The Other Side of Color Management
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The Other Side of Color Management Larry Lavendel User Interface Guy Canon Information Systems 20300 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 100, Cupertino, CA, 95014 Abstract a user’s productivity and the quality of their color product. Some may say that this is a trivial semantic point, that the As we witness the coming to maturity of color manage- use of the term “color management” may connote more ment technology, questions still remain: have we really than it is but, so what? Well the point is that the term is solved the BIG problem of color use on the computer? Is appropriate, and we should aim to fulfill all of its promise. the current solution the right solution? What are the real obstacles in making computerized color work productive? 2. Color on the Computer Color fidelity between devices has been (still is?) a BIG problem and much effort and progress has been made The direction of the application of color on the computer towards solving it. Are there other problems with color work has been traditionally two-fold; to provide a large number on the computer? of quickly managed colors at low cost and to provide color For most people using color is difficult. Instead of be- that is relevant to the real world. Accordingly, color tools ing easier, working with color on the computer is more ar- have been designed to allow the user to pick and use hun- duous and complex than when using traditional methods! dreds to millions of colors and to allow those colors to be How can we make working with color less of an effort and displayed on a variety of output devices. Color pickers based more enjoyable for computer users? What are the obstacles on various color models are available: the PANTONE® sys- preventing computer developers from doing this? How do tem, CMYK, RGB, HSB etc.. we really empower computer color users? Color on the computer is an artifact. It does not exist By transforming the way that color work is done: until pixels are colored or a colored object is created in an • Redefine the place color takes in computer systems. application. In the last fifteen years, or so, computer applica- • Provide real tools to manage color work. tions have expanded their individual functionality from black • Provide tools that make computerized color work natu- and white and gray scales to hundreds, thousands and mil- ral, creative and satisfying. lions of colors. Historically this improvement has been ac- complished not so much by rethinking and redesigning but Keywords: color management, color tools, using color, by simply assigning colors to existing black and white tools color UI’s, user interface so that they can draw and manipulate colors. Pixel paint programs are based on real world profes- 1. Introduction sional paradigms and have achieved a universal appeal. Using pens, erasers, brushes and common shape constructs During the past decade a great deal of scientific and engi- like rectangles, curves and ellipses, the user can easily draw neering effort has been expended in order to develop some- pictures on the computer screen. These programs have a thing called “color management”. The reason for this is widespread appeal and a reputation for easy use. Why? Be- that color work on the computer has been hamstrung be- cause everyone has experienced drawing and painting at cause colors reproduced on one device are not necessarily some time in their lives and these programs are designed to indicative of the same colors on another. The goal and even- be intuitive and fun to use. tual outcome of this is essentially the establishment of a Photo imaging programs have used the paradigm of rigorous fidelity for color between computerized input and the print shop and photographic darkroom. When photo- output devices. Certainly this is a worthy effort and much graphic and graphic professionals were the predominant progress has been made towards it’s end. users this approach worked well, but today the non-profes- The problem is that working with color on the com- sionals want to use these applications. The majority of com- puter is difficult not only because of problems with color puter users have little or no background in the photographic fidelity. The color fidelity problem, in a way, is a passive and printing arts. The average computer user can relate to problem. It is an artifact of using more than one color me- the desktop metaphor but not to the photo lab paradigm. In dia for color work, it has little to do with the actual me- fact, imaging programs have a reputation for being com- chanics of creating with color. So the term “color plex and hard to learn and use. Imaging applications may management”, however descriptive of the technology, is be used with aplomb by most graphic art and photography misleading to some. Using “Management” in the term professionals, but not by others. would suggest that color is a resource that is being man- Recently a new type of color application has appeared: aged not only to control its behavior, but also to make it paint simulation applications. These applications have draw- more accessible, to enhance its usefulness, and to increase ing/painting tools that treat the application of color in a 106—Recent Progress in Color Management and Communications new dynamic way. Color application tools are simulated to cific questions hoping that the answers will help direct them respond in ways similar to various real world pigment me- in their color decisions: “Which of these three colors do dia, like: felt markers, oil paint, water colors, chalk, pastel, you prefer?” or “How many colors in this job?” pencil and more. Color applied by these tools is affected Use experiences and decisions from the past to pro- by a number of factors including, the texture and color of vide a direction for the use of color. The same set of colors the simulated surface it is being applied to, the underlying could be used over and over, a set of colors may be used layers of colors that were applied before, and the bleed rate, exclusively for a time and then new ones based on the old spread and opacity of the color. ones are developed, or the colors may change over time Using these color applications, how often has the av- but the method that is used to work with and pick them erage user produced an image that has been more than just remains constant. Color preferences may fluctuate because satisfactory and truly desirable and pleasing? Not very of- of some event or change in ones’ life or environment, or ten. Why? because of some new experience. The world around us con- stantly influences our lives. Using observation as a guide, 3. How People Use Color in the Real World one may copy or modify the color work of others, or use the many random and planned color schemes around us for The history of computer based applications has been one inspiration. of translating activities performed in the real world, by hand, Acquire, develop and use pre-set color schemes. These into the functionality of the keyboard, cursor device and schemes may be used as a starting point in determining a 2D screen of the computer. Since their inception, comput- final set of colors or used straight as the actual colors in a ers have struggled to fit naturally into the world of man- piece. These schemes may not be actual sets of hues but a kind. Practically all of us have learned to live and work by defined set of color relationships. relying on our personal visual perceptions of the world Use iteration and experimentation to choose colors and around us and by manipulating the objects contained in that create designs. Designing a composition is the process of world. Since most of us have experienced working at a desk, delimiting colors and shapes and defining their relation- the desktop has been taken as a metaphor for the current ships with each other. How much of each color, which col- standard of human-computer interaction. Simple familiar ors will meet, where will they meet, how will they meet, objects like file folders, trash cans, document pages etc. which will dominate, which will recede? By answering represent files, utilities, resources and applications. These these and other questions one produces a cohesive color objects are manipulated in familiar consistent ways: ob- composition. Unfortunately this process is very complex. jects can be created, edited, moved, stored, combined and Most compositions are derived through experimentation, thrown away using simple actions of clicking, dragging and educated and intuitive guessing and trial and error. There typing that simulate the picking up, moving and writing of is no real substitute for training, talent and experience. the real desktop operations. Use established principles of color design and com- The computer draws upon non-computer related ex- position. There are some accepted principles, theories, perience and expertise to allow the user to do work. Be- schemes and methods for using color. Designers, fine art- cause of this, users are immediately comfortable and feel ists and graphic artists are trained in these methods and more involved, system basics are simpler, there is less to with practice and experience become somewhat conver- learn (and forget) and the computer is more easily inte- sant and proficient at using color. The average person is grated into daily routines. This technique of using a real unlikely to have the time, the inclination or the energy to world metaphor as the basis of the “look and feel” of a train in the use of color and assimilate the required skills computer operating system has been used in the design of through years of practice.