We looked in this session at how colour theory translates to printing, the print processes and how colours or effects are created on paper as oppose to the screen.
We had gathered together an assortment of printed ephemera to use for a task in the session, sorting them into categories that depended on the colours used for printing; 1 colour, 2 colours, 3 colours and full colour. After sorting them into these categories we used linen viewers to identify the quality of the colour printing, allowing us to split them into two more groups, one for formula colour and another for CMYK.
We then looked at different types of printing that effect the colour quality of a design:
Process Printing - In some printing methods, particular colours are achieved by mixing CMYK in the correct proportions. For professional printing, this would entail creating four plates that are layered with the colours. This method is made up of multiple dots of colour so the outcome can appear spotted when looking at it closely.
Lighter shades may mean that the dots seem less concentrated, with larger spaces between them, whereas darker colours will be much more concentrated.
This process can often be cheaper if you require only one plate for the print, and therefore using only one colour.
We looked at a print that had been broken into CMYK and the full colour version:
The white areas on each of the prints show that there is none of that colour in that area of the print, and those areas that use less of the colour are seen as less concentrated colour.
Formula colour - For this method of printing, colour is mixed especially in preparation for the print, using only one plate. The outcome is much more smoother and doesn't have the dotted texture that process printing does. The difference in the end product of these two processes can be identified in pantone, which shoes the variation in texture.
In the session we made a list of questions about colour theory in groups, then gave these questions to another group to answer, and we received another groups questions:
Our questions
The questions we needed to answer
1. Why do colours force out complimentary colours?
In equal proportions all complimentary colours create a grey tone because the contrast in hues and tones balance out to create something with a neutral chromatic value.
When these colours are placed in contrast with one another they exaggerate all the differences between them, making yellow appear yellower when put next to violet.
2. What is the simplest way to balance colour?
The balance of colour depends on the context of that colour, what are the other colours being used around it? Then to balance that colour you have to work out the amount you can use depending on this context. It depends a lot on contrast of extension, which allows you to use colours with contrasting hues or temperatures to balance out the colour you're using.
3. Is it always a case of contrast and hue working together?
It isn't always a case of any two values just working together. It is rare that you will ever see any of the rules of contrast exhibited on their own.
4. How many colours can one use?
There is a big risk in using a lot of colours for one design because it can appear overwhelming. However a really well designed piece may be able to get away with using a lot of colours, not that this is necessary to keep a design interesting. The 60% primary, 30% tertiary and 10% secondary is a good way to start and give the design some variation. Equal amounts of colours should in most cases be avoided.
It is simple to apply more variation by using different tints and shades of one colour, which is also quite easy to look at. You should always try to make the viewers job as easy as possible.
5. If everyone perceives colour differently, does that mean we perceive contrast differently?
While it is thought that people do perceive colour different, contrast in colours allows people to control what they are seeing in relation to every body else. Contrasts keep our perception in some way consistent with others.
However, when doing the task last week, some people did notice bigger differences between the object and paper than others, which could translate to mean that some of us might notice contrasts more intensely than others.
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