast.
Afterimage and Contrast Reversal.
Complementary Contrast.
Tertiary Colors: Muted Hues and Brown.
Black, White, Gray.
CHAPTER 5: THE VOCABULARY OF COLOR: VALUE AND SATURATION.
Value.
Value and Image.
Transposing Image.
Pure Hues and Value.
Tints and Shades.
Monochromatic Value Scales.
Comparing Value in Different Hues.
Saturation.
Saturation: Diluting Pure Hues with Gray.
Saturation: Diluting Pure Hues with the Complement.
Tone.
CHAPTER 6: WORKING WITH COLOR.
Color Composition.
Ground and Carried Colors.
Placement and Color Change.
Ground Subtraction.
Reversing the Illusion: Two Colors as One.
Influenced and Influencing Colors.
Optical Mixes: Partitive Color.
Spatial Effects of Colors.
Color Illusions.
Spreading Effect.
Color and Area.
CHAPTER 7: COLOR HARMONY.
In Search of Beauty.
A Brief History of Color Theory.
Color Theory and Harmony.
Color Harmony: From the Ground Up.
Intervals and Harmony.
Hue and Harmony.
Value and Harmony.
Saturation and Harmony.
Major and Minor Themes.
Some Harmonious Conclusions.
On Beyond Harmony: Visual Impact.
On Beyond Harmony: Dissonant Colors.
The X(tra)-Factor: Surface and Harmony.
CHAPTER 8: TOOLS OF THE TRADE.
It’s the Real Thing: Color in Product and Print.
Artists’ Media.
Subtractive Mixing.
Tinting Strength.
Process Colors.
CHAPTER 9: THE MEDIUM OF LIGHT.
The Medium of Light.
Lost in Translation.
The Screen Display.
Monitors.
Software: Color Display Modes.
Printed Images.
Standards and Supports.
Distributed Screen Images.
CHAPTER 10: THE BUSINESS OF COLOR.
Palettes.
Color Cycles.
Color Forecasting.
Color Sampling.
Traditional Colors.
Color and Product Identity.
Influences on Palettes.
GLOSSARY.
WORKBOOK.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
INDEX.